Roguelites have taken over the gaming industry in the last few years, with Ubisoft’s The Rogue Prince of Persia being the latest entry into the genre. Developed by Evil Empire, creators of the hit Dead Cells, The Rogue Prince of Persia brings our titular Prince to a new battle against the Huns. It’s the second Price of Persia title this year, following the excellent Prince of Persia The Lost Crown. In Early Access, The Rogue Prince of Persia has a lot of promise with tight gameplay and an addictive loop, but a lackluster item economy still needs work.
The Rogue Prince of Persia finds the Prince a few days after an attack by the Huns on the capital city. Desperate to stop them and rescue the city he calls home, the Prince fights across a number of biomes and a few bosses. The story setup is simple but works, with side characters hidden around each area to provide a bit more color and lore. There isn’t a lot to do with these characters yet, but hopefully, more will be flushed out with time.
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The gameplay is handled well, with the movement standing out. The Prince can wall run to better evade enemies and scale platforms, which feels smooth to use. Running up walls, bouncing from pole to pole, and vaulting over enemies has a fantastic flow. The only thing missing is a dedicated dodge or dash. The vault button works but doesn’t have a lot of distance to it, making you get close to properly evade. In the early hours, I took a lot of damage, trying to evade by instinct rather than vaulting. Even after more time with it and adjusting to the vault, a dash/dodge is still missed.
The combat is fun as well. The range of weapons at launch is great, with each feeling different than the other. The dual knives deal quick DPS and have a special that stuns enemies under 50% health. The spear strikes at a distance and can be thrown to double as a ranged weapon. My favorite so far is the broadsword, which hits hard and can launch enemies into the air.
The abilities and weapons are simple in The Rogue Prince of Persia without modifiers.
The secondary weapons, also known as tools, also have a good variety to them. The bow is great for distance shots, while the grappling hook can pull enemies towards you. The standout in the entire combat kit is the Prince’s kick, which sends enemies flying into walls, one another, or, in the best case, off platforms to their deaths. Weaving a combo of the above is so satisfying, especially if you can send an enemy careening into the abyss with a well-placed boot in the face.
The medallions act as special enhancements you can pick up during your travels. You can have a maximum of four equipped at one time. Many of them amplify other slots around, increasing the level of the medallions to greater effect. Some may give you gold for enemies killed and stack the amount of gold for the level, while others can leave poison clouds or restore a bit of health.
This system is cool but doesn’t have enough variation at this point. One medallion may spread resin, which slows enemies caught in it when you vault over an enemy, while another spreads resin with a dive attack. A lot of them restore varying amounts of energy or health. This is where the Early Access state starts to show its limitations.
The issue that lands here is the current weapon and medallion systems don’t make each run feel much different than the last. The core gameplay is addicting and fun, but the only variations between weapons are their strength and special. Finding one set of knives will be the same as the next, but just a bit stronger. Finding one poison medallion will have a lot of the same effects as another poison medallion. There isn’t enough variation between them to make each run feel different than the last.
There are no weapon modifiers or abilities to make the knives feel different than others. Dead Cells at least allowed you to sell loot or items found that weren’t of use to you, but in The Rogue Prince of Persia, they’re left on the ground to rot. This gets frustrating, especially when you do a challenging platforming section to find a chest that offers a weapon you don’t need or another modifier with similar effects to one you already have. Hopefully, these systems will gain depth as the game continues to its full launch.
Despite the lack of variation, the roguelite loops are fun to move through. Each area feels different than the last, and the absolutely killer soundtrack makes you feel like a badass as you wall run and shred enemies. One area may hold more enemies that get in the way of platforming, while another biome has water slides that can alter how you move through the space.
The art style is also gorgeous, taking on an almost cartoony look to it. It’s simple but fluid and allows for each biome to have its own sense of style and identity. The one more run itch that is absolutely necessary for any good roguelite is ever present here, already keeping me up far too long trying to satiate the feeling.
Performance is also really solid. I experienced no issues playing on PC, though I mostly spent time on Steam Deck. The game isn’t verified at the time of writing but runs at a constant 50-60fps. It does chug significantly during loading, but the actual gameplay is relatively solid, rarely dipping under 50fps. It’s the perfect game to have on the go, hopping in for a couple of runs here and there.
The Rogue Prince of Persia is off to a great start. While it doesn’t have a ton of variation in its weapon or medallion systems, the 6 biomes and 2 bosses offer plenty of challenge and fun. The gameplay is tight and fluid, nailing that one-more-run feeling of a good roguelike. The developers plan to double the amount of content by 1.0, so there’s plenty to look forward to.
The Rogue Prince of Persia is available now in full on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
