Ophelia Payne

I don’t get the opportunity to review a lot of games on the Nintendo Switch. I’m not sure why, but when something like The Rogue Prince of Persia shows up, and on the Switch, I jump at the chance.

Developed by Evil Empire and published by Ubisoft, an unknown Prince and a Hun army are the core of this franchise. The time-bending mechanic was something I hadn’t seen a lot before. Each time the hero dies, you rewind 3 days. You must manipulate this mechanic to right the wrongs, save your family and defeat the Hun big bad.

Free flow parkour felt good on the Switch, and this style of game (side scroller) makes sense on the portable hardware. Leap chasms, climb walls and hold onto the tiniest of platforms while you move through the world. I was able to take it with me to kill time on holidays or sit outside gaming for a little while.

Knowing when to choose between your primary sword and your secondary weapon is a skill learned, and you must choose wisely when fighting faster and more aggressive enemies as you progress. Kicking enemies into traps was also incredibly satisfying.

I ran into no issues playing on the Switch, and the game ran smoothly.  Visuals were crisp and vibrant as well. Loading screens were a little slow, unfortunately, and that took me out of the fluidity that I expect in most side-scroller games.

Now, playing on a Switch isn’t always the easiest, and the tiny Joy-Cons aren’t everyone’s friend. I had no issues playing in handheld mode, though. The beginning segments did a good job guiding me through the mechanics, and I felt comfortable playing. I did, however, play primarily in docked mode with a Pro Controller. This is just a setup that I am more comfortable with, and I enjoy seeing games on a bigger screen.

As with a lot of games in this genre, I fell into the ‘one more run’ trap. I can do better this time, beat the bad guy this time, and get further this time. It is not a trap I fall into often, so that should tell you that I enjoyed my time enough to not get frustrated when I died and just walk away.

The Rogue Prince of Persia currently also has a physical copy available if you choose to not to go entirely digital and add to your physical collection.

As with any Roguelike game, you die and retry. Each run, you use an XP earned to give yourself various upgrades, like permanently boosting your health (a priority). Soul Cinders are also harvested from the Huns you kill and need to be banked at the start of each new biome, or they can be lost. You can use these to unlock new weapons and medallions for future runs.

You will open multiple fast travel points, each being a new map accessible ‘after your next run’. Did I mention you will die a lot?

I think the best feature of the gameplay in The Rogue Prince of Persia is the parkour. To be completely honest, I’m generally terrible at platformers, wall running, jumping…all of it, but the parkour in this is smooth. The controls took a little while to get used to, but once you figure out the timing, it’s beautiful to watch. You can wall run on the background walls at any angle, then jump, dash, and wall run up a side wall. This fluidity looks and works well. If you can nail the timing of this, you will charge up the breath meter, making the Prince quicker and giving him a damage book.

Combat is a little less exciting than parkour to me. Attack and dodge are single buttons, and you can execute special moves by holding down the attack button. You can unleash powerful kicks to kick enemies into traps, and you can also use bows, grappling tools or any other item you have equipped with the tool button. None of the combat is bad; it’s just not particularly exciting.

To reach and beat the main boss the first time, it took me around 7hours. Then I realized that, to get the ‘true ending’, I needed to find and beat him 7 times?! I’m sure some people will like that grind; I haven’t done that yet.

I couldn’t figure out what it was about the graphic style but once I realized it reminded me on The Adventures of Tintin, it was clear. It uses a similar clear line style in its design. It’s artistic and draws you in with the familiarity of Saturday morning cartoons.

The soundtrack is an excellent mix of modern electronic beats mixed with classic Persian instruments like the setar. It’s bouncy and carries you through the levels. The drama was amped up in fighting segments, and the sound effects matched the moments seen on screen.

Until next time…be good to yourself and be good to each other.

**Thank you, U&I Entertainment, for providing the review code. Reviewed on Nintendo Switch**