Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – 25 hours is the perfect length for a Metroidvania, actually
Earlier this week, a great write-up about Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was posted over on Game Informer. The piece goes into some detail about the opening three hours of the game – where you’re introduced to new protagonist Sargon (not a prince) and his quest to rescue kidnapped royal heir Ghassan (is a prince).
I’ve had the pleasure of playing The Lost Crown at Summer Games Fest 2023, and as soon as I came away from the Ubisoft booth at the show, I put my name down for the final review here on VG247. This is catnip for me; a Metroidvania with a dogged commitment to its artstyle and a much deeper combat system than you’d expect from a 2D puzzle-platformer. It’s a bastardised Rayman/Assassin’s Creed lovechild that should be so ubiquitously Ubisoft, yet somehow feels like an indie gem (much in the vein of Hollow Knight or Ori & The Blind Forest).
And, in the Game Informer write-up, we learn that Ubisoft reckons it’s a 25 hour experience. Imagine my little face lighting up as I read that, illuminated in the dark by my phone’s night screen like something from Black Mirror. That’s perfect. Perfect. The absolute best length a game like this could be.