Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown -PS5- 8

April 22, 2024

I just reached the end credits of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown on PS5, which I played on “Warrior difficulty”, the standard setting. The only other PoP game I’ve played before this was 2003’s Sands of Time, which was great. Lost Crown takes the series into the 2D Metroidvania genre, and it’s a good fit. It does not revolutionize the genre, but still stands as a fine example how fun and engrossing these games can be. 

There is a heavy focus on swordplay, with different combos you can pull off on the ground or in the air. Parrying also feels great, especially when executed against boss attacks that trigger cinematic counters. The boss battles themselves are really well done and can get quite challenging. Menolias, King Darius, Vahram, Azhdaha, and the rest were all great showdowns. I had to learn their patterns and harness quick reflexes to defeat them, which always brought a satisfying sense of accomplishment. Purchasing weapon upgrades helped make the encounters a little easier, though.

The platforming is also very tight, with several different aerial abilities being unlocking throughout the playthrough. You will unlock the basic dash and double jump that is standard in this type of game. But you also attain a teleport ability to flash back to a previous point on the screen, as well as other fun means of agility to add to your arsenal. This leads to many challenging sections of parkour, which I always love in a good platformer. 

Lost Crown is a map. It took me just over 20 hours to reach and defeat the final boss. Thankfully there are many fast travel points and shortcuts to unlock to make the game flow smoothly. I did not follow the background lore or story too closely, but what I did catch seemed entertaining enough. I must admit I was more motivated to continue playing by just exploring the large map, attaining more abilities, and defeating the bosses. 

I’m giving Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown an 8 out of ten. This is a very solid metroidvania that acts as a bit of a throwback to when the PoP series started in the 2D plane back in 1989.