This prince will kill me! Well… or rather, I will kill him. Again and again and again. Logical – that's part of the principle. After all, The Rogue Prince of Persia lives up to its name and, just like Dead Cells, is a roguelike in which you are “supposed” to fail frequently until you get the hang of it and progress further through the game with better and better equipment.
Dead Cells… For comparison, I could have also mentioned Hades 2, which is just as ambitious and has also just entered Early Access. However, Dead Cells is basically the blood relative of The Rogue Prince of Persia, because it comes from the team that did not develop the spiritual predecessor, but has been taking care of its maintenance and expansions for some time.
His idea was to breathe new life into Prince of Persia (the original, not the later 3D sequels) with the formula that made Dead Cells one of the best roguelikes ever. The way the prince jumped over obstacles and pulled himself up onto platforms in his very first adventure was groundbreaking for many platformers at the time.
And so acrobatics also play a big role in The Rogue Prince of Persia – a much bigger one than in the aforementioned Dead Cells or Hades 2. After all, the prince can not only climb, dodge and jump over enemies, but also run along walls. How does that work? It's very simple: if you hold down the corresponding button in front of a wall, you can move in one of the four directions.
It goes without saying that this also works in the middle of a jump and that you can reach distant platforms as a result. It probably also helps you avoid large attacks. And you're right, of course: the developers didn't get this trick from the original, but from the series from The Sands of Time onwards…
The Rogue Prince of Persia
Release: 27. 05. 2024 (Steam Early Access) Entwickler: Evil Empire Publisher: Ubisoft
… as is the soundtrack in a way, which sounds like an exotic pop song in the menu, combining oriental sounds with modern tones and the crackling of a record. I'm not a huge fan of the series, which has recently been staged mostly as a youthful adventure. But purely musically, I really like this one. You can listen to it on pretty much all the major streaming platforms.
There is no talking, however, and at this point you notice that The Rogue Prince of Persia is a class below Hades 2: Its story and characters are nowhere near as interesting, at least in the first few hours, as they are from the start in Supergiant. Of course, there is something to be said for the Huns only successfully invading Persia because the prince made a mistake.
When he then reestablishes contact with his scattered family members and other acquaintances, it is usually limited to very superficial explanations. There is no atmospheric narrative to follow and I would also like to point out that I like both the classy graphics in Hades 2 and the stylish pixel art in Dead Cells better than the prince's animations, which are very stylish in individual images but at the same time feel manageable.
I don't want to criticize that too much, because on the one hand it's a matter of taste and on the other hand, at the moment only about half of all the content is in Ubisoft's early access title. So there's still a lot to be added. Hopefully the variety in the procedurally generated levels will also increase. And the most important thing is that I'm already having a lot of fun both climbing and fighting the Huns.
In contrast to Dead Cells, The Rogue Prince of Persia relies on a more tactical action, as you can not only attack and dodge, but also jump over enemies and of course climb along the wall. In addition, using the second weapon is not “free” but requires energy that you first have to recharge through successful attacks. Oh, and my favorite action: kicking Huns into crushing gears, deadly spears or deep abysses with a courageous kick.
The Rogue Prince of Persia – Angespielt
Small catch: As cool as it is, it doesn't feel completely complete yet. This is mainly because you can't see the backswing of some enemies in the fray, but the prince loses life energy pretty quickly. Apart from that, I find it quite a challenge to juggle the somewhat similar movement options of jumping, dodging and wall running in such a way that the action always runs smoothly. Maybe I'm just being too stupid. In fact, it took me quite a while before I was not only able to dodge somehow, but also always carried out the right action in the challenging boss fight (there are two in the game so far).
I already like special rooms a little better, where big loot boxes await at the end of complex hopping, climbing and jumping passages. They are not easy to find, they require good reflexes and offer decent rewards. Vertical climbing plays a big role there, of course, and it's great when you reach great heights without making any mistakes or steer the prince past tight spots.
Evil Empire takes over the structure almost faithfully from Dead Cells, because while the path to one or more exits (here too you will usually have the choice between different paths), numerous doors lead to hidden treasure chests, traders or similar challenges.
What can you find or buy there? Better weapons, of course, and… oh, yes: the traps from Dead Space aren't there. Instead, there are four slots into which you can put passive abilities in any order, which allow the prince to restore health after certain actions, trigger poison clouds, or not have to start over after the first death.
And there's a special trick to them. Many of them raise some of the slots next to them by a level, making the abilities used there even stronger. So you have to distribute these upgrades as cleverly as possible, especially since you can't move them once you've used them.
I like complicated systems for character development like this and The Rogue Prince of Persia does this really well. Perhaps the developers can make the system a little more intuitive, because I had to think about it for quite a while before I really got the hang of it. But that's more of a side wish, because basically I really like this little puzzle.
So can I fully recommend The Rogue Prince of Persia in Early Access? I would do so with a little caution. Because half of the content is still to be added, the adventure from many thousands of nights doesn't seem fully developed yet. If you like slicing your way through roguelikes and can appreciate the acrobatic approach (where else can you find wall running in two dimensions?), then you can definitely take the trip. Yes, Hades 2 had more to offer right from the start. The action there is more intense, the graphics are better and the story has many interesting characters. Last but not least, the performance on the Steam Deck currently leaves a lot to be desired. At the same time, however, I am similarly motivated in this Persia to free the land from the evil and magically adept Huns and am excited to see where the prince's journey takes him.
Tags: CellsDeadHadesmissingPersiaPiecePrincepromisingRoguestartthere39s
