The Rogue Prince of Persia Early Access Impressions
The Rogue Prince of Persia has arrived on Early Access and it’s a sight to behold.
The Rogue Prince of Persia. Credit: Evil Empire / Ubisoft
Evil Empire’s The Rogue Prince of Persia, now on Steam Early Access, is a sidescrolling action roguelite game in the vein of Dead Cells. Though this is the second sidescrolling game in the franchise this year, it’s totally removed from January’s The Lost Crown, a metroidvania, and feels notably different to play as well.
On the surface, The Rogue Prince of Persia shares some commonalities with Dead Cells, after all, its developer worked on post-release updates and DLC for the latter. Both are sidescrolling roguelites featuring hand to hand combat, both are similarly structured, with branching paths through a run taking you through the various biomes. Evil Empire brilliantly translates the formula to to the Prince of Persia franchise.
The Rogue Prince of Persia. Credit: Evil Empire / Ubisoft / Sam Kahn
The first thing I noticed playing the game is the fluidity of movement in gameplay and animation. Playing as the Prince feels like controlling a classically animated, film-quality, living animated character in real time, cinematically the polar opposite of the realistic movement of the rotoscoped animation of the original game from 1989. His elasticity as he moves, the anticipation and follow-through on every movement, the seamless transitions between his quick acrobatic moves, the smooth easing of the speed of his action makes it look like the animators were making a a clear textbook example for the 12 principles of animation from Thomas and Johnstons’ The Illusion of Life. I touched on this briefly in my review of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The impact effects and dust clouds, the movement of the Prince’s flowing red sash, as well as the cel-shaded look of everything help sell the effect. It all looks buttery smooth on my Steam Deck in its native resolution.
The Rogue Prince of Persia. Credit: Evil Empire / Ubisoft / Sam Kahn
Combat features no parrying, unlike in The Lost Crown. Here, the Prince dodges by leaping over his enemies, or strategically stuns them by using a lightning quick kick. You must rely on his speed and agility to succeed, controlling crowds by deftly using these tools to get out of harm’s way. You can get modification badges that affect combat, for example one will spread sticky goop on the ground when you do a ground slam attack. The game also currently has a small variety of main and secondary weapons, which all feel distinct in their weight and movement.
One of my favorite things about traversal in the game is the creative double jump mechanic that fits the character perfectly. Rather than executing a mid-air double jump, the Prince can briefly run on walls in the background and then leap. You can control whether you run vertically, diagonally, or horizontally. The way it works creates unique opportunities for interesting level design, since the walls become a platform in the 3rd dimension and the player needs to account for gaps such as windows or holes in natural rock formations.
The Rogue Prince of Persia. Credit: Evil Empire / Ubisoft / Sam Kahn
The Rogue Prince of Persia is very early in its Early Access journey, since the developers have stated it’ll likely remain there for over a year. Things like meta progression are just starting to be implemented and there’s a limited amount of content. However, this version is an excellent preview of things to come, showcasing multiple zones and bosses. If it continues feeling this good to play, it’s going to be one of the best games in its genre. I can’t wait to see what Evil Empire has in store with each update.
The Rogue Prince of Persia is available now in Early Access on Steam.
Played on: Steam Deck
