I by no means received over Prince of Persia’s unceremonious loss of life. Method again within the early ‘00s, The Sands of Time inventive director Patrice Desilets was uninterested in the protagonist at all times being a part of the monarchy, so he needed to take the rebooted 3D collection in a brand new route with a unique kind of most important character.
He had learn a guide about secret societies, which impressed him to loosely adapt the thought of the Asaiyun. We’d play because the Prince’s bodyguard in a much more open world able to exhibiting off the parkour system like by no means earlier than. However this spin-off took on a lifetime of its personal, turning into the much more iconic Murderer’s Creed in 2008, leaving Prince of Persia scrambling within the sand to maintain up within the shadow of its successor till it merely couldn’t maintain on anymore.
However it lastly returned after 14 years with January’s The Misplaced Crown, an outstanding 2D Metroidvania that doesn’t simply stand out from Murderer’s Creed, however surpasses its personal Prince of Persia legacy. It’s onerous to think about such a monumental feat being made any higher, however that’s precisely what the Masks of Darkness pulls off.
Set throughout the occasions of the bottom recreation, Sargon is pulled into an alternate dimension after being tricked by a fake Simurgh Feather. This different world is crumbling on the seams, and so we should climb by a void within the hopes of getting dwelling, all whereas flashbacks element the plot to kidnap the Prince.
As we’re pulled into this different actuality, we’re additionally stripped of most of our powers. You possibly can sprint, however you possibly can’t double soar or teleport to your Chakram. Your potions additionally ripped from you as your well being diminishes to simply three bars, leaving you extremely weak. The enlargement is a pleasant praise to the story, however it’s additionally an added problem that pushes you to your limits and makes you really show the abilities you’ve discovered all through the bottom recreation.
The main target is sort of completely on platforming, which is the place The Misplaced Crown really excels. However the brand new components added are what deliver Masks of Darkness up a notch. There are beams that you would be able to flip to the opposite facet of, platforms which seem one by one and vanish after you’ve jumped off them, objects that you would be able to hit to launch within the air, and noticed blades that seem from nowhere to catch you off guard.
These circulation collectively extraordinarily properly, pushing you to at all times transfer ahead at breakneck velocity. Going backwards to security is never an possibility, and so these platforming challenges demand rapid-fire reactions. Piling DLC onto a Metroidvania is a troublesome process when the fantastic thing about video games like these is the intricacies of their worlds, however taking us to a different actuality that shifts the main focus to platforming solely serves to raise the crisp, fluid motion that Misplaced Crown thrives underneath.
A few of these segments even characteristic an enormous, unkillable eyeball that stays scorching in your heels. If it catches up, you’re plummeted again to the checkpoint, additional encouraging you to maintain shifting.
It’s nonetheless a hack ‘n slash recreation, so there are enemies, however they’re far sparser than within the base recreation. Most might be immediately killed with a perfectly-timed parry, and are there so as to add circulation to the parkour as you need to dispatch them mid-jump earlier than touchdown on the subsequent platform. This tight focus is what makes Masks of Darkness really feel each bit as intricate as the bottom recreation.
However there’s a boss battle ready on the very finish, when you’ve accomplished all three paths and conquered the toughest platforming Ubisoft has to throw at us. True to the enlargement’s ethos, they’re a gauntlet demanding near-perfection. Having stolen a few of Sargon’s talents, they use acquainted strikes in opposition to you, putting you within the place of all of the enemies you’ve slain to date. It’s an attention-grabbing shift in dynamic, and with the decreased well being and potions — even after discovering power-ups all through every path — much more of a trial.
Decrease well being makes failed dodges and parries unbelievably punishing. This isn’t a boss you possibly can brute power, you have to circulation with them. However it doesn’t really feel unfair or horribly grueling, it’s one of the rewarding fights within the recreation after a few of the most satisfying platforming. Conquering the DLC appears like true mastery of The Misplaced Crown in a manner even the ultimate battle of the bottom recreation didn’t.
Nonetheless, with platforming the main focus, the Metroidvania facet takes a backseat. There aren’t power-ups that open new paths, the truth is there isn’t a lot backtracking in any respect. You’re not going to uncover secrets and techniques in outdated areas with new instruments, the main focus is squarely on shifting ahead. It makes for nice platforming, however it’s a little bit of a disgrace to see one of many strongest features of The Misplaced Crown left behind.
And with us in an alternate actuality that has Sargon’s powers stripped away, nothing on this enlargement influences on the bottom recreation. You received’t return with some newfound weapon or means, making it really feel considerably disjointed from the remainder of the narrative. Taking part in by the sport and diving into the DLC as and whenever you encounter it, slightly than after beating the sport and hungry for extra, would really feel extra misplaced than additive.
It was at all times onerous to think about how Prince of Persia might match into the brand new world carved out by Murderer’s Creed all these years in the past, a sentiment Ubisoft clearly shared when it shelved the collection for over a decade. However The Misplaced Crown lastly discovered its place, standing tall as considered one of, if not the greatest Prince of Persia recreation — a GOTY contender and a Metroidvania all-timer. The enlargement takes these components and brings them as much as the subsequent stage, making considered one of Ubisoft’s strongest outings even stronger.
