Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown – it’s actually really good (Picture: Ubisoft)

GameCentral speaks to the director of the new Prince Of Persia game, about 2D platforming and protagonists with generic rage.

One of the most unexpected reveals at the recent gaggle of not-E3 showcases was the reveal of a brand new Prince Of Persia game. That should have been a moment of celebration for fans, but the game was immediately engulfed in controversy once it became clear that it was a 2D Metroidvania with relatively little in common with any of the previous games.

We got hands-on with it shortly after though and found that it was actually an extremely well-made and entertaining game. The only obvious flaw was the one many fans were most worried about: the fact that you don’t actually play as the Prince but an unlikeable looking new character, filled with exactly the sort of generic rage that The Sands Of Time’s sequels were reviled for.

We didn’t have a chance to interview developer Ubisoft Montpellier – the same studio behind Rayman Legends – at the time but we were offered an email interview afterwards, where we asked game director Mounir Radi all about the main character, the difficulties of making a big budget 2D game, and some hints about additional time powers…

GC: What were your initial aims for the game? At first glance it looks like it’s trying to mix the older 2D games with elements from The Sands Of Time, but really it doesn’t have a lot in common with either. Was that always the intention or did the project just evolve into the current direction?

MR: Our ambition has always been to deliver a true Prince Of Persia game, respectful of the series’ legacy but reinvented thanks to our expertise and belief in 2D platforming. The core concept comes from a long process of ideation and discussion that starts long before the conception phase. At the end of 2019, we found the right momentum (and the right team!) to make it happen.

GC: The teleport move was very interesting. Even if you can’t describe them, how many other time-related powers are there like that? How do you go about designing an ability like that, which has the potential to unbalance a game, especially in a purposefully challenging title like this?

MR: Like all other game mechanics, the teleport ability has been designed to foster player’s creativity and feed every gameplay pillar (platforming, combat, and puzzle). In The Sands Of Time trilogy, time powers have been designed to manipulate and bend time flow. In The Lost Crown, we focused on abilities allowing you to master space and gravity since we’re talking about an action adventure game where exploration and traversal are central.

Without spoiling everything, I can mention the Arm of Mithra, a magic sword allowing you to tear space to create a rift and capture various gameplay elements on the battlefield, like enemies, projectiles, or traps to make use of their specific properties. With such an ability, players can capture and store a bomb used by a specific enemy, to use it in another area to destroy a breakable surface. Coupled with the teleport ability and other mechanics, it allows strong combinatorics that push players’ autonomy and reward self-expression.

This is a horizontal approach to a character’s progression, where players have an orthogonal toolset to use at their convenience but ensuring a progressive learning curve of the new time powers: first acquisition, then a dedicated gating encouraging the understanding and mastering of the new skill, and finally a boss fight where this skill will be of great added value.

And when it comes to balancing, we always refer to the risk vs. reward rule, this is the best way to ensure a generous and very open gameplay with clear trade-off.

GC: I really enjoyed the fluidity of the main character and his combat options, how much of that is due to the studio’s expertise with the Rayman games? How many developers from those games are working on this and was there ever a point when the game was even more like them?

MR: I’m really happy to read that! Beyond our expertise and love for platforming games, we are also super fans of fighting games and martial arts, and I think it’s quite obvious when it comes to the gameplay of The Lost Crown.

Games like Street Fighter or Super Smash Bros. have a sense of purity when it comes to characters’ move-sets. Even if quite limited, each movement or attack has a specific function, range and properties that make it efficient in a specific situation. Some of those movements can be cancelled and mixed, but other ones are deliberate and risky. But over and above this, there’s the timing. And timing is music, in the same way that it is in platform games.

We have in our team about 20 experienced people who worked on the Rayman series, like Christophe Pic (World Director), Bertrand Israel (Lead Level Designer), Gregory Palvadeau (Senior Level Designer), and Jean-Christophe Alessandri our Senior Artistic Director. They all understand the basic concept of flow in character’s movement. But with the Metroidvania structure and exploration, the musical partition has changed… and is way jazzier! Platforming is still important, but guidance is key now and we iterate a lot on this topic.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – why couldn’t Sargon have been more like the Prince? (Picture: Ubisoft)

GC: It seems likely that Metroid Dread was also an influence, at least in terms of proving that 2D games can still demand a premium price. What price point are you going for and are you worried that some people will simply ignore the game out of hand because it’s 2D?

MR: We do believe that the game brings a strong production value in gameplay features, enemies, environments, cinematics and overall polish (the game is 2.5D and runs at a consistent 60fps on all platforms). We still have so much content and surprises to reveal until the release that we are confident that gamers will enjoy the whole experience, even if it’s a side-scroller!

[Ubisoft has subsequently confirmed that the game will be £44.99 – GC]

GC: The only thing that worries me about the game is the main character. The Prince in The Sands Of Time was likeable and charismatic and people disliked when he became filled with ‘generic rage’ in the sequels. I would have imagined that you’d go out of your way to make the new character the opposite of that and yet he also seems to be permanently angry and not immediately likeable, with some very modern sounding dialogue.

MR: Indeed, Sargon is imperfect as any human being, which makes him relatable. He’s quite a tough and cold character at the beginning of the game. He has been raised as a weapon to serve Persia and can show no mercy for those he considers as weak. Despite his young age, his reputation of bogeyman on the battlefield precedes him, since he is known by his opponents as The Rashabar which means The Black Wind.

During his journey, Sargon will have to learn ‘What does it mean to be strong?’. Not only as a warrior but also as a human being. But of course, the answer to this spiritual quest will take a heavy toll and many obstacles. This coming-of-age story is influenced by characters like Miyamoto Musashi and is a strong aspect of Sargon’s evolution and the narrative of Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown.

Formats: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC
Price: £44.99
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier
Release Date: 18th January, 2024
Age Rating: 16

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GameCentral speaks to the director of the new Prince Of Persia game, about 2D platforming and protagonists with generic rage.