Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown | 20+ Hours Played - Review

welcome back everybody I'm Nick 930 and today I want to share with you my thoughts on ubisoft's upcoming 2D platforming Title Prince of Persia the Lost Crown Prince of Persia was ubisoft's bread and butter back in the 2000s making the publisher a household name among General Gamers thanks to its Sands of Time Trilogy on the PlayStation 2 Xbox and PC the series took a once revered classic 2D platforming franchise by the legendary Jordan mechner and transformed it into a trend setting 3D action adventure title whose influence can still be found in practically every major AAA game today the series has since Fallen by the wayside due to the growth and popularity of its successor Assassin's Creed in enter the Lost Crown a brand new Prince of Persia experience from The Talented Studio over at Ubisoft Mont pulier that's not only one of the best Prince of Persia games that I've ever played but is also one of the single most fun video games that I've played in years everything about it feels so well realized from its confident use of its new painted cartoon-like art style it's incredibly tight and fluid platforming and combat design and its hybrid of authentic Middle Eastern folklore mixed with modern storytelling and character establishment and what's more none of the Publishers infamously detracting quirks poison the experience either proving once more that Ubisoft is looking to change its reputation this generation and bring back the types of gameplay experiences we as Gamers have long been waiting to see return so let's kick things off with a spoiler-free look at the Lost Crown story The Lost Crown takes place in a completely new timeline unrelated to any of the past Prince of Persia games the game kicks off roughly 30 years after the death of King Darius the great and sees the Persian Empire being threatened by the formidable kusan and their fearless leader U vishka but before the day is lost Persia's legendary Warriors The Immortals charge into the fry and drive the kashan back from The Plains of fars the player assumes the role of one of these Immortals Sargon a fierce Warrior who is fiercely loyal to both his team of Immortals and the kingdom of Persia having defeated the general himself Sargon is hailed as a hero back in ppis but the celebrations are shortlived as a traitor amongst the ranks kidnaps Prince Hassan and takes him to the legendary bridge between natural and Supernatural Mount kof under the Queen's orders the Immortals follow suit and must navigate the mountains treacherous traps puzzles and fearsome enemies as they search for the missing Prince of Persia and uncovered the truth as to why he was captured from here the game story is told mostly through game cutscenes and interactions between Sargon and the rest of the Immortals because the game is predominantly a 2d platformer it doesn't get too bogged down by all these narrative bits though when it does want to drive home something important it does so in a big way with great pacing for specific characters along with satisfying conclusions to each character Arc accompanied by beautiful set pieces and an excellent musical score what's more the plot is far less predictable than I initially anticipated and despite feeling goofy towards the start I found myself personally hooked by the time that I reached Mount kough and was excited to see how it all played out another really cool detail that I appreciate with this game's narrative is how much inspiration the developers used from actual ancient Middle Eastern mythology because a lot of this era of human history is somewhat a mystery Ubisoft had a lot of flexibility here to expand on this game's makeup practically every character featured in the game is based on a true to life person and including queen tamiris king Darius ardashir and even Sargon who was a real Mesopotamian Warrior and first ruler of the Acadian Empire even the game's main setting Mount kough is based on real ancient Iranian folklore and similarly function as a sort of intermediate between Mankind and God the characters themselves are of course greatly exaggerated for the sake of style and while some of them are based on real people many of these people have had zero inter action in reality though it's still fascinating to look up and see where each of these names have actually come from and why Ubisoft chose them relative to their placement within this new fictional narrative accompanying these main plot elements are dozens of other examples of ancient Persian Arabic and other Middle Eastern mythology like wack whack trees the samor and even the manor altogether this latest entry to the Prince of Persia franchise is probably the single most relevant entry to ancient Iranian mythology yet especially when considering the Simplicity of the franchise's earlier stories this new protagonist is also more likable than any of the series's previous Heroes too he's surprisingly humble and reserved right from the get-go with a bit of a headstrong attitude without being annoying about it and what's more he actually keeps quiet throughout a majority of the game only speaking when the story demands it and not constantly interrupting combat and platforming with annoying whs and jokes that Gamers might expect the default English voice actor does use a British accent as do the rest of the cast though there's also various other languages to choose from including farsy for players who want an even more authentic experience there's not necessarily a lot to work with here as the story is straightforward with some twists and churns that the protagonist just kind of runs with without any real sense of threat or consequence but it's that kind of power trip that I think works well in a Metroid Vania Style game anyway and if we ever see more Sargon or his friends I certainly wouldn't be opposed to it and really the story is only a tiny insignificant part of what makes this game so good the real meat of the Lost Crown is its phenomenal Mastery of the Metroid Vania gameplay design marrying intense bare knuckle platforming acrobatics with fast and fluid combat encounters all while gradually opening up a massive world around the player through new unlocks and abilities pretty much as soon as I was let loose on Mount cough I couldn't stop playing I was immediately sucked into the world eager to discover new areas and progress the narrative in hopes of opening up a previously inaccessible path like the countless other titles that have used this format in the past the Lost Crown features one main playable area interconnected via a network of complex passages separated by brief loading screens whenever players pass through certain open doorways while the entire area is part of of the full Mount cough each grouping of passageways make up their own distinctive areas within it there's the lower City with that bright pink looking brick work large statues and wooden ramp Parts the herc Canan Forest that feels more natural and interweaves small cave networks with climbable vines between large open valleys usually occupied by deadly beasts the mysterious sacred archives with its toggling platforms and deadly librarian the horrors of the depths the pirate infested sunken Harbor and plenty more I was pleasantly surprised by just how huge this game ended up being especially considering how large each of these little boxes on the map can appear when you're actually standing there you'll also spend a great deal of time venturing back and forth through these many zones too as any new found tool or ability can often be used to complete obstacles that would have otherwise been impossible I especially like the addition addition of this unique memory feature that lets you take a screen grab of a location and instantly pin it to the map for later reference making it much easier to keep tabs on all those secrets you plan on returning to later to assist further Mount cough features several check points throughout known as wack whack trees once activated A Wack whack tree will instantly restore all the players health potions and arrows it will then serve as the active respawn point should the player trigger a game over screen fast travel stations can also be activated throughout Mount cough though there's probably about one of these for every three wack whack trees so it's still a good idea to tag a tree whenever you see these Golden Leaves floating around nearby in true Prince of Persia fashion players will also encounter a multitude of different deadly traps that will demand expert understanding of the game's various controls and mechanics players can swing on high bars Dash through spikes bounce off walls and teleport through G greats all while dodging deadly spinning blades pendulums and other inventive obstacles the game really does throw all at can at you regularly with long winding Pathways of non-stop platforming that demand near perfect Precision with instant death awaiting those that hesitate or just aren't paying attention however the Lost Crown doesn't waste your time either and if you happen to fail one of these challenging gauntlets of traps you're not stuck redoing the entire level like before instead you'll respawn immediately at the last firm foothold you were on with only a small bit of Health taken away though again if the player manages to lose all of their health they'll then be sent back to the nearest whack whack tree before they can try again the platforming overall feels really good the movement and controls are incredibly responsive with no delay when running or jumping off of Ledges and helpful automatic vaulting to save players that land a bit short once players unlock all the abilities the the platforming gets even more crazy with lots of dashes and double jumps that mixed together can only be used once per jump until they've been reset by landing on another surface whether that be the ground or a wall there were some platforming challenges that were so crazy I wasn't even sure if they were actually intended but often I would find a carefully hidden treasure or useful item hidden off the beaten path encouraging constant experimentation whenever given the chance also true to the prince of Persian name is its Reliance on combat and the lost Crown delivers in a big Way Gone are the awkward dedicated combat zones of old replaced instead by a more modern and wildly chaotic new take on sword play that does a great job of pushing both the combat and platforming mechanics together making it all feel more seamless as a result the controls should be easy for anyone to pick up on right away with the square or x button depending on the platform form being used for the standard slash attacks with standard combos of up to three hits players can alternatively hold the attack button to charge their attack which is useful for breaking an enemy's defenses or they can launch the enemy into the air with a well timed slide and kick maneuver allowing for aerial jugles to deal massive damage if the player manages to attack and deflect enough they'll eventually charge up their aom meter seen here in the bottom right corner which they can use to unleash devastating a surge attacks depending on the level of a saved up these can be game changers and more challenging fights as bigger more powerful a surges can be used to repel deadly enemy attacks and drain the boss's Health significantly if time correctly on the defensive side of things players aren't given a dedicated hold to block button like in the old games but they can at least Parry attacks if they time it carefully and and can even trigger a cinematic takedown animation when used in conjunction with an enemy's yellow indicated attacks for ATT attacks where the enemy's eyes flash red the player will be forced to dodge which can either be done backwards or forwards by default it's a fairly formulaic approach to combat that we've seen time and time again though it fits the action here so perfectly that it's hard to picture it being done any other way every encounter is incredibly satisfying with great sound and visual effects accompanying every strike and stylish animations playing out for the bigger hits that really drives home the art directions obvious anime influence and like the platforming the combat felt consistently Fair all throughout with every hit being easily understood as being a failure on my part to use the proper counter to do this players will need to master each of the games many enemy types as they all offer their own unique set of attacks and capabilities to set them apart from from one another you can expect all the classic enemy types like your standard Persian soldiers skeletons and even those flying Medusa heads that I seriously can't believe a developer at ubby thought to bring back though there's also lots of new enemy types here to keep you on your toes many of which I wouldn't even know where to begin to properly describe there's some really great creature designs found working throughout Mount cough and as you find new abilities and amulets you'll steadily be able to crush them all in true Metroid Vania form this extends to the game's various boss battles too that do a great job of testing the players knowledge of all the skills that they've learned so far with dozens of different attacks that should become all too familiar with each restart from a checkpoint each boss also features their own multiple phases too that gradually build on previously established move sets with more complex variations giving skilled players plenty of opportunity to understand attack patterns and adapt without having to resort to tedious trial and error the combat overall just feels really good it's hard to really find anything at fault with it I feel the Parry system can be a bit unforgiving with its timing requiring near Flawless timing to use properly and because many of the boss's attacks use variations of red and yellow for the coloration of the attacks it can be a bit confusing where and when parry's should actually be applied and when a player should just run for their life but I managed to get through all the games enemies without too much difficulty with only a few retries per boss before learning their patterns another big part of the Lost Crown in really any game nowadays is its player progression the player progression here is refreshingly a lot more simple than I anticipated going into this I fully expected the same old tired skill tree menu with three tiers of different unlockable abilities pertaining to something like Health combat and platforming but that wasn't the case at all you can freely jump and wall jump off of things right from the get-go and all the combat systems are ready for you to begin mastering as soon as you see an enemy to swing at however the Lost Crown does substitute a new amulet system instead that using a set number of slots allows you to customize your play style using a series of found passive perks to make the system more interesting more powerful amulets consume multiple amulet slots meaning players will need to plan out their amulet configuration carefully to complement how they want to play alongside the amulets players can also upgrade their health and Potions too the health bar can be extended by finding these golden flower petals with four of them together being enough to add one more bar to the top of the screen with enough time crystals the little old lady in the Haven Hub area will give the player additional healing potions and improve their effectiveness both of which become crucial upgrades to have when surviving against lengthy boss battles with multiple phases your weapons can also be upgraded too thanks to the master blacksmith kaha who will boost their damage along with the capabilities of most amulets for a price but aside from all that most of the Lost crowns progression centers around the acquisition of new abilities throughout the course of the game story following Clues and discovering bosses necessary to progress the story line are key to accessing more of Mount cof secrets and doubling back to previously explored areas to achieve power ful items like hidden amulet slot upgrades flower pedals and upgrade resources are key to becoming an Unstoppable Legend there's also a few cosmetic unlocks hidden throughout the world too though I will say that these are a bit disappointing considering they basically only ever change the color palette of Sargon and rarely actually add any cool looking bits of armor finally let's talk about the overall presentation interestingly the Lost Crown takes a far more simp listic approach to its art Direction that's a far cry from The series's techical Innovation back during the 2000s the art style favors very broad Strokes for every texture and low poly counts with more bold edges and increased detail across wider scenes helping to make up the difference for the most part it works extremely well areas filled with hundreds of spikes all look great thanks to the stylistic placement of those spikes in the array all the artwork throughout similarly brings a lot of character to each respective region firmly separating each and every room and preventing any two corridors from ever feeling the same unintentionally I especially loved this C port on the far East Side that features an absolutely beautiful Frozen in Time scene that players will get a chance to platform through which really solidified this to me as something special unfortunately there were a few tactical hiccups I experienced that while not necessarily gamebreaking were definitely detractors to some degree first there were several in-game cut scenes where the lip sync just seemed off or not working at all it's unclear if some of these scenes were intended to only play out within sargon's mind or something but sometimes I could swear I saw the character's lips move when the shot transitioned leading me to believe that it wasn't triggered properly there was also a moment about Midway through when returning to the beginning of the game to look for secrets that I appeared to trigger this opening cinematic a second time which also seemed to reset parts of the game including these doors that were sealed shut thankfully once I found an alternate route out of this area things seemed to go back to normal but I was afraid that I was about one door away from having this type of bug completely break all of my autosaved progress then there were a few smaller bugs I encountered like this one side mission that failed to trigger properly after completing the objective other times it seemed like the sound wasn't functioning properly withar large spinning blades like this one not emitting any sound at all even the music seemed to bug out towards the end of the game with only low-end instruments like Bas and cello being audible in the final few cinematics but aside from those bugs that have already been forwarded over to Ubisoft for a possible fix I didn't really experience any other issues the combat and platforming felt perfectly clean from beginning to end I never glitched through any geometry all the puzzles worked as intended and the enemies all behaved as expected too it all just came together so well that it made those other previously mentioned bugs stand out so much more the game also runs near flawlessly on the PC which judging by the simplistic art style should come as no surprise at a native 4K resolution with the very simple graphic setting cranked up to its highest option I experienced a buttery smooth gameplay experience most of the way through there were a few rare instances where it felt as though the game wasn't quite as smooth and I'll need to go back and run through some frame analysis tools to double check though I'd also like to see how it runs on the PS5 once my physical copy comes in the mail until then the game should be easily playable on most modern computer hardware and will likely have a consistent visual appearance regardless of the platform you choose so overall Prince of Persia the Lost Crown is another absolute must own to add to your growing backlog this is without question one of the best Prince of Persia games to have ever been made and it's a welcome return to form for not just the series but for Ubisoft as well the game looks great the story is engaging and fun without being overbearing and the gameplay will keep you hooked from beginning to end and then some the game should take you a little over 20 hours to beat on a normal playthrough 25 or more if you plan on searching for all those Secrets though its reasonable length and highly addictive format makes it great for repeat playthroughs too and hearkens back to a simpler time where you'd actually want to experience a fun game a second time around whether or not that's actually worth the game's $50 base asking price is still up to you but for me I enjoyed my time playing this game so much that I ended up buying a physical copy myself for the PS5 to add to my collection and I've already plann on doing another playthrough soon as I work on my upcoming documentary on the entire history of the Prince of Persia series but in the meantime what do you guys think are you interested in this new take on the classic Prince of Persia formula let me know in the comments section and don't forget to like And subscribe for more content posted every week

Channel: Nick930

Views: 16,848

Keywords: Prince of Persia, PoP, The Lost Crown, Review, Analysis, Gameplay, Overview, Detailed, Nick930, Sargon, Immortals, Persia, Prince, Arabia, Aladdin, Sands of Time, Ubisoft, Platformer, Combat, Weapons, Unlocks, Skins, DLC, Expansion, Jordan Mechner, Lost Crown, PS5, XboxSeriesX, PC, Ultra, 4K, New, Game, Video Game, PlayStation, Sony, Ubi

Id: 1b_qS8QdIH4

Length: 21min 55sec (1315 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 13 2024