has always held a special place in my heart. Sands of Time is the first video game I remember finishing and I’ve been enamoured with the series from the moment I first watched the Prince cheat death by rewinding time. Even through its 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:edgy emo era, weird Jake Gyllenhaal movie, and strangely simplifie♛d reboot, I’ve always had Prince o༺f Persia’s back.

That has made it all the more p♋ainful that we haven’t had a proper entry in the series since 2010’s ironically overlooked Forgotten Sands. After more than a decade of sitting back while takes over as Ubisoft’s primary platforming series, Prince of Persia fans are finally about to eat well again thanks to which, despite a middling story, is a triumphant return to form.

Much like the underrated 2008 reboot, The Lost Crown sidesteps the beloved Sands of Time trilogy by telling its own tale with a new protagonist who couldn’t be further from the unnamed Prince we all fell in love with. This time around, we control Sargon, a brash and combative orphan who is the youngest member of the Immortals, a group of warriors who serve the kingdom as its protectors. We meet him as the group takes on꧙ a mission to save Prince Ghassan from Mount Qaf.

That's right, the "Prince" this time around is actu❀ally a cꦦharacter you're out to save rather than the one you play.

Despite kicking off with a decent level of intrigue and time-bending mystery, The Lost Crown’s story is predictable and never really goes anywhere, which isn’t 🌼helped by wonky acting and cheap-looking cutscenes. Sargon is one of the only interesting characters in the game, but his arc of discovering why he fights is underdeveloped and rushed, making him a one-note protagonist, even if he has some badass moments to rival Warrior Within.

The Lost Crown might tell one of the series’ weaker stories, but it makes uꦏp for it by nailing everything else. Its biggest triumph is its platforming, which is some of the most satisfying and nail-biting I’ve experienced in a game in a long time. Sargon feels great to manoeuvre and only gets more athletic as you unlock some of the time powers and double-jump ability, as well as air dash and a grappling hook 🐭made out of a strand of time.

The wealth of movement options combined with the time powers give The Lost Crown some of the best platforming moments that Prince of Persia has ever seen. The🎐re are some late-game gauntlets that had me sweating and cursing as I swung from poles, defied death by reversing time, and dashed through spikes all without missing a beat. The Lost Crown might not be 3D, but its platforming is even stronger than the Sands of Time trilogyꦉ.

Sargon’s swift platforming skills also make moving through The Lost Crown’s Metroidvania world map, a first for the series, a consistently good time. I’ve never been into the genre myself, but it works well for Prince of Persia and the slow rollout of time-based abilities makes continuously o𒁏pening up Mount Qaf and conquering its tough puzzles incredibly satisfying.

There are some parts of the Metroidvania design that are a bit more frustrating, however. Backtracking is a pain at the start of the game before you discover fast-travel points, and even then there aren’t enough of them for how spaced-out certain locations are from one another. The lack of any checkpoints between Wak Wak trees, which act as respawn landmarks, can also put a dent in your progress if you forget to visit a nearby tree. Even with those teething issues, Prince of Persia’s move into a new genre suits it surprisingly wel𓄧l and is a smart direction for a series that has been supplanted by the juggernaut that is Assassin’s Creed.

The Lost Crown also has some fairly standard🌜 Ubisoft levelling systems with its gear and equipment, which are features I found helpful for welcoming in newcomers to the genre. Veterans, like senior features editor E🧸ric Switzer, might not enjoy it so much.

Pixel-perfect platforming is to be expected, considering it comes from the same team who made Rayman Origins and Legends, but what did surprise me is how satisfying and layered its combat is. Eജven the biggest PoP-heads would admit that sword swinging has never been the series’ strong suit and is usually something I groaned at in between wall-running, but here it compliments the platforming well and is equally as enjoyable.

Instea♓d of slowly slashing at enemies with a weak dagger and trying to kick them off ledges like Princes past, Sargon is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, using his dual blades and bow to tear enemies to shreds with a surprisingly dense combat system that includes lift, c💞ounters, combos, air attacks, and more.

Much like the platforming, things are made even more interesting when you throw in time powers that let Sargon zip around the environment, pull enemies towards him like Nero in Devil May Cry, and even tear a hole in a dimension to send projectiles back at foes. All of these options make combat feel open and satisfying to master, especially when you combine amulets with unique buffs and Athra Surges that give you temporary special abilities ꦏin battle, like being able to fire a massive shot from your bow or basically make Sargon go Super Saiyan.

Sargon going Super Saiyan makes sense .

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown might not have the most captivating story and characters, but its platforming and combat are a new peak for the series - an i🥀mpressive feat considering that’s what put it on the map in the first place. Some fans may have already turned their nose up at The Lost Crown because of everything that it does differently from the Sands trilogy, but this is not only one of its best entriꦓes in the series, but one that understands what makes Prince of Persia so great in the first place.

Score: 4/5. A PS5 code was provided by the publisher.