Prince of Persia makes a lot of sense for the Roguelite genre, due to the series’ long history of using time bending mechanics, which are again used well here to justify the Roguelite elements and integrate them well into the story, for what story there is at the moment. This time, the prince must fight off a Hun invasion using a time-bending Bola, and the combat is truly magnificent. It feels like an evolution of the combat in Dead Cells, which was already exceptional, especially at the end of the game’s lifecycle.
The use of fluid parkour here is applied well and lets you manoeuvre through the stages well with tight controls and blends well with the combat for some of the best movement in a recent game. The fluid movement goes well with the visuals in the game, which use a Franco-Belgian comic art inspired look to create a truly memorable look. This all sounds amazing, but some of the actual areas do not use the visual style to its full potential and feel a bit lacking.
It must be stated again that The Rogue Prince of Persia is still in Early Access and more will be added, but right now the experience just feels too minimal to enjoy. There are some story elements present, but they are minimal even compared to Dead Cells, and the sad thing is that the game seems to lack its own personality. That is something I hope is fixed soon, because there is a solid framework here for a game that will be great, and hopefully Evil Empire will continue to build on and refine the game to make it as good as Dead Cells.
The Rogue: Prince of Persia may not be the best Roguelite on the market at the moment, but I am confident Evil Empire will make it something special. The devs clearly have laid the groundwork for an amazing game, but it still has a long way to go, and to be honest, it may have entered Early Access a bit too soon. If Evil Empire takes in feedback from fans and keeps building on the foundations they have laid, then The Rogue: Prince of Persia may end up even surpassing Dead Cells in the long run. I would say wait for now, but keep an eye on this game because it will become very good.
