The Rogue Prince of Persia Review – Live, Die, Repeat

Fan of sidescrollers and Prince of Persia? Then you should try Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Fans of roguelikes and side scrollers can read my The Rogue Prince of Persia Review, which will explain why the game is so good. The game is not original; if Dead Cells and Hades had a baby, it would be this game. However, there is plenty of fun to be had here. 

I love roguelikes, I love having to tailor each run with the cards I’m dealt. In regular games, I pick a favorite weapon, combo, pattern and stick to it until it fails. In roguelikes like The Rogue Prince of Persia, I love being challenged to change my habits. One run, I’m using an axe; on another, I’m using dual daggers to make short work of my enemies. It’s a satisfying loop of roguelike action that makes The Rogue Prince of Persia Review positive. 

The Rogue Prince of Persia Review – Loop

Just like any other roguelike game, you win by losing. You play a level, gain experience, both in-game and in real life, and then die. Back at the base, you use resources to upgrade the character and try your luck again. It’s this satisfying gameplay loop that makes roguelikes so engaging to play. The Rogue Prince of Persia Review praises the game for getting the basics right. 

The Prince is stuck in a time loop from childhood. Whenever he dies, he wakes up a day before. He has a complete memory of how he died and thus can make different decisions. The story is simple: enemies are attacking Persia, and the Prince must save not only his family but also his kingdom. It’s an easy-to-digest concept which gets fleshed out by having chats with allies in the hub area. 

You start a level, pick a weapon and progress through the game. New paths open as you explore, new areas unlock, and of course, you find new weapons. The more you play, the more you’ll progress. The game is not that hard, especially for players familiar with roguelike tropes. So expect the game to last somewhere between 20 and 30 hours. The length is shorter compared to other games in the genre, but the game is appropriately priced. 

The Rogue Prince of Persia Review – Combat 

A good roguelike survives in its combat. While The Rogue Prince of Persia is not exceptionally good, it gets the job done. I didn’t feel at a disadvantage even with weapons I didn’t like, so the combat strikes a good balance. Some weapons are fast and nimble, while others are heavy and damaging, allowing everyone to pick their favorites and do well. 

There are throwables in the game, too, which are usually on a cooldown. Unfortunately, this means ranged combat is severely limited in the game. As an archer in every game that has a bow, I was a little disappointed. However, the game does a great job of providing a wide variety of weapons, which prevents the formula from feeling stale. I also loved the use of elemental damage. I got my first game clear with a poison-centric build. 

The platforming mechanics are also stellar. It’s a Prince of Persia game after all, so platforming is in the franchise’s DNA. There isn’t any time reversal mechanic in the game, though; you can’t reverse your mistakes here. You make a choice, you stick to it until you either die in the game or change the weapon. The game gives plenty of opportunities to change weapons, upgrade them, or swap to a stronger variant, so you are constantly progressing. 

The Rogue Prince of Persia Review – Replay

The review of The Rogue Prince of Persia has to acknowledge the game’s replayability. It’s average, which is a little disappointing. After ending the game around three times, I felt no compulsion to play again. I didn’t uncover every thread in the game, but after about 30 runs, I was completely done with it. 

It’s a fun ride, especially for the asking price, but I feel it doesn’t have much staying power. The art style, gameplay, and level designs are great, but they do get stale after dozens of runs. The game tries to introduce modifiers to make it feel fresh, but they are not well-designed. The modifiers do add an extra layer of difficulty, but I found them more annoying than fun. The modifiers are as bad as in Borderlands 4’s Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode; they just don’t offset the positives. 

You gain Gold during a run, which you can use in the in-level shops. You also gain Soul Cinders, which you can use to upgrade the Prince after a run. Then there’s Corrupted Blood, which can be used for cosmetics. Overall, the economy is well balanced. I was never short on Gold, but I only spent it on weapons that I wanted and upgraded. The Soul Cinders can usually be banked before a boss fight so that you won’t lose a lot of them like in Dark Souls. 

Conclusion:

The game also lacks the depth seen in other roguelikes like Hades or even the developer’s own game, Dead Cells. I was expecting The Rogue Prince of Persia to be an upgrade over Dead Cells, but unfortunately, it doesn’t hit the mark. Is the game bad? Absolutely not, it’s a fun, fantastic ride that will last you a few long gaming sessions. It won’t be a memorable one, though. Maybe The Rogue Prince of Persia 2 will rectify the issues. 

If you like roguelikes, the Rogue Prince of Persia Review should’ve convinced you to give the game a shot. The game is available on both Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extra subscription services, allowing subscribers to check it out for no additional cost. 

I played the game on PlayStation 5, PlayRatedGames didn’t receive a review code from Remedy Entertainment. Check out Rogue Prince of Persia page to see how the game is doing in ratings.

Rating: 7/10