When I learned that another Prince of Persia 2D platformer was coming this year, I was a bit surprised. Then I learned it was Evil Empire collabing with Ubisoft for a new 2D roguelike in the Prince of Persia universe. Yes, please! Sure enough, any doubts I could have had about this were put to bed when Ubisoft and Evil Empire gave me an early look at The Rogue Prince of Persia. This is a 2D, side-scrolling, roguelike action platformer in the Prince of Persia IP that utilizes all of the lessons learned from working on Dead Cells over the years, and it is shaping up promising to say the least.
Save your home or die trying
The Rogue Prince of Persia puts us in the role of a titular prince yet again, this time with the city of Persia in serious turmoil from an invading army. The Huns have attacked and aim to raze it and its people to the ground. As the Prince, you set out with your sword, bow, and all of the acrobatics you can muster to put a stop to the rampage. But the Prince is just one man, and an honorable one at that. Events see him killed, sacrificing himself valiantly before he can fulfill his purpose, only for a magic artifact to sorcel him back to a pivotal point in time with all of the knowledge he gained intact.
It's from this context that Evil Empire assembles its roguelike. With every run, you depart from an oasis camp that serves as your starting base and source of weapons and resources you’ve gathered. Once you’re out in the city, your run begins and there’s no turning back. Using melee, limited ranged implements, and a wide variety of acrobatics, we rushed into Persia and began a stylish sprint to fight the Huns and overcome their raid.
When it comes to platforming and traversal, this game is stylish as all get-out. Of course, the Prince can jump, vault enemies, grab narrow wall poles to swing on them, and jump-dash up ledges to climb them, but if there’s a surface in the background, the Prince can also wall-run briefly on it and jump off to reach places no regular person could.
In combat, we handled a variety of weapons that included fast and combo-heavy daggers, a sword with bonuses for parrying foes, a spear that could be used in close combat or thrown as a ranged weapon and retrieved, and a massive and slow axe that dealt devastating hits. There were also an array of ranged weapons like bows, daggers, chakram, and more. In true roguelike fashion, as you go, you also collect leveled up gear that has higher attack or random bonus stats, as well various power-ups that can augment your abilities, such as one that would poison enemies if we parried and struck them immediately. There’s even a cool aspect where you can arrange the power-ups to gain bonuses out of them if you slot them together properly in your inventory.
Enemies were featured in a wide variety as well, including normal soldiers, bombers, armored beasts, and surly brutes. There were even enemies that tried to limit the Prince’s impeccable traversal, such as one that would sit on wall poles and strike at the Prince if you tried to jump at them. It all culminated in a deadly brute of a bullish boss that forced me to use all of the Prince’s mobility, the weapons and power-ups I’d gathered, and a little bit of luck if I was to beat him out and move forward. Dying meant going back to the Oasis and beginning again.
The whole experience was stylish throughout, with Evil Empire employing their trademark cartoonish animation and aesthetic to the world. The Hun-attacked Persian kingdom was awesome to see sprawled across the background as I ventured forth to some pretty fantastic and hype music to go with it.
Defy fate and save your kingdom
Top to bottom, I was floored by what Evil Empire and Ubisoft showed in The Rogue Prince of Persia. The developers are set to release the game into early access where they will continue to develop content and fixes with the help of the fans. Nonetheless, Evil Empire has said they feel confident in the foundation they’ve built and are excited to show players what this game can do. After having a taste, I’m inclined to agree. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown may have come out earlier this year, but fans absolutely should not skip on checking out The Rogue Prince of Persia as well. In the capable hands of the Dead Cells developers, this game is shaping up to be a different kind of excellence in the Prince of Persia universe.
This preview is based on an early PC version of the game presented in a remote event by the publisher. The Rogue Prince of Persia comes to PC early access on May 14, 2024.
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replyTJ Denzer posted a new article, The Rogue: Prince of Persia applies Evil Empire's roguelike expertise to a beloved franchise
