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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown marks the first time the action-adventure franchise heads into Metroidvania territory – and while it might not manage to rank among the best of the genre, it certainly is one of the best Metroidvania titles in recent memory, especially if played on a SteamDeck
It's no secret that the Metroidvania genre has only received limited attention from AAA developers in the last few years: Apart from the amazing Metroid Dread releasing to critical acclaim in 2021 (and also becoming the best-selling game in the series), most contributions to the genre have been from indie developers who brought us masterfully-crafted gems like Hollow Knight (2017) or Ori and the Will of the Wisps (2020). Coming from this, it's quite surprising that Ubisoft of all AAA publishers - mostly known for releasing one formulaic open-world game after another these days – would be the next to release an entirely new Metroidvania title. The surprises didn’t stop there however: Lost Crown wasn’t only an AAA Metroidvania game - as it turns out, it also was supposed to be the next step for the Prince of Persia franchise (which, by this point, had not received a new mainline entry since 2010’s The Forgotten Sands).
As a big fan of the genre, I had to give the game a try - and after 100%ing it in terms of achievements in 22 hours, I’m happy to say that I’m glad I did: Lost Crown is a well-crafted 2.5D Metroidvania experience with a focus on platforming. While not entirely without faults, it strikes a good balance between optional exploring and continuing the story: On one hand, it’s filled to the brim with optional challenges and secrets with mostly useful rewards - I could’ve done without the occasional cosmetic reward, especially since you never know what you get before attempting these challenges. On the other hand, the game also includes optional systems to make sure that players always get to know where to head next if they want to – either through an NPC selling hints or a HUD setting that marks the next story location on your map. As a result, players themselves can influence just how straightforward the game should be – a great design choice since it makes the game appealing for both fans of the genre and those who never played a Metroidvania game before.
This sentiment continues when it comes to the map you obtain early in the game: I was very impressed by how Lost Crown handles one of the genres most important aspects. While the map is automatically updated as you enter new corridors, caves and chambers, there’s an NPC hidden in every area of the game that – once found – sells you an item which updates your map with the silhouette of all rooms in the area if you want to. Apart from allowing you to place up to 100 different markers on your map from the get-go, Lost Crown also offers a great and innovative mechanic for remembering certain places you might want to come back to later: The “Eye of the Wanderer” allows you to take a snapshot of your surroundings anywhere in the game, which is then pinned to your map – a great way to make sure your future-you will know when to come back to that one oddly glowing spot.
However, aside from these great map-tools for exploration, it has to be noted that Lost Crown is a Metroidvania game that focusses on platforming: Most of the ability upgrades you will encounter throughout the game are about increasing protagonist Sargon’s mobility. While there are hidden rooms and small puzzles you mostly solve by thinking instead of moving, you’ll notice most unreachable areas through gaps in the floor too wide to cross or walls that appear too high to jump over. Many of the optional challenges are also about avoiding increasingly annoyingly placed spikes and other environmental hazards than fighting tough enemies or solving more complicated puzzles. While I personally enjoyed the smooth and rewarding platforming that offers you a lot more options as you progress, Lost Crown isn’t a great game for players who heavily dislike jump ‘n run sections.
Aside from the platforming, Lost Crown offers a surprisingly deep combat system, which consists out of attacks that should be chained into combos, special attacks after dealing enough damage and ranged options. One of the NPCs even teaches you how to implement new abilities into the existing combo options as well! In terms of defending, attacks from enemies and bosses either need to be evaded (red indicators) or can be parried with the right timing (white indicators) – sometimes even allowing for especially powerful parries that damage enemies and prompt a short cutscene (yellow indicators). Additionally, Sargon can find & use various amulets with various benefits (e.g. more sword damage, more health, more damage but decreased health, etc.) throughout the game that allow you to customise your playstyle. Combine all of this and you got a decent combat system with a nice flow to it – react to enemy attacks by either evading or parrying and strike when the time is right.
As usual for the genre, the combat system shines especially when it comes to bosses, of which Lost Crown offers nine – all of which are a great time but that’s especially why I was disappointed by their low number. While there are quite a few “normal” enemy types in the game, they unfortunately aren’t nearly as interesting which is why I didn’t even bother fighting them in the end.
Unfortunately this isn’t the only aspect of Lost Crown I found lacking: While I wasn’t surprised by the unimpressive and partially predictable story with mostly flat characters – as this isn’t an uncommon occurrence in the genre - I was disappointed by the lacking atmosphere, however. The soundtrack isn’t memorable apart from one or two pieces and despite the game taking place on a mountain that’s frozen in time, there’s only one area that incorporates this aspect in a fascinating way – by forcing you to make your way through a time-frozen naval battle during a storm. The rest of the game is less creatively designed however, with disappointingly generic locations like a sewer or temple interiors.
Additionally, even though the game runs like a dream on a SteamDeck right out of the box (80+ FPS on my OLED) while also looking quite appealing with its fitting art style, I encountered a few graphical glitches, especially when using special attacks. The Steam achievements for the game also seem to be bugged, I had to replay parts of the early game in order to properly unlock them.
Still, despite its faults, Lost Crown is a decent Metroidvania with a few smart ideas as long as you don’t mind the focus on platforming. The movement options at the end of the game are exceptional and combat flows quite nicely from the beginning. And even though I wish exploration was less about just jumping even higher or further, Lost Crown offers a healthy amount of optional content from side quests to hidden rooms or rewards awaiting behind small challenges. Lost Crown might be Ubisoft’s most creative game in a long time and a great first attempt at a Metroidvania title. Unfortunately, it did turn out to be a one-time experiment as the team didn't get to do a sequel in order to improve upon the formula even more.