Hands-on preview: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

destructoid.com:

I recently had the opportunity to dive into a roughly three-and-a-half-hour hands-on preview of the upcoming Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and I had no idea what to expect.

I’ve actually not played Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, so my most recent experience with the series goes back all the way to 2008’s Prince of Persia. The switch to a 2.5D format intrigued me as it felt like one of those situations where it could be a big payoff, or potentially the wrong move. After playing The Lost Crown for a few hours, it certainly feels like the right choice.

The Lost Crown is a Metroidvania-style 2.5D platformer. You’ll traverse a massive map with rooms that interconnect as you fight a variety of enemy types, complete puzzles, and obtain some loot. As you progress, you’ll unlock shortcuts and teleport points that allow you to quickly navigate the massive map so you can return to previously-visited locations after later unlocking skills that allow you to access previously unreachable areas.

In my session, protagonist Sargon, a member of the Persian warrior clan The Immortals, sets out to the cursed city of Mount Qaf in an effort to rescue the recently kidnapped Prince Ghassan. In classic Prince of Persia fashion, time works a little differently at Mount Qaf, which in turn paves the way for some pretty interesting possibilities both in terms of story and gameplay. For example, later in the session, I unlocked the ability to perform my evade action while in the air, allowing me to jump over attacks and quickly evade to dash behind my enemy and keep up the pressure.

Oh, by the way, the soundtrack in The Lost Crown is top-notch. The Persian-themed music feels whimsical and mysterious when traversing Mount Qaf. But during