Ubisoft’s quintessential Prince of Persia franchise has finally started to make its comeback, and the Rogue Prince of Persia is one of the newer courses on the menu. Like the classic Prince of Persia games and The Lost Crown, it marks a return to the 2D-styled roots of the franchise, albeit with a more modern twist.
This also marks the first time that the Rogue Prince of Persia has left early access, and version 1.0 brings with it many new changes and additions – with many requested features making an appearance.
Overall though, despite some glaring issues, the Rogue Prince of Persia is still a fantastic game, and something I can wholeheartedly recommend, even for those new to the rogue-lite genre.
A Fantastic 2D Side-Scroller With Rogue-Like Elements
The Rogue Prince of Persia is a side-scroller. This means, unlike the PS2-era Prince of Persia games, this particular iteration is 2D only, much akin to that of The Lost Crown.
While I wouldn’t call myself particularly well-versed in the 2D games of the franchise, The Rogue Prince of Persia feels fantastic out of the box with a controller, and plays like your standard platformer. Can’t say the same about keyboard controls though, they feel a bit awkward for this type of game – but that is to be expected.
Evil Empire’s expertise shines through here, and Rogue Prince of Persia brings elements from the critically acclaimed Dead Cells and Return to Castlevania in full force here. The game most certainly plays like a rogue-lite and has all the landmark features, which might alienate some.
Progression is ‘sort of’ carried over between runs. Each death resets the level count, but you retain your memories and skills, which allows for some self-improvement. Progressing through the skill tree and upgrading weapons is crucial to ensuring smoother runs.
It’s a rather unique formula, and most certainly enjoyable.
Combat and Traversal Are Your Major Areas of Focus
Another key area in which the Rogue Prince of Persia differentiates itself from its peers is in its combat, which has a heavier focus than usual. It also feels swift and impactful – blending in quite nicely with the platforming, which can result in some rather satisfying combos.
The inspiration from the 3D Prince of Persia series is quite evident here, and translates well into the combat, with a rather simple yet effective combat loop.
With deadly traps, intense platforming challenges, and just the right amount of combat sprinkled in between, the game has unique challenges to keep you entertained. Rogue Prince of Persia also doesn’t enforce its combat, making (almost) all encounters skippable. Just run away from the enemies, at the cost of your pride.
Still, skipping those fights feels like a disservice, and they’re usually easy to deal with – if you don’t get surrounded, that is. This brings me to my first complaint – the combat largely depends on enemy positioning over skill.
Hopefully Evil Empire can release a future DLC that executes it a bit better. Something to look forward to, I suppose.
As far as platforming goes, it is the meat and potatoes of the game. Platforming is, in a word, flawless, and is also quite stylish to boot. The Prince also has access to a gauntlet that lets him scrape down the walls, a neat reference to the underrated 2008 Prince of Persia game.
Combat and traversal are perhaps the game’s strongest points here.
The Art and Sound Design Are Simply Superb
The Rogue Prince of Persia looks amazing, and the fluid animations complement it well. The game feels like it’s straight out of a painting and has a fun, hand-drawn aesthetic. Each movement feels fantastic, and the parkour has a strange sense of continuity. The fun part, however, is learning how to execute all these moves in quick succession.
While the Prince and the general environment do look rather fantastic, the enemy design could be a lot better. Enemies feel copy-pasted across the different levels, and the variety is simply missing. The boss fights open up a bit more in this regard, though, and offer both a variety of moves and phases, even if they can be a little bit repetitive.
Sound is also an important part of video game design, and the Rogue Prince of Persia does not disappoint here either. The soundtrack consists of interspersed lo-fi bits, which makes it quite a great listen. As far as the soundscape is concerned, it does an admirable job here as well.
Conclusion: A Solid Game That Deserves All Praise
The Rogue Prince of Persia is a solid rogue-lite that deserves every bit of attention it has garnered over its early access period, and then some. The folks at Evil Empire have managed to craft a beautiful entry in the Prince of Persia series that also manages to stand out on its own, offering a unique experience like no other.
It’s not without its faults, though. Enemy design is quite lacklustre, and certain parts of the game feel like they could use a bit more polish. I also have a gripe with its difficulty system, which can get annoying to get used to at first, along with some minor nitpicks regarding the control scheme, but that’s just (again) nitpicking.
Given that it is a rogue-lite, the Rogue Prince of Persia isn’t a game you can expect to get good at on your first try. Building your character requires time and patience, and investing in both abilities and skills makes for a massive difference.
That’s not a bad thing though, as the game is pretty easy to navigate and progress through. Nothing feels too obtuse, even if the opening few hours are quite drab.
All in all, the Rogue Prince of Persia is a fantastic little game, even with its little quirks and is definitely worth trying out.
Reviewed On: PC
Code Provided By: Ubisoft
