"Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown": Release Date, Gameplay, and Everything You Need to Know

Source: Ubisoft

But, can this fresh take on the series live up to the legacy of its predecessors? Does it really offer the exhilarating acrobatics and captivating narrative that made "Prince of Persia" a legend? In this blog, we’ll delve deep into "The Lost Crown," uncovering its secrets, exploring its gameplay, and assessing whether it delivers the epic experience we crave. 

When was Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown released? 

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was released on January 18, 2024, just under 14 years since the last Prince of Persia game was released. While 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 was released on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Amazon Luna, so there’s plenty of opportunities to get ahold of the game and jump into some action-adventure platforming.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Gameplay 

Source: Ubisoft

When it comes to gameplay, The Lost Crown reintroduces the 2D platforming elements from previous Prince of Persia games, yet pulls in a more modern way with clean graphics and animation alongside 3D environments you’ll be challenged with navigating throughout the game. As it’s been over ten years since the last version of the game, there was a lot of time to make up for. 

Although the trailers we saw didn’t give away a huge amount of details, there’s still a lot to unpack. With a new hero and new abilities to master, there’s already a lot of content to get to grips with. As highlighted 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 major portion of the adventure and will need to be used throughout the game to progress, be it through helping you tackle a particularly challenging platform or facing off with one of the many enemies you’ll meet along the way. 

The new hero 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 powers can be enhanced by using a variety of items located around Mount Qaf. The players say that there’s a semi-open feel to the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown which tucks away secrets and integral mysteries to help you find new abilities and routes that you might miss otherwise. Paired with your abilities, the game focuses on encouraging creativity through the way it plays. 

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Story and Setting 

As mentioned earlier, The Lost Crown welcomes 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. Despite he’s not the usual protagonist we’ve seen in Prince of Persia titles, you’ll need to master this new skill set alongside a handful of new abilities on the journey to saving Prince Ghassan who is being held captive in the city of Mount Qaf. 

If you don’t have any idea, 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 and smooth. When navigating the grand citadel, you’ll have to face a variety of enemies to clear your path, but the further you progress the harder these forces are to tackle, and there are a variety of towering boss fights you’ll have to face. 

Moreover, time works a bit differently in this setting, and the past coexists with the future, which Sargon can manipulate for the benefit of the adventure. But, this time around Sargon isn’t the only one with this ability, and throughout the game, you may encounter others who can also manipulate time itself to stunt your progress, making it even more challenging to be one step ahead by improving your own powers when you can. 

Prince of Persia: 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 environment of Mount Qaf, which is why exploration plays such a critical role within the game, as highlighted in the trailer. 

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Trailers 

The game first appeared through a gameplay trailer shown at the start of Summer Game Fest, offering the first look at the new style of the game. This trailer points out our new protagonist, in an entirely new location where we can expect to spend our time in-game. 

Additionally, we get to see the hero in action taking on different enemies with time-bending mechanics and cinematic cutscenes before ending with a release date of January 18. You can watch the full reveal trailer below:

Source: Prince of Persia The Lost Crown - Reveal Gameplay Trailer

After the first reveal trailer, Ubisoft Forward further released an animated trailer which offers another entertaining insight into the atmosphere of the game. The trailer encapsulates the new game's cartoonish style, 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. 

Aside from these, we also get a brief look into how combat will feel and which tools our new heroes use. In this case, two blades and a bow will be used to face towering enemies in quick, hard-hitting combat animations, which we expect to continue throughout the game. You can see the full animated trailer below:

Source: Prince of Persia The Lost Crown - Reveal Animated Trailer

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