Earlier this month Ubisoft surprised gamers and critics everywhere when it revealed a new game titledPrince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Of the numerous leaks and rumors surrounding the company, this particular title seemed to have been overlooked. Despite not exactly being what some gamers were looking for,Prince of Persia: The Lost Crownappears to be taking the same route as the latestAssassin’s Creedgames.
Theannouncement trailer forPrince of Persia: The Lost Crowncame during the 2023 Summer Game Fest. Sadly the game was not the long-delayed remake ofThe Sands of Timeand was clearly taking the franchise in a new direction. More of the game was revealed during the Ubisoft Forward event and has taken the form of a 2D platform game. What’s odd about it is that it appears to be following in the footsteps of the latestAssassin’s Creedgames in their use of mythological creatures and figures.
RELATED:Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Could Make Way for a Remake of the 1989 Original
Prince of Persia’s Use of Myths and Monsters
To be clear, the franchise has never exactly been a grounded one. ThePrince of Persiagames were full of parkour, and time travel, and had the prince battling all kinds of bizarre sand zombie creatures. For the most part, the antagonists in the games were mostly humanoid-looking enemies. The main exception to this was the Dahaka fromPrince of Persia: Warrior Withinwhich served as the game’s principal antagonist. This new game, however, seems more interested in having players take on a different variety of enemies.
While the first trailer forPrince of Persia: The Lost Crownhas been flooded with dislikes, there is a degree of creativity on display. The first trailer for the game showed off numerous different monsters that the player would have to battle in addition to humanoid antagonists. Furthermore, additional gameplay footage was shown during the Ubisoft Forward event that showed the main character fighting even more monsters and rubbing shoulders with gods and other figures trapped in this new world. This, oddly enough, puts it on the same path as another Ubisoft property.
Assassin’s Creed’s Use of Myths and Monsters
Currently, theAssassin’s Creedfranchise is trying to get back to its rootswith its latest installment going back to the Medieval period but the relationship between it and thePrince of Persiaseries has always been odd. The firstAssassin’s Creedwas originally aPrince of Persiaproject that was retooled into something different when they realized the concept was better suited for a new IP. For the most part, though, the games remained fairly grounded and true to historical events. That was untilAssassin’s Creed: Originswas released.
For the most part,Originsstuck to the historical aspects of the setting save for a few odd dream sequences.Assassin’s Creed Odysseyleaned into the mythology aspect hard and was full of the franchise’s versions of the various mythical creatures.Assassin’s Creed Valhallahad players battling Odin and rubbing shoulders with the game’s versions of the Norse Gods. It’s an overall massive leap from the more grounded beginnings of the first series entries. Now it appears that thePrince of Persiagames will be going in this direction as well.
Ultimately, it’s impossible to say whether this move will be a good thing for it. The remake ofPrince of Persia: The Sands of Timeseems to have slipped into development hell, and it is possible that resources intended to go to the remake were shifted toThe Lost Crowninstead. What can be said is that the game will feature a new variety of enemies that range from humanoid to gargantuan, and whether this new game can breathe new life into the long-dormant franchise remains to be seen.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crownlaunches on June 10, 2025, for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
MORE:How Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown’s Sands of Time Compare to the Original
