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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Review
2 years ago
General
Prince of Persia, for people who grew up in the 90s, this series was widely popular, from the critically acclaimed Sands of Time trilogy, to the original that started it, to even the often overlooked 2008 reboot, even the movie they spawned, this series has been around. And with the remake of Sands of Time under ice, we needed a new game. Enter The Lost crown.
You play as Sargon, youngest member of the Immortals, Persia's elite group of warriors. When the prince Ghassan is kidnapped by Sargon's mentor Anahita, he and the immortals race to where he was taken. Mount Qaf, a place where Time has shattered asunder.
The game is a metroidvania platformer, meaning sprawling landscapes, narrow corridors to explore, enemies to kill, loot to be found, backtracking to be had and a lot of collectibles. Sargon comes with his twin swords, and over time you get a bow, a chakram and a assort of other abilities, usually in the form amulets. Collecting these will help make your build stronger. From partying that creates a bubble to slow down time, or a charm that helps protect against poison, you will be collecting them to further refine your playstyle.
Along the way you will encounter man things, and some places you need to return to with new powers. The game offers memory stones, little pieces that let you take a photo of a location where you see a collectible you can't reach, simply use the stone and leave a mark on your map for later. The map itself is a simple design, and you can collect maps from a character named Fariba, who you find in spots, listen to her humming to find where she is. (Fun fact, the song Fariba is humming is actually the main theme of Prince of Persia '08)
Now there is one more aspect of the game, a power called Athra, basically your super move that comes in three levels. Using it let's you unleash a special move that can help turn the tide of a fight. And believe me, you need to learn the moves and pick your favorite, because they can come in clutch in a boss fight.
On that note, the boss fights are an intense match against big opponents, from a massive manicure, to humanoid bosses with their own crazy abilities. They will test your skill and many will destroy you. Thankfully you can restart the fight or return to a respawn point if you need to change your load out.
Finding the response areas is easy, as they have a trail of gold energy that will lead you to where they are, and usually some include a teleporting station that let you move around the world. Your main hub area is where you can go to purchase new items like healing potions, upgrades your gear, on top of training with your abilities so you can test out new combinations. Use it if you need a refresher.
Now the platforming for the game is crazy and at times you will get killed, don't get frustrated, especially as platforming is useful in certain places. But collecting items will require insane levels of patience and jumping, especially for locating side quests. Believe me I have nightmares of one in particular.
Now the abilities you get are pretty useful, from being able to double jump, to dashing, to even teleporting, you'll have a blast using them in combinations during combat and exploring. Don't be scared to look up a guide if you get stuck, trust me I needed to do it for collecting the last few collectibles.
Oh and one more thing, if you wanna one hundred percent the game, you can upgrade your amulet charms twice, it will cost money to do it but it you wanna get everything, you need to upgrade your stuff. But upgrading some charms can be the difference between success and failure so don't be scared to go on a grind for money.
All in all, I had a blast playing this game, it was a real return to the franchise and I hope this gives it the spark the series needs to make a return. I hope that we can get more of Sargon and his friends, or maybe a remake of a older game in the series, maybe that sequel to Prince of Persia '08 they teased a long time ago.
If you are a fan of the series, and love metroidvanias, or you wanna play a prince of persia game to scratch a itch, this game might be for you. All I say is good luck, you are gonna need it. Have fun too!
You play as Sargon, youngest member of the Immortals, Persia's elite group of warriors. When the prince Ghassan is kidnapped by Sargon's mentor Anahita, he and the immortals race to where he was taken. Mount Qaf, a place where Time has shattered asunder.
The game is a metroidvania platformer, meaning sprawling landscapes, narrow corridors to explore, enemies to kill, loot to be found, backtracking to be had and a lot of collectibles. Sargon comes with his twin swords, and over time you get a bow, a chakram and a assort of other abilities, usually in the form amulets. Collecting these will help make your build stronger. From partying that creates a bubble to slow down time, or a charm that helps protect against poison, you will be collecting them to further refine your playstyle.
Along the way you will encounter man things, and some places you need to return to with new powers. The game offers memory stones, little pieces that let you take a photo of a location where you see a collectible you can't reach, simply use the stone and leave a mark on your map for later. The map itself is a simple design, and you can collect maps from a character named Fariba, who you find in spots, listen to her humming to find where she is. (Fun fact, the song Fariba is humming is actually the main theme of Prince of Persia '08)
Now there is one more aspect of the game, a power called Athra, basically your super move that comes in three levels. Using it let's you unleash a special move that can help turn the tide of a fight. And believe me, you need to learn the moves and pick your favorite, because they can come in clutch in a boss fight.
On that note, the boss fights are an intense match against big opponents, from a massive manicure, to humanoid bosses with their own crazy abilities. They will test your skill and many will destroy you. Thankfully you can restart the fight or return to a respawn point if you need to change your load out.
Finding the response areas is easy, as they have a trail of gold energy that will lead you to where they are, and usually some include a teleporting station that let you move around the world. Your main hub area is where you can go to purchase new items like healing potions, upgrades your gear, on top of training with your abilities so you can test out new combinations. Use it if you need a refresher.
Now the platforming for the game is crazy and at times you will get killed, don't get frustrated, especially as platforming is useful in certain places. But collecting items will require insane levels of patience and jumping, especially for locating side quests. Believe me I have nightmares of one in particular.
Now the abilities you get are pretty useful, from being able to double jump, to dashing, to even teleporting, you'll have a blast using them in combinations during combat and exploring. Don't be scared to look up a guide if you get stuck, trust me I needed to do it for collecting the last few collectibles.
Oh and one more thing, if you wanna one hundred percent the game, you can upgrade your amulet charms twice, it will cost money to do it but it you wanna get everything, you need to upgrade your stuff. But upgrading some charms can be the difference between success and failure so don't be scared to go on a grind for money.
All in all, I had a blast playing this game, it was a real return to the franchise and I hope this gives it the spark the series needs to make a return. I hope that we can get more of Sargon and his friends, or maybe a remake of a older game in the series, maybe that sequel to Prince of Persia '08 they teased a long time ago.
If you are a fan of the series, and love metroidvanias, or you wanna play a prince of persia game to scratch a itch, this game might be for you. All I say is good luck, you are gonna need it. Have fun too!
