Review - The Rogue Prince of Persia

Developer: Evil Empire

Publisher: Ubisoft

Available on: PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2

Review System: Nintendo Switch 2

The Prince of Persia has been a mascot in platformers and adventure games since his incarnation in the 1980s. The Prince was quickly known for his cunning but tricky platforming, requiring precision and understanding the momentum of the character, a breakthrough for platformers at the time. The Prince has gone through various iterations over the years, though his adventures have gone cold recently. Fortunately, the team at Evil Empire, the makers of the award-winning Dead Cells, have revived the Prince into The Rogue Prince of Persia. 

Featuring an energetic soundtrack, sharp presentation, and strong gameplay, The Prince of Persia is an exciting roguelike, brimming with tight gameplay and a sense of style. It’s an enjoyable experience, even if it gets a little too difficult at times. The Rogue Prince of Persia celebrates its impact on the gaming scene with a new physical release as well. 

Once Upon A Time

A fierce battle wages. The Huns are attacking the Kingdom of Persia. Swords and muscle clash violently as the Prince fights his way through this army. He notices strange supernatural powers that the army possesses. This assault is his own mistake, and upon realizing this, he is struck down, felled by the supernatural monstrosities led by King Nogai. Suddenly, he awakens in the safety of the Oasis. The Prince has been given another chance at life, but the Kingdom is under siege.

The Huns control everything, and the whereabouts of his family are unknown. Using the magical bola that was gifted to him as a child, the Prince is able to relive the day and prevail against death. The Prince sets off on a quest to save the Kingdom to which he holds dear. Defeating Nogai. With each new run, there is a chance to right wrongs, defeat the Huns, and save his family. 

Getting Loose

The Rogue Prince of Persia is a roguelike action platformer. Players set off on a path to save the Kingdom and their family from the Huns, led by the vicious God, Nogai. The catch is that the path to get there is not so linear. There are objectives to complete in each stage, such as rescuing your brother, as well as allies to discover. With each run, new paths are discovered, and new objectives are met, eventually leading to the final stage and taking down King Nogai. 

The Prince of Persia has a legacy in pushing the platformer genre and making inroads with new mechanics. The original Prince of Persia from the late 80s gave a video game character a sense of gravity and realism through a technique called rotoscope. For The Rogue Prince of Persia, the movement and platforming isn’t quite as sophisticated, but it’s clear that the team wanted to honor the legacy.

Finding Your Center

The first run in The Rogue Prince of Persia introduces the basics. Players can jump and move around, but most importantly, scale walls and wall run, as per the tradition of a Prince of Persia game. By holding the left trigger button, The Prince can wall run in the background, which is useful for traversing deadly obstacles. The Prince can also leap from poles, wall run, and even flip over enemies with precise timing of the dash button.

An essential part of the platforming is the momentum. Stringing enough successful moves triggers Vayu’s Breath. A meter builds up, and once it reaches maximum, Vayu’s Breath activates, increasing speed and movement. When entering this flow, the platforming is faster and sharper, giving an advantage in combat.

Ready Yourself

Players fight various enemies, all imbued with King Nogai’s dark magic. These enemies range from straightforward barbarians to deadly assassins. As the game progresses, the enemies become deadlier with stronger magic. Enemies will throw bombs, smash the ground, and use katanas to inflict any kind of damage. They’ll even perch on poles to strike the player. Fortunately, The Prince is a capable warrior.

The Rogue Prince of Persia gives players a primary and secondary weapon. The Primary weapon consists of an assortment of weapons from spears to swords to gauntlets. These weapons have additional perks and can be leveled up during a run. For example, the spear can be charged to deliver a more potent blow to an enemy. Another example is spike gauntlets coated in poison that inflict poison damage. 

Tools of The Trade

A run begins with The Prince collecting a primary weapon. Secondary weapons are collected during a run, and can easily extend a run if used wisely. These range from a bow and arrows to a spike wheel to even a flash that can bathe an enemy in fire. The secondary weapons are finite, and using them is a risk. It’s best to save them for boss fights whenever possible.

Throughout a run, perks can be acquired through special medallions. These medallions are scattered in a level but can yield perks such as increased damage or secondary weapon energy. Pairing medallions increases their effectiveness as well. Some medallions can be found via special rooms and treasure chests. Enemies drop gold, and items can be purchased by merchants if players are thorough in their exploration.

Traversing The Land

The levels are large, and fortunately, there are portals that allow players to traverse the levels. They just need to be approached to be unlocked. There are doorways that lead to small challenges that yield an item or treasure box. These challenges can be risky as The Prince can take a considerable amount of damage from an enemy hit or falling on demonic spikes. However, the reward is worth it.

In addition to Gold, enemies drop Soul Cinders, which can help unlock weapons and outfits back at the Oasis, your home base. . Between levels, players can heal themselves through springs and send their Soul Cinders back to the Oasis. This is a welcome feature as this keeps the state of progression constant.

After the first run, players are sent to the Oasis. Here, the Prince rejuvenates health and then allocates the collected Soul Cinders to unlocking items. Additionally, it is here where players can allocate experience points into perks. These perks are essential to making it through a full run. They include additional potions, resurrecting after death, and having a small pot of gold at the beginning of each run.

Away at the Oasis

During the course of each run, The Prince runs into various characters, each benefiting the Oasis in some way. One character collects information on enemies. Depending on who is eliminated and how, this character rewards Soul Cinders and XP. Completing these objectives furthers progression. Another character unlocks outfits to customize The Prince, and another character works on making weapons more available.

The Rogue Prince of Persia does things differently compared to other rougelites. This is the same team that made the award-winning Dead Cells after all, and they have a penchant for rethinking the formula. Players are going to be making dozens, if not hundreds, of runs through the game. Players will be revisiting sections a lot, which flows with the time loop factor. Each resurrection rewinds time by 3 days. Each run is a chance to unlock clues.

Use Your Mind

The Rogue Prince of Persia has a Mind Map. Every run, players visit important characters that could connect to the overall mystery of the Hun invasion, as well as unlock a means to further progress through the game. By visiting characters and unlocking certain events, the Mind Map unlocks more visions into the story. This is an exciting feature for The Rogue Prince of Persia, and it makes every run meaningful.

One of the earlier mysteries is freeing the Prince’s brother. Concurring runs eventually find him in a cell. A subsequent run reveals that to unlock his brother, the Prince needs to go to the Village in another run to speak to a character, retrieve a lever, and open a water flow to unlock the cell. This is the kind of story progression one can expect in The Rogue Prince of Persia. 

Dead Rogue

The Rogue Prince of Persia is going to sit differently depending on the player. Fans of Dead Cells and roguelites are going to find familiarity here with the mechanics and foundation, but other players may find varying degrees of mileage with the game. The Rogue Prince of Persia is different from Dead Cells in many ways, from presentation to gameplay, but foundationally, it is similar. The biggest change is the repetition and grind, as well as the movement and difficulty. 

Movement can become a little fidgety and tricky to nail. One challenge in some runs involves rescuing a child being taken by a stream of evil magic. This challenge is incredibly difficult to complete due to the movement challenges and the race against time. I feel that the movement could have been done a bit differently, or the challenge could not have been as brutal. It's hard to say if wall running should have been automatic, but the challenge didn't have to be so hard, especially when the rest of the game is difficult. 

Grinding the Grind

The Rogue Prince of Persia does offer somewhat of a choice for players. Players can run like mad through a level or slay absolutely everything possible. It's probably better to do the latter despite the difficult enemies, as the experience points and Soul Cinders were worth it. However, these enemies hurt and hurt badly. I found myself dying on several runs before I could make any progress with the Mind Map, most particularly with the first boss, Bertrude. 

This makes The Rogue Prince of Persia quite the grind. You are going to be seeing Bertrude, The Village, The Ruined Aqueducts, and The Hun Encampment quite a lot before reaching The Tower and subsequent levels. The best recommendation is to be persistent and play the game in short sessions to maximize enjoyment. Longer sessions aren’t bad, but the game is a strong grind. 

A Curator of Art

However, despite the strong grind, the game does feel rewarding with each run. Completing secondary objectives earns experience and soul cinders. The movement is fluid and fast, once you get the hang of it. The presentation is sharp as well, and gels with the gameplay. Iranian producer ASADI combines a modern and cultural infusion of music that feels organic and fitting for the time period. The game features a sharp combination of cel-shaded graphics and illustrations that give it an appearance that seems reminiscent of Middle Eastern art. 

Speaking of art, for those who want a physical release of The Rogue Prince of Persia, here are the details. The standard edition is $34.99. The Standard edition comes with the game on a PS5 disc or a Nintendo cart for Nintendo Switch 1 or 2. The Nintendo Switch 2 physical release is a game key card. The Immortal Edition is $49.99 and comes with a steelbook, a poster, and three lithography prints.

Go With The Flow

If there's anything I would change for The Rogue Prince of Persia, it would be adjustments to the platforming and difficulty. Perhaps place objective markers for those who might get lost with how to progress the story. However, I wouldn't change what has been established, as the game’s foundation and art style are remarkable and engaging, especially for Switch players on the go. 

When everything flows, The Rogue Prince of Persia is a delight. Jumping and running, smashing enemies, and exploring a mystery through time all feel great and rewarding. Coupled with a strong soundtrack and visual art style, this is one of the better roguelites out there. The key is to remain consistent and not get discouraged. Every run has a meaning and an inch towards progress. 

 Evil Empire finds a means to make everything gel together well. Despite some shortcomings with the platforming, the overall game has a flow that works extremely well and is exciting to play. There are times where I didn’t want to play due to the difficulty, but I couldn’t help but want to scratch that itch to come back and try again for another run. 

The Rogue Prince of Persia

It may be some time before we see a proper return of The Prince of Persia as we know it. Other than The Rogue Prince of Persia, there was the Metroidvania The Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. With the Prince of Persia Sands of Time remake cancelled, these two games stand as the only presence of The Prince in modern times. For The Rogue Prince of Persia, this is a good presence, one that is challenging but fun for players who maintain momentum. 

The Rogue Prince of Persia needed a few tweaks to the movement and difficulty, but it is a fantastic roguelite and one of the stronger games in the genre. Its presentation matches a game focused on freedom of movement and decisive, stylish enemy defeat. The Mind Map is an innovative way for rogue-lite storytelling, and the sense of progression feels strong. The Rogue Prince of Persia may not be for everyone, but for those who wish to embark on its journey, it’s a good time. Sharpen your sword and flex those muscles. The Prince awaits. 

THE ROGUE PRINCE OF PERSIA IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A key was provided for review.