Ubisoft
Prince of Persia : The Lost Crownis afantastic Metroidvania reimaginingof the historic series , but it is far from the first reinvention the enfranchisement has seen under Ubisoft . The most iconic one was 2003’sThe Sands of Time , which Ubisoft is presently remaking . That ’s not the one I decided to play after beating and adoringThe Lost Crown , though . That honour goes to 2008’sPrince of Persia .
I spottedPrince of Persiaon sale for about $ 8 a couple of months ago at my local independent game store . I knew nothing about it at the time , outside of the fact that it was a turn controversial for its want of difficulty and epilogue DLC at the time of freeing , but I decided to pick it up in case I had the itch to attempt to play more Prince of Persia afterThe Lost Crown . I gave it a shot over a long vacation weekend , expecting a dated teaser platformer that story would have understandably blank out .
Ubisoft
Instead , I discovered a third - mortal action game that would lay a design that serial like The Last of Us , God of War , and Star Wars Jedi would follow . In 2008 , Ubisoft Montreal predicted where third - person , story - focus action games would go over the next tenner . It ’s time the studio gets some credit for that .
spoiler for 2008 ’s Prince of Persia follow .
Ahead of its time
Prince of Persiabegins with the titular case bumble into a conflict between a daughter and her father . Princess Elika ’s father has buckle under to the influence of Ahriman , the god of dark , and in pursuit of Elika , he ruin the Tree of Life . To prevent Ahriman from being completely fix free , the Prince decides to help Elika heal Fertile Grounds around her kingdom so Ahriman can be locked away in the Tree of Life again . It ’s a swashbuckling phantasy premise about bad fathers and find family that arrived years before those became more common theme in game .
In some ways , Prince of Persiais also the first Metroidvania plot in the series . actor have some exemption in choosing which Fertile ground to heal . Along the way , players must garner Light Seeds , which are spent to unlock new king that enable progress , like what we see inThe Lost Crown .
Prince of Persiawas released just a year afterUncharted : Drake ’s FortuneandAssassin ’s Creed , so some climb and platforming is n’t quite as smooth as in those games , and it features some eccentricities in how controls are map . Still , I could see how the emphasis on free - flux effort had an influence on future games like Respawn Entertainment ’s Star Wars Jedi duology . The elephantine drill fight fromStar war Jedi : Survivordraws from Prince of Persia ’s flight ability . It does n’t get virtually the same cite as a pioneer of runny , moderately naturalistic human movement in 3D activity game as Assassin ’s Creed and Uncharted do , but it ’s a enchanting look at a modern third - person action platformer in its nascent stage .
Also ahead of its time is how Elika is incorporated into gameplay . Elika is always with players and can even help out in a fight . This was long before games likeThe Last of UsandGod of Warwould garner eclat for similar systems . More importantly , it ’s impossible to perish inPrince of Persia .
If players miss a jump , Elika will grab them and play them back to the last platform with stable basis . If the player falls in scrap , Elika instantly revive the player , with the only punishment being that the enemy regains some wellness . This approach to difficultness was derided in 2008;Wired saidthe secret plan “ lose something pregnant ” by include these features . look at these mechanic in 2024 , this gameplay system feels astonishingly forward - thinking . It makesPrince of Persiaa more approachable secret plan , even today . It makes me wish I ’d played this hide jewel when it came out , as my younger self would have appreciated its approach to difficultness . Sixteen year by and by , a Prince of Persia game is once again being lauded for itsapproach to accessibility , which the gambling industriousness takes a portion more earnestly now .
Combat is the most dated face ofPrince of Persia . It essay to be very cinematic with simple combos , a lack of fail Department of State , and heaps of speedy - prison term case with limited camera angle . It suffers from repetition as role player are only fighting the same five or so enemies throughout most of the game . IfPrince of Persiawas made today , I think it would imbibe upon the Souls series ’ combat , just as the modern God of War and Star Wars Jedi games have . It represents an earned run average in which 3D action games were attempting to become more engaging and cinematic — an experimental center betweenDevil May CryandDemon ’s Souls .
The first of us
All those elements already cementPrince of Persiaas a enshroud jewel in my eyes , one that ’s deserving check out in 2023 . But when I thought the game had no more to give , I was boggle by its ending .
The Prince and Elika grow closer throughout the adventure , and the Prince eventually learns that the King yield to Ahriman after Elika died . He resurrect her , which award Elika the magical force she uses to help the Prince and heal Fertile Grounds over the course of the secret plan , but she is now a puppet of Ahriman . The Prince and Elika continue to work together and finally stop her begetter , but Elika understands that to restore the Tree of Life , she has to give up her own life and energy to it .
She does so , much to the Prince ’s shock and disappointment . Credits roll over gameplay as the Prince tardily carry Elika out of the temple where the last scrap occurrs . It ’s a import not too unlike the cite of 2018’sGod of War , when Kratos walks back down the quite a little on Jotumheim with his Logos , knowing his death is potentially inevitable . trust that Ahriman will eventually be freed again in some way as the god is simply trapped and desire Elika back , the Prince disturb the dark side .
In the concluding post - credits gameplay segment ofPrince of Persia , thespian must cut trees around the synagogue , drain the life sentence from the land that they drop the whole game restoring . This gives the Prince the power to vivify Elika . but unleashes Ahriman upon the world . If that sounds conversant , it may be becauseThe Last of Uswas lauded for a similar ending five years by and by , when Joel remove a group of doctor who could save the universe because he does not want to miss Ellie .
For 2008 , it ’s a subversive and thought - provoking ending , potentially the first of its kind in a mainstream AAA action mechanism biz like this . It ’s not perfectly executed — it does n’t make do with the fallout of the Prince ’s conclusion quite as much asThe Last of Usdid with Joel ’s — butPrince of Persiawas still bold enough to tackle a heavy radical in that memorable moment .
Considering I did not know about this twist when I bring up up the game , I was floored whenPrince of Persiawrapped up like this . Why do n’t people babble about this ending more ? Well , it had a repute for being unfinished at the meter of release . Epilogue DLC was released a few months after launch , propose insight into what occur next to the Prince and Elika . It does n’t add a long ton to the story , and narratively , the base secret plan wraps up in a satisfying way as is . That did n’t dispel the idea that the game end on a cliffhanger because Ubisoft want to drag out the “ true termination ” in DLC .
Games can get off with building on their termination post - launch nowadays;Baldur ’s Gate 3andCyberpunk 2077both did that . It ’s another manner the video game manufacture was n’t quite ready for Prince of Persia in 2008 . It garneredsolid reviewsat release and go on to deal meg of copy , butPrince of Persiadoes not have the bequest it deserve today .
After aSands of Timefollow - up , calledThe Forgotten Sands , the series would lay sleeping untilThe Lost Crown’sreleaseon January 18 . Ubisoft decide to pursue more Assassin ’s Creed - stylus games rather than proceed this rebooted Prince of Persia series . Having not known much about it when I picked it up , I ca n’t stop thinking aboutPrince of Persia . I doubt Ubisoft will continue this story , but I do n’t think it needs to . Prince of Persiafrom 2008 and 2024’sThe Lost Crownare both proof that the series still has an influential place in the industry and can coexist with the like of Assassin ’s Creed . It ’s a series that should not be lost to the sands of fourth dimension .
