Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown

A right royal return for Ubisoft's action-platformer

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FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 15 JAN / PUB UBISOFT DEV UBISOFT MONTPELLIER / PLAYERS 1

Back in the PS2 era, a generation of players got to know the Prince as a floppy-haired idol who could magically rewind time to undo a missed jump, a fatal blow from an enemy, or even an ill-judged kiss (genuinely part of Sands Of Time’s plot; the early ’00s were a wild time). But before that he’d enjoyed a long history as a lad who was just very good at jumping.

Ubisoft’s latest take on this decades-spanning series splits the difference. It’s a side-scrolling action platformer in the style of the 1989 original, with a hero who is very, very good at jumping (as you might expect, given that developer Ubisoft Montpellier is home to Rayman – but frankly, the limbless wonder could never). Our man can backflip in mid-air, run up and bounce off vertical walls, and slide under fallen columns or between foes’ legs, all while slashing away with his twin blades and loosing arrows from his bow.

It’s beautifully smooth in the hands, every frame-perfect animation playing out at 60fps, and before long we’re ducking saw blades and hopping platforms the second they crumble into dust without so much as a second thought. If you’ve ever watched a YouTube Let’s Play at 1.5x speed, that’s how The Lost Crown feels as default.

THERE AND BACK AGAIN