The developers of The Rogue Prince of Persia made a bold and controversial decision by leaving behind the sand-hued aesthetic that has been the franchise’s mainstay for decades by opting for a vibrant and cartoony art style.
However, this decision is not as crazy as it seems at first glance.
The developers’ chosen aesthetic is very similar to the style employed by several prominent Middle Eastern art studios, and considering where The Rogue Prince of Persia is set, using a style that is authentic to the region is a great idea.
That being said, why they chose to make the Prince purple, I have no idea.
While I have seen similar cartoons from the Middle East use a similar colour palette for characters, considering Prince of Persia’s predominantly Western fanbase, I would have liked to have seen the art style we currently have combined with a more traditional sand-toned palette, helping to make The Rogue Prince of Persia feel more like an actual Prince of Persia title, and not an unrelated game using the IP to clout and attention.
Image credit The Rogue Prince of Persia - Published by Ubisoft and developed by Evil Empire.
While aesthetics are important, the gameplay is more so, and in that respect, The Rogue Prince of Persia shines on all accounts due to its buttery smooth combat and platforming; moving throughout each zone and dispatching enemies is a real pleasure.
As a huge fan of Metroidvania and rogue-like games, I feel the developer has managed to capture the essence of both genres while allowing The Rogue Prince of Persia to exist as something unique in its own right.
While it only feels this good when playing on a controller (and the developers suggest using one), I have no issue with PC games playing better with a controller, as owning a gamepad for your PC is no longer a rarity.
While most games play great with a mouse and keyboard, it is time the PC gaming community drop the requirement that all PC games must play well with a mouse and keyboard, as frankly, some games are meant to be experienced with a controller, and forcing developers to waste time and money ensuring that a title is playable with a mouse and keyboard does little but result in wasted development hours and a substandard control scheme that does not portray the title in the best light.
Image credit The Rogue Prince of Persia - Published by Ubisoft and developed by Evil Empire.
Overall, I am really impressed with the idea and potential of The Rogue Prince of Persia, and that is why I have trouble recommending it fully at this time.
Right now, it feels more like a tech demo or very early alpha with a lot of promise than a title that is ready to enter early access.
A year or two from now, The Rogue Prince of Persia will feel like a complete package, but with just two or three hours of content and a handful of enemy types, The Rogue Prince of Persia just doesn’t feel ready for release in any form at this time, and I feel that releasing into early access has hurt its chances of success, as frankly, people will buy it based on how good it looks, not refund it based on how fun it is to play, only to feel disappointed when they run out of things to do, just after the two-hour refund window closes.
That being said, The Rogue Prince of Persia will sell very well on console, and while launching as an early access project may have sullied its chances of being a successful PC title, if the developers can wait until the game is feature complete before launching on PC, it has a chance to be a very successful indie title.
However, expectations must be kept within reasonable parameters.
It can potentially recoup development costs, make a small profit and ensure a sequel or DLC, but there is no possible scenario where The Rogue Prince of Persia becomes the next Vampire Survivors, as frankly, its price point of $19.99 ensures that will never be the case for a game of this size and scale in a market this competitive.
Image credit The Rogue Prince of Persia - Published by Ubisoft and developed by Evil Empire.
The Rogue Prince of Persia is a action video game developed by Evil Empire and published by Ubisoft, it was released on 27 May 2024 and retails for $19.99.
The Rogue Prince of Persia is available exclusively on PC.
The following peripherals are officially supported:
The Rogue Prince of Persia is rated PEGI 12+ and contains:
The Rogue Prince of Persia is a surprisingly good rogue-like game that borrows heavily from the Metroidvania genre and is sure to please fans of both genres; however, it is not necessarily a good “Prince of Persia game” as while the visual aesthetic chosen by the developers helps it differentiate itself from the rest of the series, it just doesn’t feel like a Prince of Persia game.
It would have been better to market it as a new IP instead of presenting itself as part of a franchise with a dedicated fanbase that expects games to look and play a certain way.
Overall, The Rogue Prince of Persia is an excellent rogue-like game, and I can’t wait to see it reach its full potential.
However, until that potential is fully realized, I cannot enthusiastically recommend it.
While The Rogue Prince of Persia is fun for a few hours, as of June 2024, the vast majority of the game (excluding grinding for meta unlocks) can be completed in less than 3 hours, making it one of the shortest (and by extension) priciest rogue-like games on the market coming in at $19.99 for at most three hours of playable content.
