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The Rogue Prince of Persia is the befittingly named Prince of Persia roguelike , which was make grow by Evil Empire and bring out by Ubisoft . It ’s a brisk whirl on the series and the first entry in the dealership I ’ve find out of in a while ( I totally missed that there was another disjoined Prince of Persia release this year ) . The Rogue Prince of Persia is already testify signs of being a fun and unique game in its Early Access state .
The Rogue Prince of Persia follows our titular prince as he struggles against an invading army of Huns , who take on a twisted , shamanist - magic - monster flesh that is thematically interesting and separated from its historical precedent . The entire biz takes on a historical - but - not fantasy - legerdemain vibe , as is intimate for the series , but finger particularly pronounced and at home in this title .
Being a roguelike , the main gameplay loop involves extend through a series of procedurally generated levels , fighting to get as far as you may , inevitably dying ( a lot , mind you ) , and returning to the hub humanity , where you buy upgrades to make the runs a little easier . Narratively , The Rogue Prince of Persia explains these reset and runs as the Prince ’s trusty bolo , a magical artifact that rewinds time whenever he front death . Honestly , it ’s one of the better explanations for the roguelike loop I ’ve see , and it ’s almost like this franchise was made for it .
The first thing that stand out to me about The Rogue Prince of Persia is just how artistically expressive and originative the secret plan sense .
From the biz ’s hand - drawn artistic creation fashion , which feels like something between a 90 ’s Disney cartoon and painted murals from ancientness , to the game ’s soundtrack , which is like ancient Persian soundscapes remixed into techno / dubstep beats , The Rogue Prince of Persia is highly expressive in its introduction and superbly singular . It feel like a passionate Indie labor that ’s been in the making for year . While I do n’t screw much about developer Evil Empire , I can say for sure it ’s the last matter I bear from Ubisoft in the year 2024 , especially with the Prince of Persia property .
Typically , I ’m not a fan of sidescrolling platforming in games . It just does n’t click with me . However , The Rogue Prince of Persia manage to implement it in a way that really hooks my attention ; I cerebrate this is due in large part to the ability to grade along and up walls . When copulate with the game ’s double jumping , wall vaulting , and air dashing , The Rogue Prince of Persia give you plenty of bm choice to not only pilot the layer freely but to do it with speed and style , make navigating stratum feel flying and cool .
This tactual sensation is absolutely aided by the aforesaid sicknasty soundtrack , which gain me hyped to cut back down or vault over the daimon - soldier in my path .
The fight is as smooth and exciting as the platforming mechanics are , with a host of weapons that all dish out damage swiftly and in unique attack patterns . The Rogue Prince of Persia discombobulate in a few more car-mechanic than most side - scrolling titles , making combat a commixture of kicking enemy , vault over , using lighting and special attacks , graze tolls , and bm - base AOE attacks . It ’s exciting , fast , and dead satisfying when you kill a opposition and see a bunch of coin descend out of them and swiftly add to your bank .
I find oneself the secret plan ’s use of enemies and hole really cagey , especially for procedurally generated storey . Foes will take over ledges , striking at you when you attempt to jump , stand below with spears ( and do much the same thing , ) or check the ground with AOE attacks and combo with other enemy types . Spike traps will await at the terminal of pitfall or playground slide but are never placed without a mode to avoid them if you ’re quick and clever . The game will often see you pick out great saltation to areas off - projection screen , but you will never do the sleazy thing and throw a hard - to - nullify obstacle below you where the camera ca n’t see it .
I found that boss fights can finger a small unnecessarily unmanageable to learn . This is due almost entirely to the game ’s insisting on not allow you to apply your contrivance mechanic in these encounters . When facing a boss , your first instinct when fudge attack would be to use the same hurdle / dash mechanic you use in regular encounter . Unfortunately , this does n’t lick , and the game desire you to use your platforming abilities to outmaneuver attack . It ’s fair , but it simply goes against my instincts as a thespian , and since death means restarting your political campaign , it can be backbreaking to retrain your brain around them .
The roguelike powerups get along in the variant of talisman you pick up throughout stage . The game uses this interesting powerup system for said amulets , where placing an talisman in a slot ( of which you have four ) will powerup the adjacent amulet to the right of the time slot . I really liked this organisation , as it adds a variety of inventory management element to the secret plan , where you have to take to toss some amulets to powerup more valuable ones . However , I find that a lot of the abilities granted by these amulets were n’t implausibly interesting ; I wish my powerups to feel volatile and impactful , and while effects like resurrection and confuse a slowing resin on the base were certainly impactful , none of them really gave the sense of OOMPH I would ’ve like to see .
If there ’s anything I would like to see in the final passing version of The Rogue Prince of Persia , it ’s this : More artillery salmagundi ( at launch , there are only a handful , though they feel impactful and unequaled . ) More powerups with more exciting effects , maybe a slight nerf to boss engagement , and even more dialogue and story second to experience throughout the game .
That being said , The Rogue Prince of Persia is already on middling solid earth in its current Early Access state and is emphatically deserving learn out , even if you ’re skeptical about pre - release titles in general .
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