Prince of Persia Review

What happens when a successful series closes its final chapter, yet it continues on? Well in most cases the “final chapter” is either completely ignored, prequels are born, or everything takes place way later on with different characters (Star Trek, Friday the 13th, Star Wars, Twilight, etc.). Ubisoft decided to go with the smartest, and often underused, just use the name and set it in a completely different universe. So Prince of Persia was born, but does it live up to its predecessors?

Prince of Persia is a breathtaking game: In its breadth and scope, in its atmosphere, and, most noticeably, in visuals. Prince of Persia is one of the most beautiful games in existence. From the incredible characters to the expansive and stunning environments, every corner and object is painstakingly detailed.

When I was first set lose in the world of Prince of Persia, I was greeted with a dull, gray, desert. Everything bathed in corruption, making the world dark and ominous. In spite of the lack of color, the world still looked amazing. I took the scenery in as I shimmied along cliffs and leaped across chasms. The world was lifeless and dark, yet still beautiful; when I healed the first fertile ground, my jaw dropped. The world around me regained its color and its beauty increased tenfold. Each of the four worlds is unique in its visual style, each stunning. The characters appear to have leaped from a painting. They are so intricately detailed: cloths appear stitched and flutter in the breeze and clothes and hair move naturally. I could go on and on.

Not only is the art incredibly well crafted, the animations are on the same level. It is clear that the engine used to power assin’s Creed is at work here, as I ran across cliffs and clambered up walls. The combat, the body movements, the way everything moves naturally: it is all realistic and incredibly appealing to the eye. The combat flows naturally, the animations never missing a beat as combos are executed and interrupted.

In most games, the sound is second to everything else. While this may have been true during the development of Prince of Persia, it certainly does not feel that way. The soundtrack sets the feel of the game, accenting instead of just existing. The real expertize is in the voices and effects. Ubisoft has done a remarkable job with the voice work (the prince is voiced by the same person who did Nathan Drake). All of the dialogue feels natural and fits the tone of the game. The sound effects are also detailed and precise. I could hear the sound of the sword moving as I did, footsteps changed as the surface did, and voices had echos if the situation warranted.

The narrative in Prince of Persia is not anything fantastic, but the way it is delivered aids in setting it apart from other games. The basic story is simple, evil god wants to escape and you must stop it. If you have any desire to know more you can hit a button and engage in conversation with Elika, the prince’s companion throughout the game. By conversing and traveling with Elika, I found myself growing attached to the character.

The prince and Elika seem like polar opposites, yet as the game progresses they grow closer together. There is no cliched romance story. At first the prince seemed to be a total jerk, yet as time passes he became easier to relate to, and I found myself admiring Elika even more. These characters are so well crafted, I can sense their hardships and I feel there pain. The game’s ending was shocking, yet satisfying, even though it was sort of left hanging.

The biggest part of the game is, of course, the gamplay and Prince of Persia does not disappoint. Prince of Persia never tries to deny that it is a platformer, and it does platforming spectacularly. Leaping around the world did not get tiring through the entire game. The camera never hindered and I never had to adjust it myself unless I was trying to do something unnecessary. Vaulting over crevasses, climbing up walls, sliding down towers and flying around the world was great fun.

The combat flowed well, slowing only when enemies engaged in quick time events, which sometimes occurred to often. It was simple, yet fun. Stringing together combos felt satisfying yet having to use certain starting moves depending on what the boss was doing was fine at first, yet when the visual effect was the same for each boss it slowly grew tiring. The real joy came from exploring the environment. After an area is healed, light seeds come forth for you to collect. You have to collect a certain amount to unlock Elika’s required magical abilities, but that is very simple to do. The real challenge comes from trying to collect all of them, scouring every nook and leaping from every surface all to hunt down the well placed seeds. Prince of Persia is a well paced game, there is no in game timer, but I know it took me over 12 hours (there’s an achievement), and trying to collect all of the light seeds will extend that time even further.

Prince of Persia is one of the best games this console generation. It looks stunning and is the showpiece, visually, of my game collection. I want to play more, not many games leave me wanting to play them again. To me, Prince of Persia is everything I wanted assin’s Creed to be, but with a better setting and tone. I have never felt as attached to characters as I did in Prince of Persia. Ubisoft has crafted a spectacular game and must get started on the sequel.