Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is due to release in just a few days on January 15, but after briefly jumping through the Metroidvania's new demo, some hopefuls are already convinced that it's the refresh the series needed.
The sands of time can be a tricky thing to follow, so let's run the dial back for the uninitiated. Ubisoft's The Lost Crown retains the series' acrobatic platforming, time-twisting abilities, and alternate magical setting - but plants all that into a side-scrolling Metroidvania world that has more in common with the Ori games than the publisher's own Assassin's Creed.
That's certainly a far cry from the series' third-person action-platformer roots, justifying some initial skepticism, but after trying out The Lost Crown's newly-released demo, longtime fans are hopeful it "might bring the franchise back to life."
Praise for the demo is more permeating than sand in the series' subreddit, with one post declaring the game could "rejuvenate and bring relevancy to the series once more." Prince of Persia has been mostly absent from the limelight since its 2010 reboot (and the whitewashed film adaptation I'd rather forget), so a comeback is long overdue. Redditor panthers_freak reveals they "decided to preorder after playing [the demo] for 10 minutes."
Seems no one mentioned this, but the music of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is full of Iranian music influences and sidesteps the stereotypical "Arabic music" entirely.Turns out it was composed by an Iranian-born Muslim woman called @mentrixmusic! Make her name known!! pic.twitter.com/BZKIeXemzuJanuary 12, 2024
Other praise-worthy aspects include an innovative map feature and its beautiful soundtrack - courtesy of Gareth Coker, who's no stranger to soaring platformers after his work on Ori and the Blind Forest, and the Iranian-born Mentrix, who pushes the music past the stereotypical sounds that usually accompany Middle Eastern games from the Big Big Studios.
Fans aren't alone in their praise, though. Gamesradar's Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown review said it was "filled with intrigue, neat brain-teasing puzzles, masterful platforming, and spectacle-fueled boss battles." That quality should come as no surprise since The Lost Crown comes from Ubisoft Montpellier, the studio behind bangers such as Rayman Legends and Valiant Hearts. Hopefully the full game can make just as big a mark as the brief demo.
Perhaps The Lost Crown can join our best Metroidvania rankings.
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