The Prince Of Persia series dates back to 1989 and the tail end of the 8-bit era. Its original game was a spectacularly well-animated, rock-hard platformer and was followed by a plethora of sequels, spin-offs and remakes (not to mention a so-so 2010 Mike Newell film starring Jake Gyllenhaal). The Lost Crown is a Metroidvania, a non-linear platform adventure requiring much dashing back and forth.

The opening few hours are underwhelming thanks to some jumbled storytelling (albeit from a good cast) and a simplistic skill set. However, it nails the essentials: movement is fluid and precise, with combat both tactile and responsive. It’s not until sometime in, when the player’s skills are expanded, that things get really interesting, particularly with the ability to subtly manipulate time and space; successfully combining various moves in order to reach new parts of this expansive world is profoundly satisfying.

It certainly looks the part: lush, dynamic backgrounds are detailed with cascading waterfalls, impossibly huge machines and enormous mythical beasts. And this is just as well given that players will become very acquainted with the map. When new abilities are unlocked, it’s necessary to return to previous locations that can then be explored further. And in order to keep track of awkward sections, it’s possible to pin screenshots to the map, a neat feature we’ll hopefully see taken up by other games. The Lost Crown is a bold new entry for this series and a great entry point for players new to the genre. 

Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown is out now on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S.