Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was a welcomed announcement at Summer Game Fest 2023, and offered a limited yet exciting insight into what we can expect from the next instalment of the franchise. Despite not being the update we were expecting, the announcement of a release date has marked at as an upcoming game with noting if you've been waiting for more Prince of Persia content.
Although it’s not a sequel or follow-up from the last game in the series, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, nor do you play as the Prince we have spent the majority of the franchise alongside, there is a lot to appreciate about what The Lost Crown is offering to keep the franchise just as relevant today as it was during the release of its predecessor over ten years ago. Here’s everything we know about Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown so far.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown: cut to the chase
What is it? The newest installment to the Prince of Persia franchise
When can I play it? January 18, 2024
What can I play it on? PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Amazon Luna
Who’s making it? Ubisoft
Prince of Persia The Lost Crown release date and platforms
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is set to release on January 18, 2024, just under 14 years since the last Prince of Persia game was released. Although the Prince of Persia Sands of Time remake was on the vast majority of gamers' lists of expected announcements, The Lost Crown has come as a welcomed surprise and offers a unique yet familiar take on the franchise.
The game will launch on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Amazon Luna, so there’s an ample opportunity to get ahold of the game and jump into some action-adventure platforming once it releases.
The Nintendo Switch has become a popular platform for action-adventure games with Metroidvania mechanics, such as Hollow Knight and Dead Cells, so there’s a high chance The Lost Crown could become one of the best Nintendo Switch games once launched, and given its reigniting a well-loved franchise, it could become one of the best PC games too.
But, for anyone with a Ubisoft+ subscription, three days of early access are available on Xbox, PC, and Amazon Luna. So, if you’re keen to get stuck into the mythological world of Persia that awaits, you can bring the release date forward to January 15 instead. Surprisingly, there’s nothing to say that The Lost Crown will land on Xbox Game Pass, but that’s not to say that this won’t change later down the line.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown gameplay
The Lost Crown reintroduces the 2D platforming elements from early Prince of Persia games, yet pulls in a more modern style with clean graphics and animation alongside 3D environments you’ll be challenged with navigating throughout the game. Given it’s been over ten years since the last Prince of Persia game, there’s a lot of lost time to make up for.
Of course, with a new hero and new abilities to master, there’s already a lot of content to get to grips with, and even though the trailers we have seen don’t give away a huge amount of detail, there’s a lot to unpack.
As spotlighted in the reveal trailer shown at Summer Game Fest, time-bending mechanics similar to those we saw in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time make up a significant portion of the adventure and will need to be utilized throughout the game to progress, be it through helping you navigate a particularly challenging platform or facing off with one of the many enemies you’ll meet along the way.
Sargon has the power to dash forward through time with the Rush of Simurgh ability, alongside the Shadow of Simurgh ability which drops a marker to use as a checkpoint you can return to at any time. These abilities can be enhanced by using a variety of items located around Mount Qaf, but we are yet to learn to what extent.
There’s a particular emphasis on utilizing these abilities during combat to both make things slightly easier and also encourage the creativity of players to find new ways to approach things. As mentioned in our preview, by combining skills you pick up throughout the game, you can land some devastating combos during combat, alongside making challenging puzzles throughout the map a lot easier to digest and solve once you’ve got more of an idea of how to appropriately harness these abilities.
Despite its 2D layout, exploration is everything within The Lost Crown. There’s a semi-open world feel to the game which tucks away secrets and integral mysteries to locate to help you find new powers and routes which you might miss otherwise. Paired with your abilities, The Lost Crown aims to encourage creativity through the way it plays, and there’s still a lot to learn outside of the trailers we have already received.
Prince of Persia The Lost Crown story and setting
The Lost Crown introduces a new hero to the Prince of Persia franchise, Sargon, a gifted young warrior who prides himself on speed, agility, and impressive acrobatics on the battlefield. Although he’s not the usual protagonist we’ve seen in Prince of Persia titles, you’ll need to master this new set of skills alongside a handful of new abilities on the journey to saving Prince Ghassan who is being held captive in the city of Mount Qaf.
Mount Qaf is described as a prison full of hostile inhabitants, so as you’d expect, the journey isn’t exactly going to be easy. While navigating the grand citadel, you’ll have to dispatch a variety of enemies to clear your path, but the further you progress the harder these forces are to face, and there are a variety of towering boss fights you’ll have to face. You'll also come into contact with other characters trapped within Mount Qaf. Some will be more than willing to help you, whereas there are a few who will put up more of a fight.
In addition, time works slightly differently in this setting, and the past coexists with the future, which Sargon has the ability to manipulate for the benefit of the adventure. However, this time around Sargon isn’t the only one with this ability, and throughout the game, you may encounter other beings or beasts who can also manipulate time itself to stunt your progress, making it even more important to be one step ahead by enhancing your own powers when you can.
The Lost Crown’s inspirations and settings are derived from Persian Mythology, as represented by the enemies and settings you’ll explore. There’s a lot to admire in the bustling atmosphere of Mount Qaf, which is why exploration plays such an important role within the game, as highlighted in the Reveal Commented Gameplay trailer.
Prince of Persia The Lost Crown trailers
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was first showcased through a gameplay trailer shown at the start of Summer Game Fest, offering the first look at the new style of game. This trailer spotlights our new protagonist, in an entirely new location we can expect to spend our time in-game.
In addition, we get to see the hero in action, taking on a variety of enemies with time-bending mechanics and cinematic cutscenes before ending with a release date of January 18. The full reveal trailer can be seen below:
Following on from the first reveal trailer, we also received an animated trailer at Ubisoft Forward which offers another entertaining insight into the atmosphere of the game. The trailer itself encapsulates the cartoonish style of the new game, and while it doesn’t offer an insight into any in-game content, it doesn’t stray too far from how the game will play.
In addition, we also get a brief look into how combat will feel and which tools our new protagonist use. In this case, two blades and a bow are used to face towering enemies in quick, hard-hitting combat animations, which we expect to continue throughout the game. The full animated trailer can be seen below:
Prince of Persia The Lost Crown news
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown animated trailer shown at Ubisoft Forward
Following its initial trailer shown at Summer Game Fest, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown received an animated trailer at Ubisoft Forward to highlight the new appearance of the franchise, and once again explore the setting of the game. In addition, we get to see the hero take on a few enemies we can expect to meet, alongside the release date once again.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown release date announced at Summer Game Fest
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown opened Summer Game Fest, offering the first look at what the newest installment of the franchise has to offer. The trailer introduced us to our newest protagonist, Sargon, alongside capturing everything from exploration to combat in a minute and a half, before offering a release date of January 18, 2024.
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