System: Swap
Launch date: January 18, 2024
Developer: Ubisoft
Writer: Ubisoft
Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown got here as one thing of a shock when it was introduced throughout Summer time Sport Fest final 12 months. The collection had been in an odd state of partially suspended animation as much as that time, with the final mainline entry on consoles being 2010’s The Forgotten Sands, and the one different exercise being largely ignored cellular spinoffs and the obscure guarantees of a remake of the primary sport within the collection. A model new 2.5D entry was most likely the very last thing anybody anticipated, and whereas The Misplaced Crown received’t be the sport that many followers had been asking for, it nonetheless stands out as a unbelievable entry within the collection that’s greater than value your time.
The Misplaced Crown tells the story of Sargon, the youngest member of a bunch of warriors referred to as The Immortals. After Prince Ghassan, inheritor obvious to the throne, is kidnapped by certainly one of their very own, Sargon should enterprise into Mount Qaf to rescue him. Issues should not as they appear throughout the cursed mountain nevertheless, as time works in mysterious methods inside: years cross like seconds, and previous and future can intertwine with sudden outcomes. After pulling you in with an explosive cinematic opener The Misplaced Crown’s narrative is content material to take a backseat, revealing itself in small cutscenes as you discover.
A small menagerie of characters, together with Sargon’s fellow Immortals, are scattered all through the sport’s world, which pulls from Persian mythology to color an intricately detailed and lore-rich world in the event you take the time to discover and uncover all of it. Though the extra necessary, plot-relevant particulars are sometimes inscribed upon stone tablets in full view as you discover, I discovered that the smaller lore objects that weren’t plot related usually made issues really feel extra alive. Though it has some twists to it, I felt the central story lacked the wanted character depth to be particularly compelling. Little or no time is devoted to constructing the motivation and backstory of the broader forged past Sargon and the sport’s central antagonist, making your encounters with them over the course of the story really feel extra like forgettable taste textual content than vital milestones.
In contrast to its most up-to-date predecessors, The Misplaced Crown is a 2.5D side-scrolling motion platformer, which provides the platforming its personal distinctive taste and signifies that a higher degree of precision is usually required to beat the varied obstacles that it throws at you. Many of the powers that you simply purchase over the course of the sport are geared in direction of enhancing your platforming capabilities, though there may be some gentle puzzle fixing concerned every now and then that requires you to control objects within the surroundings slightly than keep away from them. Whereas the controls are responsive and exact, making failure really feel extra like a studying expertise than the product of unhealthy sport design, I did really feel that among the extra fascinating powers had been a bit of underutilized, as a consequence of each the late level at which you purchase them and the heavier deal with platforming over puzzle fixing: the Dimensional Claw, which permits you seize and launch objects and enemies, stands out specifically right here as an fascinating concept that’s by no means totally realized after its preliminary introduction, with its solely utility being to seize some explosive enemies to throw them at destructible partitions.
Fight within the sport is fluid and extremely cinematic with a heavy emphasis on combo assaults, dodging, and parrying; bigger enemies will usually block Sargon’s assaults to discourage button-mashing, and have completely different assault sorts that may must be approached in a selected manner: assaults following a crimson flash are unblockable, and those who observe a yellow flash will be parried for a small cinematic cutscene. Selection comes within the type of Amulets, which yow will discover scattered across the map or buy from the service provider within the Haven space, that present exploration or combat-based advantages to allow you to alter your abilites to both fit your playstyle or present scenario; as a consequence of restricted slot areas, you can be unable to equip each Amulet you come throughout unexpectedly. This provides a pleasant aspect of technique that turns into particularly related when enjoying on larger difficulties. You even have entry to particular assaults in Athra Surges, which will be unleashed when you’ve constructed up the meter by means of fight encounters – by default this can improve or lower relying on how a lot harm you give and obtain, however you possibly can disable the discount, in addition to alter the speed at which it builds up.
Regardless of advertising itself as a side-scrolling motion platformer, the sport’s map design attracts very closely from the Metroidvania style, and that is usually essentially the most distinguished side of the title. Exploration in The Misplaced Crown is remarkably freeform, and it was uncommon that I discovered myself unable to progress. Development blocks do exist, as you’ll require talents gained after defeating bosses as a way to entry some areas, however these are few and much between, and there are branching goals later within the sport that you would be able to sort out in whichever order you see match, providing you with some company over the best way that you simply discover. There may be little or no gameplay selection between every of the biomes of Mount Qaf nevertheless, which is a bit of disappointing.
Nonetheless, the Metroidvania facets of the title are felt most keenly from the quantity of backtracking that it requires you to do, the extreme variety of hidden collectibles, and simply how straightforward it’s to get misplaced. At instances, exploring Mount Qaf can really feel like a needlessly overwhelming and exhausting activity, slowing the pacing to a crawl. Though Wak-Wak Bushes are generously spaced to forestall the frustration of needing to trek throughout half the map to get again to the purpose the place you beforehand died, quick journey factors are few and much between, which means you’ll usually want to do that anyway to achieve your subsequent goal.
I couldn’t assist however really feel at instances after spending a number of minutes backtracking by means of a number of rooms of convoluted platforming and waves of enemies that the extra elegant resolution to this could have been merely to permit the participant to warp between Wak-Wak Bushes as an alternative. Even using “Guided Mode” I discovered myself taking very roundabout routes as a way to get to the target marker, which was the one profit that the mode supplied; unexplored areas of the map remaining unhelpfully clean. Fariba will promote you a neighborhood map of the realm you’re in, however you’ll have to seek out her in that space first, which is less complicated mentioned than carried out except you meticulously scour each nook of an space as you progress. Though uncovering the map was usually satisfying, extra may have been added to Guided Mode to make it a extra distinct expertise; it solely gives you a normal course slightly than extra particular directions, which is one thing gamers trying to focus extra on different components of the sport might need to remember.
For completionists, so that you simply received’t overlook factors of curiosity you possibly can’t but attain, the sport will allow you to take a screenshot of an space on the map with the Reminiscence Shard characteristic, however that is restricted to a restricted variety of instances. You’ll have to depend on generic image marks and the in-game tracker of what number of collectibles you’ve acquired in an space if you wish to discover every part the sport has to supply in the event you run out of Reminiscence Shards, which is a really clunky technique of preserving monitor of collectibles and exploration. That is mitigated considerably by the character of the collectibles themselves nevertheless, with all of them serving a objective both as a part of one of many sport’s intensive sidequests, or as a small tidbit that fleshes out the lore. Each feels proportionately rewarding: if you must run by means of a tricky platforming section, you possibly can relaxation assured that the reward will probably be one thing extra vital that may enhance your fight capabilities or survivability.
The Misplaced Crown has a staggering array of accessibility choices that I want had been normal apply for gaming as an entire, not simply Metroidvanias. Alongside the advisable problem modes, you can even individually alter parameters your self, together with participant and enemy harm, enemy well being, parry timing, and Athra accumulation, which may utterly change the expertise relying upon your preferences. A excessive distinction mode and HUD scale are additionally included, though the sport sadly gives solely two font selections and there isn’t an enormous distinction between them.
The sport additionally permits you to bypass most of its platforming sections with Platforming Help, which creates portals you possibly can enter to simply soar proper previous them to the subsequent room. I discovered this to be a really welcome choice certainly as a result of it has an abundance of prompt demise hazards that may see you unceremoniously dumped again onto the final piece of strong floor you touched. The choice to skip them outright doesn’t make these segments really feel any much less unbalanced in the event you select to take them head-on nevertheless. Not all of those segments are skippable both, which arguably makes those you possibly can’t skip way more irritating due to it. The sport additionally options quite a lot of surprisingly tough platforming-based puzzles that require a degree of velocity and precision that will journey up some gamers, and with all of the accessibility choices the sport gives, it stands out barely that the choice to skip these puzzles wasn’t included. To some these will merely be one other a part of the expertise, however in the event you want to deal with fight this may very well be a degree value contemplating.
The Misplaced Crown is kind of a placing sport visually, though only some of its biomes are visually distinct, and there’s a notable lack of texture in some locations, particularly on the character fashions when considered shut up. However for a strong 60fps efficiency in each docked and handheld, many (myself included) would take into account this anticipated discount in visible high quality a value greater than value paying, and greater than many third-party Swap titles have delivered in recent times. The one noteworthy load instances happen when fast-traveling between areas, however these are a number of seconds at most, and I did discover a slight lag when transitioning between fight and one of many extra dynamic cutscenes. These are minor complaints within the grand scheme of issues nevertheless, and do little to tarnish the general expertise.
The Verdict
Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown received’t be the franchise revival that many followers could have needed, and it doesn’t break the mould in any noteworthy trend as both a side-scrolling motion platformer or Metroidvania. Nonetheless, it doesn’t actually need to, and it stands out as probably the most fantastically accessible titles within the style because of its plethora of choices that cater to gamers of all talent sorts and temperaments, prioritizing a person’s expertise and sense of enjoyable. It gives some very polarized selections to that finish, however the truth that it gives them in any respect is noteworthy. Though it’s let down barely by its visuals in comparison variations on different programs, its efficiency on Swap is near-perfect, and makes each its fight and platforming really feel easy and satisfying all through. It might not be the sport that followers had been anticipating, nevertheless it greater than lives as much as the legacy of its predecessors.
Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown copy supplied by the writer for the needs of this overview.