Prince of Persia The Lost Crown has given the 35-year-old series its second reinvention, but I still think it's better-suited to action RPG over Metroidvania

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Shining the spotlight on someone other than the prince was a bold move for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, but that's the path Ubisoft Montpellier reportedly chose at the outset of development. It's understood the game grew into the Metroidvania genre over time, but, being brought to life by the same studio responsible for the esteemed Rayman series, The Lost Crown's penchant for platforming was never really in doubt. For some, what was more problematic, even more so than the prince not taking center stage, was the fact that this game isn't a 3D-action adventure in the style of Ubi's 2003 franchise reboot, The Sands of Time. When Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was officially unveiled at last year's Summer Game Fest, this facet of the series' fandom made themselves heard.  

Longstanding players have long fancied a return to the original 3D trilogy – a trifecta that encompassed The Sands of Time (2003), Warrior Within (2004), and The Two Thrones (2005) – but speaking personally, as someone who played the 1989 original not long after it hit European shores, and who also enjoyed the 2007 scene-by-scene reimagining, I've always wanted to see Prince of Persia push deeper into the side-scrolling space, even if that's in tandem with the proposed (but long-delayed) The Sands of Time remake. 

You can read my thoughts in full in our Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown review, but I think Ubisoft's latest cavern-crawling caper – the series' first mainline outing in 14 years – is a watershed moment.

Watch the throne

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown December Preview screenshots

(Image credit: Ubisoft)
BACK IN TIME

For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed The Lost Crown. I'm a sucker for Metroidvania games, and as noted above, I'm old enough to have played the almost-35-year-old original DOS version of Prince of Persia around release. Despite some clear push back from pockets of the series' fandom at reveal, I was sold on The Lost Crown's 2.5D style from the outset – and in practice, when it wasn't tripping over its convoluted story and force-feeding me its awkward narrative interjections, I'd go as far to say I loved it. 

Away from its deft platforming and lovely visuals, one of The Lost Crown's biggest achievements is the fact that it has successfully reinvented the Prince of Persia series itself. In 2003, the series' jump to 3D via The Sands of Time marked its first major reinvention, and while the 2008 game (named simply Prince of Persia) was a distinct shift into the action-adventure space, the fact that arrived in the same era always made it feel like an extension of the the Sands of Time trilogy. 

Following a 14-year mainline series hiatus, The Lost Crown has made Prince of Persia novel again – and while the Metroidvania genre may not have been the obvious route for doing so, it definitely fits the series' core themes of crypt-crawling, boss battling, and death-defying trap-dodging. Which is to say: all of the pieces fit here, but is this the path the series should continue down from here? 

Prince of Persia

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

"Don't get me wrong, I'd gladly take another Metroidvania in the style of The Lost Crown – but not at the expense of The Sands of Time remake and/or whatever strides the series might have up its sleeve moving forward"

For me, it's not. In the same way Assassin's Creed Mirage's streamlined and contained composition scratched an itch from the past, I see The Lost Crown as more of a stepping stone between the series of old and what's to come next. Ubisoft has already billed Assassin's Creed Red as the studio's "biggest blockbuster for 2024", and I suspect a reestablished Prince of Persia is, and should, be thinking along similar lines.

Ubisoft has also spent the last few years delaying its long-awaited and much-anticipated Prince of Persia The Sands of Time remake – a game that was unveiled at Ubisoft Forward 2020, first due at the tail-end of January the following year, and then pushed back to some point during the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Ubisoft Montreal eventually took over development (from the studio's Mumbai and Pune outfits), before switching the remakes release date to the vaguest window of "TBA". Take from that what you will, but I reckon it's fair to say Ubisoft is taking its time with a game now over 20 years old, with a following who knows exactly what they want.

And why not, that's not only Ubisoft's prerogative, but it's also, surely, what's best for Prince of Persia moving forward. Don't get me wrong, I'd gladly take another Metroidvania in the style of The Lost Crown – but not at the expense of The Sands of Time remake and/or whatever strides the series might have up its sleeve moving forward. For me, The Lost Crown is a palette cleanser ahead of the main course down the line. Until then, I say let Ubisoft cook. 


Check out the best Metroidvania games to explore to absolute completion 

Joe Donnelly
Contributor

Joe Donnelly is a sports editor from Glasgow and former features editor at GamesRadar+. A mental health advocate, Joe has written about video games and mental health for The Guardian, New Statesman, VICE, PC Gamer and many more, and believes the interactive nature of video games makes them uniquely placed to educate and inform. His book Checkpoint considers the complex intersections of video games and mental health, and was shortlisted for Scotland's National Book of the Year for non-fiction in 2021. As familiar with the streets of Los Santos as he is the west of Scotland, Joe can often be found living his best and worst lives in GTA Online and its PC role-playing scene.

Read more
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
If Assassin's Creed Shadows' delay means lessons have been learned from Star Wars Outlaws, I say: let Ubisoft cook
Key art for Assassin's Creed Rogue Remastered showing Shay Patrick Cormac in a black and red outfit that's a cross between Assassin and Templar armor, with his ship The Morrigan behind him
Assassin's Creed Shadows can wait – I spent 40 hours mopping up the map in the one game in the series everyone skipped
Assassin's Creed Odyssey screenshot
After replaying the best Assassin's Creed RPG, I hope Shadows uses the series' strengths to separate itself from Ghost of Tsushima
Naoe blends in among lush trees in Assassin's Creed Shadows while observing Amagasaki Castle from a rooftop perch
After 18 years Assassin's Creed Shadows cracks the ultimate stealth loop with its deliciously dense castles
Looking over the countryside in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows review: "More confidence, texture, and purpose than we've seen since Assassin's Creed pivoted into RPG territory"
Jade runs through a town with a camera in hand in Beyond Good and Evil
"Beyond Good and Evil's influence is 2000% Miyazaki": 21 years on, the developers behind Ubisoft's cult classic reflect on how it came to be
Latest in Games
First-person screenshot from ASYLUM, showing the protagonist's hand holding up a notebook while walking through a dark corridor.
After 15 years and a $120,000 Kickstarter push, this cult horror dev has finally released a successor to their 2006 breakout game
screenshot from Rogue Light Deck Builder showing a claymation figure sitting behind a desk.
With 97% positive reviews on Steam, Rogue Light Deck Builder is a hilarious $3 parody game that takes its name very literally
Silent Hill f art showing a person covered in plants
Silent Hill f has been pre-emptively banned in Australia, with no reason given for the 'refused classification' rating
Assassin's Creed Shadows review gameplay showing Yasuke overlooking the sea and lush green scenery
Assassin's Creed Shadows has already "surpassed the launches of AC Origins and Odyssey" with 2 million players and counting
FC 25
FC 25 Dreamchasers tracker and full UEFA promo guide
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing someone using a big gun
Helldivers 2 boss says "death and rebirth" is a natural part of the games industry, but it's "unnecessarily brutal" right now "because we don't diversify enough"
Latest in Features
Kill Team: Blood and Zeal box on a wooden surface
Kill Team: Blood and Zeal pre-orders just went live, and I wish other Warhammer games were this weird
Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
DC June 2025 solicitations: 10 must-have comics to pre-order this month
Flow
Flow won big as this year's Oscars underdog against Pixar and Netflix, and it's proof of the power of storytelling over dialogue
Yasuke riding through a village looking for Knowledge in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows' prologue is the most gripping in franchise history, but I'm fixated on the tiny details
Naoe blends in among lush trees in Assassin's Creed Shadows while observing Amagasaki Castle from a rooftop perch
After 18 years Assassin's Creed Shadows cracks the ultimate stealth loop with its deliciously dense castles
Naoe perched in front of a castle in Assassin's Creed Shadows
I've spent 20 hours in Assassin's Creed Shadows chasing drip and decor, and it's proving to be my biggest source of motivation in the RPG