The look forward to the subsequent Prince of Persia recreation goes to be loads shorter than the final one. After ready nearly 14 years between the releases of The Forgotten Sands and The Misplaced Crown, we solely need to maintain affected person for a number of months to play the subsequent Prince of Persia. Titled The Rogue Prince of Persia, the upcoming roguelike is coming from Dead Cells studio Evil Empire and is scheduled to launch in Steam Early Entry later this 12 months. Throughout a preview occasion for the sport, I performed about Half-hour of it–it appears like getting one other style of Dead Cells (which is nice!) however flavoring it with Prince of Persia’s lore and emphasis on wall-running. I like a whole lot of what it is doing, however there are facets that give me pause.
In The Rogue Prince of Persia, you play because the titular prince whose rash choices have led to a Hun invasion of Persia and the close to annihilation of his residence metropolis. Possessing the facility to rewind time upon his loss of life, the prince returns to an oasis simply outdoors of his metropolis amid the assault and vows to work his manner into town’s coronary heart to save lots of his folks and household and cease the invasion earlier than it turns into too late. With every loss of life, he returns to the oasis however with the information of what is to come back and who he has to kill to make it to the middle of town.
As a part of the preview, I spoke with Evil Empire recreation director Lucie Dewagnier in regards to the recreation and, after all, I needed to ask about the way it felt making a Prince of Persia recreation realizing that one other one was being labored on at the very same time. “It was not a shock as a result of we labored with [Ubisoft Montpellier], we communicated with The Misplaced Crown workforce for the reason that alpha stage,” Dewagnier advised me. “From the start of our growth, they took our recreation, we performed their [game]. So we managed to not do the identical factor. Typically [however], as a result of we’re engaged on the identical factor globally, we’ve the identical idea–the identical resolution to a difficulty. However we communicated to verify we have been totally different and we’re each making one thing new in regards to the Prince of Persia.”
Regardless that Evil Empire had the Ubisoft workforce to show to, it is evident that The Rogue Prince of Persia most closely leans on the bedrock established by Movement Twin’s Dead Cells. Like Dead Cells, The Rogue Prince of Persia arms you with a major melee weapon and secondary long-range weapon. As you progress from one space to the subsequent, you may uncover loads of randomized secrets and techniques and hidden chests, a few of which give you a alternative of upgrades or various weapons. All of those upgrades are misplaced on loss of life, however you possibly can accrue sources that follow you run-to-run, permitting you to unlock new beginning weapons and talents. As you discover every area, you may mark your progress with waypoints you possibly can fast-travel between throughout your present run and retailers who will promote you upgrades for gold coins–a useful resource you do lose after every failed run.
“Dead Cells is in our DNA,” Dewagnier stated. “We took inspiration from Dead Cells for the quick paced gameplay, the fight system, issues like that. However for The Prince of Persia, we wished to make a wholly new recreation, not a duplicate [and] paste.”
There are variations (and we’ll get to at least one that irks me in a bit) however for those who’re conversant in Dead Cells, you have already got a robust understanding of how The Rogue Prince of Persia performs. Fight is quick, encouraging you to assume strategically and rapidly, slashing by foes, kicking enemies into spikes, and dodging something that comes your manner. Mechanically, the one massive change is my largest challenge: there is not any sprint. It is potential {that a} sprint could possibly be a capability the prince unlocks down the street, however you no less than do not have it at the beginning. Roguelike, metroidvania, and different 2.5D platformers do not want a splash to be good, however these video games have leaned on the mechanic up to now few years and it is difficult–at least in Half-hour–to erase that muscle reminiscence. I struggled to get into the movement taking part in The Rogue Prince of Persia, oftentimes forgetting the prince’s dodge was a small backflip, not a full sprint, that normally solely helps him clear one assault.
To account for the shortage of sprint in traversal, The Rogue Prince of Persia permits you to partially run up and alongside partitions, even these within the background. So as a substitute of rapidly dashing ahead to succeed in a far-off platform or pace previous a hard assault, you possibly can soar after which transfer alongside the contours of the background, assuming there is a wall there for the prince to parkour on. It is actually an fascinating mechanic, forcing you each in and outdoors of fight to concentrate to not solely what’s taking place within the foreground but additionally the environmental design within the background. However I simply did not get sufficient time with the sport to gauge how simple a talent that’s to understand. Within the time I had, it was fairly difficult, to the purpose that I had fairly a number of character deaths I might attribute to my thoughts eager to dodge by an assault or over a spike pit after I was supposed to recollect to as a substitute seize onto the background wall. I by no means actually grasped it so I left the preview feeling pissed off with the mechanic, however, once more, extra time with the sport might alleviate this challenge.
My want for a splash mechanic apart, I loved my time with The Rogue Prince of Persia. The recreation is a colourful array of heat oranges, vibrant purples, and gentle blues–the recreation takes inspiration from French comedian books and historic Persian miniatures in its artwork route, creating scene after scene that I needed I had the time to soak in. I am unable to wait to have the possibility to play The Rogue Prince of Persia extra slowly, if solely to take inventory of the unbelievable artwork and catchy music with out the stress to see as a lot of the sport as potential inside a 30-minute time-frame.
However most of all, I am simply pleased that it appears like a unique recreation to play than The Misplaced Crown. I feel it is wild that we’re getting two Prince of Persia video games this shut collectively after not getting any for over a decade, however each video games lean on totally different gameplay loops (a metroidvania versus a roguelike) so regardless that there are mechanical similarities, they really feel distinct. There’s loads of area for each to suit into folks’s lists of favourite video games for this 12 months. The Misplaced Crown is already there for me and I believe The Rogue Prince of Persia might additionally make the minimize. Simply give me a splash mechanic, Evil Empire. Please.