Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown Assessment

Editor’s word: Ubisoft India supplied IGN India a PC key of Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown for this assessment.

For anybody who began their gaming journey within the late Nineteen Nineties or early 2000s, it’s greater than possible that the Prince of Persia sequence holds a particular place of their coronary heart. The franchise gained recognition round this time throughout a number of platforms, be it the DOS period of Home windows or the PlayStation 2 period on the console facet.

Ubisoft bought the rights to the franchise in 2001 and took it to new heights of recognition. The writer went from energy to energy with the discharge of The Sands of Time, Warrior Inside, and The Two Thrones. Anybody who performed video games throughout the 2000s remembers how widespread these video games have been within the nation’s gaming cafés as properly. On condition that the final main Prince of Persia (PoP) recreation was launched virtually 15 years again, in 2010, it was excessive time for Ubisoft to revisit the franchise. Now, the writer is again with Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown. Is it a worthy successor for the PoP franchise, and is it value your cash? Let’s try the solutions to those questions and extra within the full assessment of Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown.

Variations, expectations, and the sport of extremes

This newest entry is not the standard 3D recreation with a third-person view that all of us bear in mind from the Prince of Persia sequence. As an alternative, it’s a 2.5D side-scroller.

Now, earlier than we dive into the assessment, I would like you to cease your attainable assumption that Misplaced Crown is only a minor recreation within the sequence with not a lot effort put into it, since you could be critically mistaken. Contemplating the variations between the earlier mainstream titles within the PoP franchise and this recreation, it’s pure to have low expectations. Nevertheless, Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown is a labour of affection, and builders at Ubisoft Montpellier have put lots of effort into creating the sport.

To start with, Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown includes a new, standalone story distinct from the mainline PoP video games. This makes the title accessible to individuals who have by no means performed a PoP recreation earlier than. Regardless of my low expectations firstly, I completely loved The Misplaced Crown. I used to be pleasantly stunned by the quantity of effort and a spotlight to element invested within the story, platforming, gameplay mechanics, visuals, and music of the sport.

Even with all the hassle and a spotlight to element, Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown will possible be a divisive recreation. You will both like it or dislike it as a result of it’s a Metroidvania title. Not everybody enjoys a non-linear platformer the place they have to revisit elements of the map they’ve already explored and unlock extra areas to find. I perceive why some individuals may not be keen on that, however Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown managed to maintain issues partaking for me and did not flip the navigation and exploration elements of the map right into a chore.

Story of Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown

Whereas the story differs from the earlier Prince of Persia video games, The Misplaced Crown is ready in a well-known universe. We observe the journey of Sargon, a member of The Immortals, an elite military comprising warriors.

After efficiently defeating a Kushan Empire normal throughout the Empire’s invasion of the crumbling Persian Empire, Sargon receives recognition and reward for his valiant efforts from the Queen. Nevertheless, the celebration is short-lived when Prince Ghassan is kidnapped and brought to the sacred Mount Qaf. This place homes the Citadel and is the house of the Simurgh, an imposing chook creature from Persian mythology. Sargon mounts a rescue, however after all, issues don’t go as deliberate, and he finds himself trapped within the place along with his ragtag bunch of Immortals. Your objective within the recreation is to uncover the mysteries behind this place and discover the Prince.

It needs to be evident that this isn’t a story-heavy recreation. Apart from, the one facet that didn’t impress me a lot was the opposite characters within the recreation past Sargon. They aren’t memorable and don’t have anything to put in writing residence about after ending the sport. Nevertheless, the principle story and extra particulars from the lore objects scattered all through the in-game world had sufficient narrative momentum to maintain me hooked. The sport even consists of side-quests if you happen to actually need to delve deeper into the story.

Fight

The fight felt crisp and extremely satisfying proper from the second I began enjoying the sport. You wield your double-handed sword to slash enemies, and the responsiveness of the in-game mechanics is outstanding.

However there may be extra depth to the fight past easy slashing. Enemies supply several types of assaults, just like the reckless assault, which lets you parry and set off a “Vengeful Counter.” Then there’s the unstoppable assault, which you’ll be able to’t parry or interrupt, forcing you to dodge. I appreciated the variability in fight mechanics, making certain you do not depend on a single technique all through the sport.

Your assaults additionally construct up a power-up gauge referred to as “Athra.” When it’s full, you may unleash an “Athra Surge,” akin to a Tremendous-Saiyan-like assault, full with its personal fast assault cutscene. There are several types of Athra Surges. Later within the recreation, a bow is launched, which serves not solely in fight but additionally allows you to shoot arrows at particular targets to traverse the world.

Visuals

As I discussed above, Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown is a 2.5D recreation. However this doesn’t imply it impacts the visuals of the sport in any method. Actually, I actually admire the visible type of The Misplaced Crown. It isn’t precisely cel-shaded, but it surely has an analogous vibe. The sick cutscenes preserve the identical graphical type because the gameplay.

The transitions between cutscenes and side-scrolling views are seamless and well-executed. You do not really feel like you have got instantly shifted from a full-motion video to a very completely different visible type after the cutscene ends; it’s clean and is not jarring, which, in any other case, could break your immersion.

The platforming mechanics, together with sliding, operating, and wall-jumping, are fairly responsive and trendy, complementing properly with the fight.

One distinctive function in Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown is the “Recollections” perform. Since it is a Metroidvania recreation, you usually encounter puzzles or areas you may’t entry instantly however can return to later. With the “Reminiscence Shards” merchandise, you may create “recollections” on the map, like a snapshot of your location on the map. It helps you bear in mind and simply return to a selected spot later.

Along with drawing heavy inspiration from real-life Iranian mythologies, places, and creatures, Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown additionally incorporates influences from genuine Iranian music as a substitute of generic Arabian tunes. It embraces Persian music and devices whereas additionally mixing them with different genres like rock and steel, suiting the assorted conditions and settings of the sport. This artistic fusion comes from the collaboration between Gareth Coker, identified for his online game compositions, and Mentrix, an Iranian-born Muslim musician.

I used to be notably impressed by the addition of a Persian (Farsi) language dub by the localisation crew. I instantly switched to it to totally immerse myself within the genuine expertise, so to talk. It’s clear that the crew at Ubisoft handled this recreation with care, not solely when it comes to its gameplay, but additionally in its respectful portrayal of the inspiration it attracts from. This can be a vital plus level for me.

Is shopping for Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown value it?

For my part, Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown is value contemplating if you happen to take pleasure in platformer video games and are a fan of the Prince of Persia sequence. The sport maintains the essence of the sequence, providing a well-known expertise. Even for individuals who are usually not acquainted with the sequence, The Misplaced Crown could be very welcoming and approachable. It provides an fulfilling expertise with loads of enjoyable available, no matter prior information of the sequence.

On PC, the bottom recreation is priced at ₹2,499 on the Epic Video games Retailer, whereas the Deluxe Version prices ₹2,999. These costs are cheap contemplating the content material supplied. The sport can be out there on the Ubisoft Retailer, however I would not advocate shopping for from there as a result of it has no regional pricing (the sport prices €49.99 — ₹4,400 only for the Commonplace Version).

Nevertheless, the PlayStation model of The Misplaced Crown is comparatively costly, priced at ₹3,499 for the bottom model and ₹3,999 for the Deluxe Version.

On Xbox, the sport is obtainable with the Ubisoft+ membership, which prices ₹899 for one month. This subscription gives entry to The Misplaced Crown and different Ubisoft titles, making it an economical possibility for Xbox gamers.