..."Prince of Persia casts aside its former self"...
If I had only one word to choose when describing Prince of Persia it would have to be this: Beautiful. This particular iteration in the Prince of Persia franchise casts aside its former self including combat, art style, and story formula, in favor of a completely new approach. In my opinion this change is for the better as the graphics and character development in the game are some of the best I have yet to experience in a Prince of Persia game.
From the moment you start it becomes very apparent that the Ubisoft Montreal had a distinct vision for how this entry in the series would look and compare to the others. The art style is a mix of cell shading and realism. The vibrant colors of the characters clash sharply with the sand and stone environment making the characters seemingly pop out of the screen.
One of the more elaborate visual effects in the game is the abundant use of cloth physics. Everything that you would expect to be swept up in the wind gets blown around like Marilyn Monroe's skirt, and it works really well. It adds a whimsical feeling to the game when coupled with the amazing color pallet.
From the moment you start it becomes very apparent that the Ubisoft Montreal had a distinct vision for how this entry in the series would look and compare to the others. The art style is a mix of cell shading and realism. The vibrant colors of the characters clash sharply with the sand and stone environment making the characters seemingly pop out of the screen.
One of the more elaborate visual effects in the game is the abundant use of cloth physics. Everything that you would expect to be swept up in the wind gets blown around like Marilyn Monroe's skirt, and it works really well. It adds a whimsical feeling to the game when coupled with the amazing color pallet.
..."Ubisoft utilized the entire color pallet"...
Speaking of color, this is why I would use the word beautiful for this game. Ubisoft utilized the entire color pallet with this one. Everything from pastel to neon is implemented so artistically and meaningfully you may find yourself stopping to smell the roses more often than you might expect. The environment changes as you progress and adds a sense of urgency to your mission to bring down the God of Darkness. As you accomplish this the land changes from dark and moody to bright and sunny. The change is animated and dramatic and always fun to watch.
..."The rhythm of movement and combat"...
The combat is paired with acrobatics nicely and they go hand in hand in terms of the flow of the game. One moment you may be wall running and the next you're performing a Triple Lutz with your sword over an enemies head. The rhythm of movement and combat is extremely well done and makes you feel very accomplished when you string together a long combo attack or a flawless parkour segment.
In terms of story Prince of Persia gets it right and wrong. While playing you can take a moment to talk to your A.I. controlled counterpart. During these brief exchanges you are given insight into the characters and their past. These optional dialogue moments provide for some of the funniest and most enlightening banter I have ever heard in a game. The problem lies in that they are optional. I don't want to even think about what this game would be like without having done all of the chit chat sessions. Voiced by Nolan North as the Prince and Kari Wahlgren as Elika, these should not be missed as they fundamentally contribute to the story and honestly it's a shame they are optional.
The story is pretty straight foreword so I won't go into too much detail in that regard, but it is engaging and entertaining throughout. As you play you unlock new magical powers that by the end of the game are all used in conjunction to pass certain areas. There are several puzzle sequences that, in a positive way, interrupt the game play flow. These puzzles require you to manipulate switches and levers in order to progress through the level and range in difficulty.
Because the game is open world, environmental hazards evolve as you chip away at Ahriman's corrupted Lieutenants. At the start of the game, traversing the landscape is pretty straight forward. As you progress however it gets a lot more tricky. Everything from pools of corruption to moving tentacle blobs hinder your progression and add a nice steady increase in difficulty. Before you know it you become an expert wall running, ledge grabbing, tower scaling, pole swinging, God crushing princess saving Prince.
Prince of Persia is one of those rare games that allows the player a whimsical and uncomplicated vacation into another world. It refines the series and re-imagines it into a beautiful new addition to the franchise. While there was an epilogue DLC released and a continuation story arc in the form of a handheld title, my only regret is that there wasn't a sequel to this wonderful diamond in the rough in the form of a full game on console or PC.
Prince of Persia is one of those rare games that allows the player a whimsical and uncomplicated vacation into another world. It refines the series and re-imagines it into a beautiful new addition to the franchise. While there was an epilogue DLC released and a continuation story arc in the form of a handheld title, my only regret is that there wasn't a sequel to this wonderful diamond in the rough in the form of a full game on console or PC.