Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown returns to side-scrolling platformer | Hands-on preview

venturebeat.com:

Missed the GamesBeat Summit excitement? Don't worry! Tune in now to catch all of the live and virtual sessions here.

Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was the first game revealed at this year’s Summer Game Fest. It was a return to 2D platforming and side-scrolling in the tradition of the original Prince of Persia game series.

The title is coming to the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC on January 18, 2024. I was able to play it in a preview session with Ubisoft.

Since platformers aren’t my thing (Cuphead, anyone?), I found this game challenging but still something that I could learn so long as I bashed my head against the wall a few times. But I enjoyed the gameplay and saw it as a game that could bring a lot of hours of joy.

The game is being led by Ubisoft Montpellier. It’s an action-adventure platformer that opens a new chapter in the franchise.

The Lost Crown takes place in a mythical ancient Persia. I played as the character Sargon, who is one of seven bodyguards known as Immortals. The Prince is missing, and Sargon and his six comrades must get him back. It brings back a lot of the old platformer ingredients that make Prince of Persia so successful, with a combination of combat and exploration. It’s an age of heroes and gods. Sargon’s story takes place in Mount Qaf. The kingdom is under the protection of seven elite warriors called Immortals. Sargon is the youngest of them. Your job is to get the Prince back in a rescue mission.

But there are temporal anomalies where time doesn’t follow its natural flow. You have to take out a bunch of demon-like characters, and they’re not all that easy to dispatch. You have to use your blocking and your attacks, as well as your fast maneuverability