We analyze the early access version of The Rogue Prince of Persia
The Prince of Persia franchise has been missing for many years. The one that was the foundation for Ubisoft's current goose that laid the golden eggs lay among the forgotten sagas of our environment, relegated to being remembered only by those who once They enjoyed their most glorious deliveries. Luckily, after announcing a remake that failed to convince at first glance, the French company decided to resurrect it, first with the acclaimed Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and now with the early access release of The Rogue Prince of Persiaa title developed by Evil Empire.
For those of you who don't know it, this studio is mainly recognized for its work with Dead Cells, probably one of the best indie games in history, and also a great exponent of the rogue genre – the same one to which The Rogue Prince of Persia belongs – . For this reason, since the announcement of this last title there has been great expectation, and after a small delay after the surprise launch of Hades 2we are already close to being able to enjoy early access of this new Prince of Persia title.
I already I have had the pleasure of playing this early access from start to finishand below I will give you my impressions, although I can tell you now that we are facing the foundations of what in the future could be considered one of the best rogues in the sector.
It is a roguelite, and that is a great success
Many of you may not know The difference between the two types of rogue video games. Firstly, we have roguelikes, a tagline that tends to encompass the entire genre, but in these cases we find titles in which the elements obtained in a run are lost at the end of it, having to start the next one from scratch. Besides we have the roguelites -genre to which The Rogue Prince of Persia belongs-, in which although an important part of the elements obtained is lost, some of them are also maintained.
As I already mentioned, The Rogue Prince of Persia turns out to be a roguelite, and although this may be somewhat controversial, I think this has been the best possible idea, and I base this especially on the aspect of accessibility. This genre is not especially easy for many users, since many times the sensation of progression comes solely from the player's ability to adapt, which often leads to frustration that prevents the work from being appreciated in all its magnitude. Although allowing certain elements to be maintained between games does not completely mitigate this initial problem, the truth is that it allows the user to appreciate a progression that otherwise seems non-existent.
Even so, I would like to clarify that it is not a simple game. Adapting to its playable loop is relatively complex, and the final bosses force the user to put into practice everything they learned during their previous games. Furthermore, I must point out that the only thing we will be able to maintain is certain element that acts as a currency to get more options in the game. This translates into more types of weapons that can appear in chests or in other ways, as well as more types of bonuses that allow us to shape the game to our liking.
Regarding these aforementioned bonuses, I must say it's an interesting concept.. You can think of them as a version of the blessings that we can find in the Hades saga, but somewhat more interesting in the way they generate synergies. For now I can't say that this mechanic seems to be exploited to the fullest, but each bonus has certain levels that unlock very particular effects. These are unlocked by placing more types of bonuses on nearby spaces, allowing not only a tactical approach in the way you decide to place thembut it puts on the table the issue of synergies that I already mentioned.
We can get new bonuses in our camp.
Heir to Dead Cells in terms of combat
Dead Cells is the star project of Evil Empire, the same studio that is now going to give us The Rogue Prince of Persia, and this is something that is noticeable, especially in terms of combat. That very own system, which makes you feel the hardness of each blow, but at the same time you have considerable satisfaction By chaining them, it is present in this title, and the truth is that I greatly appreciate it.
In this case we will have two different weapons. The main weapon, which you can change as you progress in the run, and a secondary weapon that turns out to be the shot, and which is linked to a bar that will be used up surprisingly quickly. All of this is still too reminiscent of Dead Cells, and while this is not negative per se, it is true that may worry many usersbut there is a very important element that differentiates it from the same: parkour.
In the aforementioned Dead Cells we find a very primitive parkour, which simply serves as a tool to advance through the level, but in this The Rogue Prince of Persia I can say that it is a fundamental part of the playable systems, and especially it is part of the combat system. Not only will you have to use it to advance in certain areas, and even It will be mandatory to master it to obtain certain elements in special rooms, but certain situations will force you to use it to your advantage to defeat an enemy. From the annoying beings that hang from the bars and that will hit you the slightest thing you get close to, to a boss that forces you to master the mechanics of running up walls even to have a chance to defeat him.
The combat is fun, satisfying and hard-hitting.
From the outside it may seem like an extra mechanic, which is attractive when you appreciate it through gameplay or when you advance through the levels, but the reality is that It is totally essential to be able to emerge victorious from a run..
Curiously, this It aligns perfectly with the saga in which it is set, because some time before the arrival of the Assassin's Creed saga, we can say that Ubisoft gave us with some Prince of Persia an invaluable parkour experience, being able to say that it was one of the pillars of their experience. For this I am pleased not only that it has been included in this titlebut rather that it is a truly fundamental piece of the title in general, and of the combat in particular.
Parkour is clearly one of the most important pieces of the gameplay experience.
A very complete early access
I have already talked about what type of games we can expect, what the combat is like and the fundamental piece that turns out to be parkour, but now I would like to point out something in more general terms, and that is that yes, The Rogue Prince of Persia is for now an early access, but the truth is that it doesn't feel like it.
It has content to give and give away, and much of it is polished to a fault. It is true that I have found certain mechanics that could be polished, such as the issue of bonuses, and there are also some specific errors, but otherwise it is a really very complete experience. It offers us many types of weapons to enter the many different levels that we can find, so many that even after having made the most of it, I think there may be some level that I have not found.
We are talking about a genre that tends to offer a lot of content, so much so that the majority of people who finish these titles have not seen even half of what they can offer, but in this case I do not think we should disdain this title for being early access. If your fear is that it will not fulfill what you believe simply because it is in an early phase, I think that it might be worth giving it a tryand thus be able to better appreciate its evolution over time.
Furthermore, thanks to this early access we can better appreciate its artistic style, which I would define as very particular and successful. Maybe It is not the one that many would have chosen for a title of this type, but it works very well with most scenarios, characters and bosses. Even so, in the case of animations I find myself in a dilemma. While many of them are satisfying – especially those related to parkour – others feel incomplete, which can offer a feeling of dissatisfaction. Of course, I think this is something that can be improved over time.and I wouldn't point it out as a fatal error that ruins the experience, but rather as a small detail that can be changed for the better.
The art of The Rogue Prince of Persia especially shines in its settings.
I wish you a bright future
After how much I fell in love with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, I didn't expect Evil Empire to be able to surprise me, and clearly I was wrong. We are facing a roguelite that not only has all the essence of the Ubisoft saga, but also knows how to build on it to offer us the foundations of what could soon be one of the great games of its genre.
For now it is a good game, surpassing many similar titles, but It clearly lacks something that makes it stand out as it deserves.. This study has already shown us that they know what they are doing with similar titles, and therefore I have faith that The Rogue Prince of Persia will soon be a benchmark for many other titles.
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