I’d like to let you, the reader, beware that I did not play the previous Prince of Persia games, so what I say in this review will not be biased here nor there, if perhaps that might come across your mind whilst reading it. With that said, I came into this brand-new Prince of Persia reinvention with a semi-skeptic mind, only knowing information developers had promised without any concrete assurance. Even so, I was pleasantly surprised to realize how undoubtedly fun Prince of Persia really is; and although there remain some missed opportunities to shine further, it does not take away from this gorgeously rendered experience.
The first thing one notices when playing Prince of Persia is indisputably the art style – and justly so, because it is so distinctive from any other game release so far. It crosses cartoony realism (think anime) with cel-shading to formulate a fresher “illustrative,” art style (which is merely cel-shaded graphics, plus more detail). In terms of appeal and artistic direction (since it can’t be compared to, say, Gears of War reasonably), it is sublime, far surpassing the cel-shaded predecessors that came before it. It’s not completely perfect, but what there isn’t perfect are merely microscopic blemishes, and well disguised by “illustrative” make-up.
Soon after beginning your journey, and I mean very soon (well, actually right in the beginning), you’ll collide with a mysterious young Princess named Elika who is on the run from [what appears to be] guards chasing her. You, starting as The Prince, will of course chase her while, she is, of course, reluctant of this. Soon thereafter, you enter a temple that is home the Tree of Life, which is brutally severed, unleashing the God of Darkness, Ahriman, whom proceeds to corrupt the world. Your job is to cleanse it along with Elika. After cleansing areas, you collect light seeds, which are used to therein unlock more areas to do the same thing.
The formula continues throughout the game, and it can become a little monotonous if you play in a hardcore-gamer-like fashion. Luckily, it’s remedied with linear, yet open world, branching progression. It is not a sandbox, however – you are simply provided with four paths, and more paths within the aforementioned paths to play however one pleases. Although it doesn’t really change how the experience is (it’s still linear), it does allow you to pick and choose how you wish to walk through it, and it’s appreciated. The platforming in Prince of Persia has seamless transition, delicious animations and flows smoothly without noticeable flaw. It’s great to just move around walls, grapple on and off ledges, using Elika whenever needed. The only problem is the variety of platforming is so slim that you often feel like as much as the environments are interesting and ever changing, the stunts in which you perform are not. It doesn’t help that the game sort of plays itself at times – players have minimal control over The Prince when he’s actually performing an acrobatic feat, which can lessen the experience for some (keep in mind, this game was made with a more casual approach).
Prince of Persia does well in spoiling the player, or at least looking as if the player were being spoiled. There’s hardly any consequence for missing a ledge, or falling off or being near-killed (you cannot die, because) – Elika simply grabs your hand and lands you safely on your previously tread parcel of flat land. It serves as a more effective, less frustrating checkpoint system (something I would have killed for in Mirror’s Edge) more than anything. But honestly, there’s been times where I truly felt like a spoiled child when the game wasn’t giving me the simplicity and easiness I wanted, and I’m sure that others will think the same.
Elika, whom in story-reality, you’re partnered with, and not the other way around, is one of the best game companions I have yet to see in any game. She’s useful in a plethora of ways; be it in combat, be it in platforming, she’s always positive and never a burden, but a joy. Developers made it very clear that Elika would never detract from the experience, and never cause the player to feel as if she was in warm’s way. This was delivered very well, and not only is she only adding to the experience, but she’s incredibly likeable as a character, which further adds to the experience. Progression between the two characters occurs naturally with the progressive cleansing of fertile grounds, but for the more interested in Elika, you may always stop and get to know her (there’s a whole button dedicated to it!), or tell her to stop staring at your ass.
Enemies are fought always one-on-one, and there aren’t an awful lot of them throughout the game, with only one or two per stage, and then a boss battle. The combat in Prince of Persia makes well with being simple, yet relatively intricate – but I never found it to be awfully interesting. The emphasis on deflection can get a bit boring and doesn’t really allow for combos (or weapon upgrades, if you’re into that kind of stuff, just a heads up) or flowing attacks. On the other hands, it’s seldom a chore, but comparatively, it’s not the best system I’ve dealt with – fortunately the combat in Prince of Persia accounts for more of a taste sort of deal more than anything – the same way I found it to be repetitive, others found to be exhilarating.
Overall, Prince of Persia is a game that tends to the casual audience while keeping the masochistic at bay. There are some hiccups that could have been fixed, but with a beautifully unique art direction that is unparallel to anything previously done, dynamic and perpetually new environments with seamless acrobatic platforming, much can easily be forgiven.
