Support NeoGAF

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Game Information

Game Title: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Platforms:

• Nintendo Switch (Jan 18, 2024)
• PlayStation 5 (Jan 18, 2024)
• Xbox One (Jan 18, 2024)
• PlayStation 4 (Jan 18, 2024)
• PC (Jan 18, 2024)
• Xbox Series X/S (Jan 18, 2024)

Trailer:

• Prince of Persia The Lost Crown - Reveal Animated Trailer | Ubisoft Forward
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – Reinventing Prince of Persia | Ubisoft Forward
• Prince of Persia The Lost Crown - Reveal Commented Gameplay | Ubisoft Forward

Publisher: Ubisoft

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 87 average - 94% recommended

Metacritic - 86 based on 66 Critic Reviews

Written Reviews


Atarita - Eren Eroğlu - Turkish - 95 / 100

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a game that doesn't compromise on any part of the experience, every part of it is crafted with great effort and care. In one word, it's fantastic.

Attack of the Fanboy - Christian Bognar - 5 / 5

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a superb Metroidvania that reignites the franchise in exciting ways and only gets better the longer you play it. Meticulously crafted platforming mixed with exhilarating combat makes for a game that is nearly impossible to put down.

But Why Tho? - Kate Sanchez - 8.5 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a vibrant reimaging of ancient Persian myth. It’s a turning of the page for a traditionally Orientalist franchise, and it never sacrifices gameplay to do so. The Lost Crown is the right mix of difficult ingenuity and self-pacing that makes the Metroidvaia inspiration a perfect pairing.

CGMagazine - Philip Watson - 8.5 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is not just a good Metroidvania game, but it is a great addition to the catalogue of titles in the Prince of Persia franchise.

COGconnected - Mark Steighner - 85 / 100

The Lost Crown is a fun and engaging 2.5D action platformer. It borrows a number of mechanics from several years’ worth of recent Metroidvanias, but adds a few ideas and quality of life features of its own, too. Maybe best of all, it’s a game for both newcomers and Metroidvania veterans

Checkpoint Gaming - Bree Maybe - 8.5 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is an incredibly pleasant surprise. Brilliant gameplay and gorgeous visuals make it utterly addictive to play, and in my time with it, I never wanted to put it down. The only fault the experience really has is the story, and while it is perfectly serviceable, it's never sufficiently engaging, even if the gameplay itself is enough to keep you going. If you are looking for a new Metroidvania to sink your teeth into, this is one I can highly recommend, and a strong return to form for the previously long-resting franchise.

Console Creatures - David Pietrangelo - Recommended

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a welcome return to the franchise. It packs a punch with exciting combat, challenging platforming, great visuals, and tons of secrets to uncover.

Easy Allies - Michael Damiani - 9 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a successful reinvention of the dormant franchise that carves out a marvelous new identity, one that clearly has a bright future.

Everyeye.it - Riccardo Cantù - Italian - 8.5 / 10

The Lost Crown is a delightful new beginning for the saga, a project that exudes all the passion infused by its developers

FandomWire - Lisa Tolmak - 8 / 10

The stunning visuals and superb animations elevate the entire experience. This game emanates style from every corner, with each of its vastly unique biomes coming to life with awe-inspiring visuals. From eerie sewers and lush forests to opulent palaces and icy mountains, each biome is an entirely different world with a distinctive atmosphere.

Bombastic soundtracks set the vibe in each level and rev up during boss battles, while the overall sound design allows you to be fully immersed in the world. Gorgeous and detailed cinematics to boot, continuously had me staring at the screen in awe. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a stylish and challenging action platformer that nails every aspect that makes a great Metroidvania and pushes the genre forward with its clever Memory Shard feature. and while I encountered a particularly disappointing bug, the game’s excellent platforming, tough, rhythmic combat, and stunning visuals more than made up for it.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown isn’t just a powerful new contender in the Metroidvania genre, it’s also a worthy entry in the series that adds new flavor to the franchise. Even if you’re disappointed that this isn’t The Sands of Time Remake you’ve been waiting for, The Lost Crown is a jewel of a game that you shouldn’t let slip through your fingers.

GGRecon - Tarran Stockton - 4.5 / 5

It's tempting for me to say that Prince of Persia is back with the release of The Lost Crown and leave it at that. But that feels like a disservice to a game so boldly different from its predecessors because ultimately it's more than that.

While it certainly still feels like a Prince of Persia game at the core, it stands on its own merits as a consistently brilliant and challenging Metroidvania experience, holding its own against some of the genre's very best.

GameGrin - Alana Dunitz - 10 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is an awesome action platformer that pulls you in with its beautiful world and lore, evolving the metroidvania genre with a lot of great changes. You must play this game!

GameSpot - Steve Watts - 9 / 10

Prince of Persia boldly reinvents itself as a metroidvania, and it feels like it has found its new home.

GamesRadar+ - Joe Donnelly - 4 / 5

For those wanting more in the same vein as 3D adventures like The Sands of Time, this ain't it. But it is a return to relative form for a series whose last mainline outing landed 14 years ago – it's just disappointing that this very good game was held back from true greatness.

Gaming Age - Matthew Pollesel - 8 / 10

The big drawback to The Lost Crown is that if you’re not already a fan of Metroidvanias, it’s hard to imagine anything here will suddenly make you a believer in the genre. It’s a well-made Metroidvania, to be sure, but there’s nothing here that breaks new ground.

Gaming Nexus - Elliot Hilderbrand - 8.5 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown strikes a harmonious balance between combat, puzzles, and exploration, providing a satisfying blend for players. The shadow of the deluxe edition looms, introducing cosmetic items and early access at a questionable price point. Despite this, the core game experience remains untarnished, making the deluxe edition an optional, albeit somewhat disappointing, add-on. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a delightful journey, offering a well-paced adventure that managed to keep me engaged from start to finish.

GamingBolt - Shubhankar Parijat - 9 / 10

The Lost Crown is a fantastic game. Not only does it capture the biggest strength of Prince of Persia's earliest sidescrolling instalments, it also reinvigorates the series in spectacular fashion with its Metroidvania design structure. From level design to combat, from the platforming to its visual style, from the exploration to the soundtrack, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is an impressive accomplishment in more ways than one, and one of Ubisoft's best games in years.

GamingTrend - Jack Zustiak - 80 / 100

Elegance, finesse, style – whatever you want to call it, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has it. It sets the stage with familiar Prince of Persia elements while performing them in new ways. The production comes with a few stumbles, yet The Lost Crown always recovers with style, proving itself as a worthy heir to the elegance that this series represents.

Generación Xbox - Frank Montes - Spanish - 90 / 100

A worthy representative of the Metroidvania subgenre

Glitched Africa - Marco Cocomello - 9 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is an enjoyable and challenging Metroidvania game. Its refreshing setting combined with its intense combat make this journey through Mount Qaf worth the 20-hour trek. The boss fights are a real standout in the game delivering some unforgettable combat encounters.

Hey Poor Player - Andrew Thornton - 4.5 / 5

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is, in many ways, a new direction for this series, but there’s enough pulled from the past that it very much still feels like a Prince of Persia game. With excellent combat, some of the best platforming you’ll find in any Metroidvania, a fantastic world to explore, and a series of incredible powers to unlock, The Lost Crown keeps getting more interesting as you make your way through it. Fans of the series, the genre, or simply great games will want to check out Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

IGN - Phil Hornshaw - 8 / 10

Returning to a 2D perspective lets Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown perfect its controls and combat while capturing everything that was great about the heyday of the series.

IGN Italy - Angelo Bianco - Italian - 8 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a good metroidvania that makes its intriguing gameplay its most appreciable aspect, which offers many accessibility-related options that allow the game experience to be fully customized. Although it is not flawless in some aspects, such as an uninspired character design and a difficulty balance that is not properly calibrated, Ubisoft Montpellier's new game is a must play for all fans of the genre and the Prince of Persia franchise.

IGN Spain - Rafa Del Río - Spanish - 8 / 10

The saga's return to the 2D platform genre in the form of a modern metroidvania leaves us with a challenging and sometimes desperate, but always delightful experience.

Impulsegamer - Nathan Misa - 4.5 / 5

Fun 2.5D platforming, combo-based combat and clever puzzles wrapped in a highly polished, content-filled package. A must-play adventure.

Infinite Start - Grant E. Gaines - 9 / 100

Overall I think Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a solid experience. It's far from perfect, as it can be surprisingly difficult/cheap/annoying, but most of the time it's a creative metroidvania. Add in some genuinely cool boss battles, climatic parry moves, and countless locations to explore and you have an experience well worth considering.

Kakuchopurei - Jonathan Leo - 90 / 100

I never thought 2024 would start with a banger of a 2D title, especially from a company like Ubisoft that's known for copy-pasta open-world games, yet here we are. While Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has elements from other 2D search action titles, it adds a few more innovations and uses its platforming and level design talent to create a remarkable and memorable platforming and sword-slinging experience, polish and all. Give this Metroidvania a whirl; you'll be pleased to know that it keeps the Prince of Persia platforming legacy alive and very well, thanks to its new search action trappings.

Leadergamer - Alper Dalan - Turkish - 9 / 10

The game that destroyed my prejudices.

Multiplayer First - Dean James - 9 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown may not have had the strongest response from fans upon its initial announcement, but Ubisoft really knocked it out of the ballpark with this one in the end. Coming in at about the 20 to 25-hour mark for a well-explored playthrough felt just about right for this type of game to avoid overstaying its welcome. Taking Prince of Persia and mixing it with the Metroidvania genre was a brilliant move, as the gameplay and abilities from the series mesh very well with this style, and it makes me hope this is only the beginning of this franchise’s foray into this new direction and is not just a one-off experience.

Nexus Hub - Sam Aberdeen - 9 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is exceptionally good and marks Ubisoft's best game in years - a shot of old-school 2D platforming action that jolts the franchise back to life.

Nintendo Life - PJ O'Reilly - 9 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a slick return to the roots of this franchise that serves up clever 2.5D action wrapped up in a delightful art style and satisfying story. There's a smart balance here between old-school levels of action and challenge, moreish combat, and neat puzzles, all mixed with accessibility options and fine-tuning that open things up to newcomers and casual players. We knew Ubisoft Montpellier was a pair of safe hands and the team hasn't let us down, serving up the first must-play of 2024 in a Switch port that absolutely does the business.

PC Gamer - Mollie Taylor - 72 / 100

A palatable metroidvania with a mediocre story, my biggest frustration with The Lost Crown is how long it takes to get to the good stuff.

PCGamesN - Will Nelson - 7 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is simultaneously overblown and undercooked in some areas, but it nails the fundamentals of combat, platforming, and exploration, making for a strong Metroidvania adventure and an exciting new entry in a legendary game series.

PSX Brasil - Luis Guilherme Machado Camargo - Portuguese - 95 / 100

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is an excellent metroidvania and should certainly be remembered among the best in the genre.

Press Start - Steven Impson - 9 / 10

I thoroughly enjoyed The Lost Crown. It took me a little under 18 hours to finish the game with quite a bit of exploring off the beaten track along the way – and the next day all I wanted to do was pick the game back up get to more exploring. It's got compelling exploration, great feeling movement, engaging combat and satisfying puzzles. Genuine innovation in the genre and smartly integrated accessibility features make The Lost Crown a game I heartily recommend.

Pure Nintendo - Jemma Casson - 9 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a splendid return to form for the series. The developers have done a terrific job with an original story and a visually impressive title that's well implemented on the Switch. The smooth gameplay, terrific map system, and satisfying combat and exploration make this a must-play for genre fans.

Push Square - Stephen Tailby - 8 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown puts its best foot forward with rewarding and satisfying gameplay at its core. Combining the series' 2D past with the time-bending powers from later games, this Metroidvania is a brilliant blend that brings the franchise back in a fresh new way. While it can sometimes look a little underwhelming, and the sheer size of the game threatens to slow its own momentum, the fluid, challenging platforming and combat are so fun that any shortcomings fade into the background. This is an overall great action adventure with a lot to offer.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Katharine Castle - Unscored

Fearless but intensely friendly, Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown is a deep and challenging Metroid-like with some of the best platforming this side of Moon's Ori games.

Shacknews - Donovan Erskine - 9 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown shows that this long-running franchise still has plenty of life left in it. The main narrative is sharp, with interesting twists and reveals about the universe at large. It’s only surpassed by the combat, which challenged me in all the right ways.

Spaziogames - Francesco Corica - Italian - 8.1 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown managed to swipe away every possible doubt after its first reveal, proving itself to be a metroidvania well developed, fun and with the right ideas.

TechRaptor - Robert Scarpinito - 8 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a competent, action-packed metroidvania that mostly balances the rule of cool with exciting combat and responsive platforming. If you like over-the-top shonen anime, it’s worth checking out for the boss fights alone.

TheSixthAxis - Adrian Burrows - 9 / 10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is one of the finest metroidvanias I've ever played and a fantastic way to start 2024. Thrilling and kinetic platforming, thumping combat, and a vast game world that demands exploration, and makes it a joy to do. It's time to kick nostalgia firmly in the unmentionables; this is the best Prince of Persia ever.

TrueGaming - مصطفى عرجون - Arabic - 9 / 10

A content-rich experience, offering a captivating mix of gameplay mechanics that make it a unique experience, exceeding expectations with genius level design and a great level of challenge that make it a great start to the year 2024.

VG247 - Dom Peppiatt - 4 / 5

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a smart game that makes you feel even smarter. It’s a Metroidvania that’s learned from the best, but without sacrificing any element of its own personality – for better and for worse.

VGC - Jordan Middler - 4 / 5

Prince of Persia was long in need of a resurrection, and in The Lost Crown, it's found it. Excellent platforming, clever puzzles and a huge map make one of the best Metroidvania's in years, and kicks off 2024 in style.

Video Reviews

 

[Punished Miku]

Can't wait. I almost regret just getting the regular edition now, but the bonus stuff didn't seem worth $10.

Seems Ubisoft still believes that this should be a prestige IP, thank god. Sands of Time was a revelation when it came out, and so was the original. Hyped.

 

[Bernoulli]

The character design looks off but the game is looking good

 

[Tsaki]

Very nice

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

I've added a poll so be sure to vote on it.

 

[Little Mac]

I predicted high 80s and have this preordered on Amazon. Need to play the demo before deciding whether or not to keep the preorder or wait for a sale on psn.

 

[Big Baller]

First goty contender. Bought.

 

[kiphalfton]

Glad the game is being received well, for multiple reasons. Mainly though so that the haters can eat crow (let's be real though, that's not gonna happen and they'll double down and keep perpetuating it's still shit somehow).

 

[Nankatsu]

Will eventually pick it up down the road, game looks legit good, but there are way to many heavy hitters coming up for this to cross my radar in the upcoming months.

 

[adamsapple]

Reviewing very nicely.

 

[cormack12]

Will eventually pick it up down the road, game looks legit good, but there are way to many heavy hitters for this to cross my radar right now.

Same

 

[touchfuzzy]

As a big PoP and Metroidvania fan, this is my heavy hitter. I always had faith, can't wait for my preorder to arrive!

 

[Flabagast]

I did not expect such high review scores

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

The good news, apparently the game is fully functional unpatched from Disc/Card, no patch needed.

The bad news, there’s a forced Ubi account login unless you disconnect from the internet, except on Switch which doesn’t force the Ubi account at all.

Damn, I was afraid of this bullshit since most ubisoft games require it. I was planning on getting the game on Switch anyway, but still sucks to see. Also, great to hear that the game is fully on cart/disc.

 

[azertydu91]

Damn , I was not expecting this game to get reviews this good.Maybe I'll try it then.

 

[engstra]

Glad to see this getting great reviews. PoP and metroidvania sounds like a match made in heaven. Will definitely pick this up down the road.

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

The only fault the experience really has is the story, and while it is perfectly serviceable, it's never sufficiently engaging, even if the gameplay itself is enough to keep you going.

That's a pro in my book.

 

[DevilMayFlyForAWhiteGuy]

After reading the DF thread I’m thinking I’ll be getting it on Xbox just to have the highest fidelity version, but I’m still gonna try the demo on Switch as well.

 

[ADiTAR]

Great start to the year. It looked good, it's just the marketing and protagonist that look bad.

 

[Mister Wolf]

We all knew it would be good. Even the people that were complaining.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Well hell, looks like I'm going to have to fill up the ole Steam Wallet again.

 

[saintjules]

I did not expect such high review scores

I didn't either. Will be on my list to play at some point.

 

[ManaByte]

Guess Ubi wasn't sending it to die with the demo release.

 

[Fess]

No Steam version?

 

[saintjules]

 

[phant0m]

Ubisoft made….a good game?

whatyearisit.jpg

 

[Fbh]

Despite the ugly art direction the gameplay looks solid.
Might pick it up once it's cheaper. Would be my first Ubisoft game since Mario Rabbids, it's almost sad how people at Ubisoft clearly can actually make good stuff when they are freed from the shackles of shitty open world games.

 

[Krappadizzle]

No Steam version?

Kinda been the status quo for a couple years now from Ubisoft... Though they did start bringing some of their games over after a few years, I think AssCreed Valhalla and Far Cry 6 finally came to Steam last year.
----


I'll say, I think it looks pretty great tbh. I really used to love the series, especially the underrated Prince of Persia '08. I probably won't pick this up, at least not for a very long time, but I am glad to see that it's reviewed well especially considering how poorly I thought it looked not too long ago.

 

[mcjmetroid]

A lot of users here need to eat crow on this one. How you couldn't see this one was going to be good I'll never know.

 

[Represent.]

Day 1. Knew it from the very first trailer.

 

[Meave]

This looks to be the perfect Switch game.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Sushi_Combo]

Guess Ubi wasn't sending it to die with the demo release.

He's nowhere to be found atm.

 

[Chuck Berry]

There’s never been a more punchable face in internet history

 

[amigastar]

Everyone calls his review now "Honest". As in the other reviews are dishonest.

 

[Flabagast]

Switch or PS5 ?

 

[Punished Miku]

it's almost sad how people at Ubisoft clearly can actually make good stuff when they are freed from the shackles of shitty open world games.

Really just up to people to actually buy it.

Same with the upcoming Splinter Cell.

 

[ManaByte]

Ubisoft made….a good game?

AC Mirage is great.

 

[Chuck Berry]

A lot of users here need to eat crow on this one. How you couldn't see this one was going to be good I'll never know.

Well, probably because there hasn’t been a good Persia game since 2003

 

[Punished Miku]

Well, probably because there hasn’t been a good Persia game since 2003

Have you tried 2008 or Forgotten Sands anytime recently? They're both awesome.

 

[Calverz]

As I’m a gamepass subscriber, Microsoft have trained me to expect to pay nothing. Therefore, I’ll wait until it comes to gamepass

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I didn't expect such high scores, but I will continue to hate on it for no reason in particular. Thank you for respecting my privacy at this time.


Edit: I am surprised by the scores, but I also find it difficult to take the current crop of game reviewers seriously when it comes to anything buzzwordy like "Metroidvania" "Soulslike", etc. There's rarely any critical analysis with those types of games. I'm not going to play the thing because frankly, I have no interest in any aspect of it, other than the laughable redesign, but it is interesting at some level.

 

[Mr Branding]

Well hell, looks like I'm going to have to fill up the ole Steam Wallet again.

Why? It’s not out on Steam.

 

[Magic Carpet]

No Steam version?

No, I just checked my Steam phone app. It's not listed.

 

[Glass Prison]

Just finished the demo and it's great, I'll be there day 1.

 

[Calverz]

Sharing this Fanny’s videos should be a bannable offence.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Have you tried 2008 or Forgotten Sands anytime recently? They're both awesome.

I fucking despise 2008 with a passion and I think Forgotten Sands is incredibly boring and feels like some last ditch effort to bring in the fans like me that hated that cel shaded shit.

And I do own both

 

[Mr Branding]

No, I just checked my Steam phone app. It's not listed.

Too bad as it is the perfect Steam Deck game.

 

[Calverz]

No Steam version?

 

[Calverz]

A lot of users here need to eat crow on this one. How you couldn't see this one was going to be good I'll never know.

100% from initial reveal I was excited. Can’t wait