Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown hands-on preview

The Prince of Persia franchise has been around since what feels like the dawn of time. In video game years, it's pretty close, because the series is fast approaching its 34th birthday. So with a new title in The Lost Crown due out in early 2024, it might be easy to write off this old-school game series as a has-been, with not a lot going for it and nothing new to bring to the table. But that's not the case.

We were invited to preview the game by Ubisoft, and during my recent playtest of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, I was pleasantly surprised by how fresh it felt. The game received a relatively cool reception when it was initially revealed at the Summer Game Fest, namely thanks to the fact that we don't actually get to play as the titular character, which is an understandable upset. But narratively speaking, this opens up the world to a far bigger story, and once players clamber over that hurdle they'll come to see that it serves the franchise well.

Becoming stale is a death knell for video games, and so by shaking things up, Ubisoft Montpellier has created something that feels like it fits in 2024. Considering Prince of Persia made its debut back in 1989, that's no mean feat. It might take a little while for die-hard fans to come to terms with it, but it will almost certainly bring in a fresh batch of players.

One of the main takeaways from my playtest with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is how quickly time seemed to disappear. I don't mean in-game, where Time Crystals and time freezes are standard, I mean I had such a blast spinning and kicking my way through a surprisingly large map that the hours clocked over in what felt like the blink of an eye.

You play as Sargon, a member of the warrior clan called The Immortals, and within the first thirty minutes, you're tasked with rescuing the Prince of Persia himself. The action is fast-paced and engaging pretty much from the off, with a great mix of storytelling and combat. In this preview alone, I met with several engaging characters, learned devastating new combat techniques - called Athra charges - and didn't even come close to exploring every corner of the map.

Considering Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown goes back to the franchise's roots with its 2D platform mechanic, the in-game world feels huge and completely open to exploration. It doesn't feel flat or linear and one of the most engaging parts of my playthrough was experimenting with different navigational options. The game's movement feels sharp and responsive, and the combat isn't too taxing, and this all makes for a pretty seamless gaming experience.

You have to navigate a broken world, as high as the peaks of a mountain and as low as a poisonous bug-infested sewer, all while collecting precious Time Crystals and amulets to aid you in your quest to free the Prince of Persia. Although we don't get out-and-out wall riding, wall-jumping is still an integral part of Sargon's mechanics, and the controls are intuitive enough that it becomes part of your movement technique without having to think too much about it. It feels nostalgic and new all at the same time, and fans will no doubt come to realise this as soon as they start playing.

Sure, it doesn't bring anything groundbreaking to the table. But what Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown lacks in originality, it more than makes up for by playing to the series' strengths and although it feels like a departure from what the fan base is currently used to, it’s a slick upgrade to the game’s origins.

The only real sticking point, for me and I'm sure the rest of Prince of Persia's fanbase, is the lack of any legitimate time manipulation. Rewinding the last few seconds to clutch a fall or dip behind an enemy made for such a rewarding experience with the previous titles, and The Lost Crown doesn't seem to lean into that. At least, as far as I managed to get in my playtest. One of Sargon's main abilities is to create a sort of checkpoint that he can return to at the click of a button, but it just doesn't feel as fun.

It's a small complaint in the grand scheme of things, though, and it doesn't take away from how satisfying the game is to play. I may not have been able to rewind time, but wall-jumping, blade-spinning, and comboing my way through a myriad of different enemies and environmental hazards on any given level more than made up for it.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a rejuvenation of the series, with a colourful new art style, a nostalgic return to 2D platforming, and a challenging but surprisingly not very frustrating combat system. It’ll reward you for hard work, deliver gorgeous scenery and interesting characters, and despite misgivings, will sucker you back in for just one more crack at that boss you’ve been stuck on for an hour - which may or may not have been my experience.

We'll be bringing you a full review of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown in the new year. We're keen to see if the full experience is as enjoyable as our short preview, but we think it'll be a firm favourite in the franchise once die-hard fans accept that it's a completely fresh instalment in their much-loved series.