We have needed to wait a little bit longer for Ubisoft and Evil Empire’s The Rogue Prince of Persia to hit Early Entry than we would have preferred.
In a transfer that confirmed admirable humility (in addition to making excellent business sense, natch), the roguelite platformer was delayed in mid-Could so as to dodge the shock launch of Hades 2. Evil Empire’s worry gave the impression to be that the discharge of such a high-profile competitor would harm its personal effort’s possibilities.
Having spent a great few hours with the Early Entry construct, I can confidently state that in high quality phrases, at the least, Evil Empire needn’t have apprehensive. The Rogue Prince of Persia is a quick, fluid, and supremely enjoyable roguelite platformer, and it is a worthy addition to its venerable franchise.
The Rogue Prince of Persia Has Some Shocking Story Chops
The story setup is pretty easy. Huns have invaded Persia, and so they’ve taken to corrupting themselves with shamanistic magic so as to acquire the higher hand. Because the titular rogue Prince of Persia, you arrive again at your homeland to find it being pillaged, and you could take it again.
This being Prince of Persia, although, you have additionally received a magical trick up your sleeve within the type of a bola that revives you whenever you die, bringing you again to the cut-off date at which you arrived on the staging floor in your counterattack.
Somewhat cleverly, The Rogue Prince of Persia incorporates this system into its storytelling. As you play, you may discover a vary of sub-objectives to finish, every of which requires you to enterprise into one in every of your kingdom’s ranges so as to full it.
You would possibly, as an illustration, discover a trapped prisoner within the Tower of Oblivion, and a close-by observe instructs you to journey to the Aqueduct so as to flip a change and free him.
It is a good method to make sure that no run feels wasted. Not solely was I unlocking new weapons and passive bonuses to make use of on subsequent runs, however I additionally felt like I used to be making a fabric distinction to the warfare effort just by returning to conquered ranges and discovering new pathways.
Precision Platforming in The Rogue Prince of Persia Feels Nice
After all, all of this is able to be naught however sand within the wind if the core platforming and fight did not really feel good in The Rogue Prince of Persia. I am blissful to report that each of the core components are vastly satisfying, even on this Early Entry state.
Our very personal Andrew Stretch solely received to play about half an hour or so of The Rogue Prince of Persia again in April, however he was impressed by its “levels of freedom”, and that is very a lot the phrase of the day right here.
As you’d count on from a Prince of Persia sport, the Prince is an acrobatic, agile warrior. He can leap, run alongside partitions (together with these within the background), spring from poles, and scramble up ledges, all of which give The Rogue Prince of Persia a really feel not not like its traditional cinematic platformer predecessors.
The Rogue Prince of Persia makes probably the most of those strikes, too, particularly in its traversal rooms. Whereas the issue by no means feels as murderous as in, say, Hole Knight‘s White Palace, you may want all of your platforming nous if you are going to survive this Hun invasion.
The sheer fluidity and beauty with which the Prince strikes make platforming in Evil Empire’s sport an absolute pleasure. I by no means received bored with traversal, and every new platforming problem room I unlocked provoked a mushy “sure” below my breath.
The Rogue Prince of Persia‘s Fight Is Easy, However Rewarding
These platforming strikes might be included into the Prince’s fight suite, too, and you will want to take action if you wish to get the higher hand in your enemies.
Fight in The Rogue Prince of Persia is fairly easy. You have received a fundamental assault, a particular assault that you simply carry out by holding down the assault button, and a spread of particular instruments like bows and chakram.
On their very own, enemies are fairly easy to beat, however the numbers shortly escalate, and it will not be lengthy earlier than you are crusing over enemies’ heads, diving down to interrupt their shields, then getting in just a few swipes earlier than vanishing atop a close-by pole and springing away.
To place it merely, The Rogue Prince of Persia completely nails the sensation of acrobatic fight that’s Prince of Persia at its finest. There are few emotions extra satisfying than clearing out a wave of enemies by zipping over their heads, joyfully utilizing the verticality that eludes the brutal Huns.
The Early Entry construct of The Rogue Prince of Persia contains two boss fights, and so they really feel properly different and balanced. Each of them use the setting in fascinating methods, so I am excited to see what Evil Empire can do with subsequent updates.
Steadiness in The Rogue Prince of Persia Wants Work
Certainly, updates will probably be required to handle a few the problems I did have with The Rogue Prince of Persia, minor although they could be within the face of its triumphant core gameplay.
Briefly, balancing points abound. Along with a spread of weapons, The Rogue Prince of Persia additionally presents quite a lot of medallions to equip, and so they supply passive bonuses like setting areas on hearth when taking harm or restoring well being at checkpoints.
Each the weapons and the medallions are in dire want of rebalancing. Some weapons felt completely hideous, just like the claw, which offers pathetic harm and messes up positioning because of the sprint assault on the finish of its combo.
Others, nonetheless, felt indispensable. The sword that builds up assault harm with successive hits, as an illustration, is a juggernaut that nearly feels damaged, and the heavy axe-style weapon that stuns enemies when its combo finishes is absurdly highly effective.
The medallions undergo from an identical difficulty. Some are so situational as to really feel ineffective, whereas others, just like the one which revives you on dying or the one which hurls daggers each time you vault over an enemy, really feel like runs are virtually not possible with out them.
The Rogue Prince of Persia Preview | Closing Ideas
I am assured Evil Empire can deal with the aforementioned steadiness points with time and a focus to neighborhood suggestions. The Rogue Prince of Persia‘s core gameplay is already rock-solid, which is immensely encouraging for an Early Entry title.
I additionally need to give a particular shout-out to composer Danny Asadi, whose combination of conventional instrumentation and digital manufacturing is completely very good. Do your self a favor: when you choose this one up, keep idle in Zagros Village for some time and hearken to the music. You will not remorse it.
Ubisoft listening to the Prince of Persia franchise looks like a dream come true for me. The Misplaced Crown and The Rogue Prince of Persia really feel like a knockout one-two blow, so I can solely hope that the long-delayed Sands of Time remake continues the new streak.
The Rogue Prince of Persia was previewed on PC with a code supplied by the writer over roughly 4.5 hours of gameplay – all screenshots had been taken through the preview course of.