The Persian Empire is on the brink of collapse, and it’s up to Sargon, a young member from The Immortals warrior clan of the Achaemenid Empire, to rescue the kidnapped Prince Ghassan from the cursed Mount Qaf. Betrayal, time warps, undead soldiers, and divine power… The perfect ingredients for a fun, engaging game, which Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is.

Despite the continuous annual releases of Prince of Persia games in the early 2000s, it’s been 13 years since the last new title. And instead of continuing its run of 3D platforms, Ubisoft has decided to turn the sands of time and go back to its 1989 roots.

This side-scroller is a 2.5D action adventure. Yup, 2.5D. If you’re not familiar with the term, this refers to when the gameplay is restricted to 2D graphics with little access to a 3D space. This makes geographic visualization a lot smoother and adds dimension to the digital environment. Prince of Persia doesn’t use this technique needlessly, which makes for beautiful level designs and paves the way for amazing animation that may or may not be a flex to promote Ubisoft Montpellier’s anime aspirations.

This isn’t the only time-honored tradition you’ll find in the game. The Lost Crown follows the Metroidvania layout — despite being a side-scroller, the map is non-linear to encourage exploration. There are multiple routes, secret pathways, and constant platform challenges that’ll keep you on your toes.

⌛ Hours of gameplay: 20-25 for 100% completion.

💵 Price: USD 49.99 for the Base Edition, USD 59.99 for the Deluxe Edition. Unpaid demos available.

👾 Platforms:Nintendo Switch, Playstation, Xbox, and Epic Games for PC.

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