The Rogue Prince of Persia Review: (Re)live and learn

You can't keep a good Prince down.

Few characters can manage a personal reinvention like Jordan Mechner’s Prince of Persia. From his dungeon diving, princess saving early days to his emergence as a brash, cheeky parkour artist with a control of the forces of time that Doctor Who would be proud of, to impressive modern returns to his 2D platforming roots, the Prince has kept himself and players entertained through his decades long wait to inherit the throne. The Rogue Prince of Persia might not be his most enticingly named adventure, but it lives up to his reputation for a good time.

The Rogue Prince of Persia is a run-based, 2D platformer with an equal emphasis on parkour and pounding heads. The Huns have invaded Persia with the assistance of a corrupting magical force, and the conveniently undying Prince must charge in, learn what he can, earn some experience, die, wake up, and try again. And again. And again. There are branching paths, ongoing mysteries, and a plot to be pushed along by the sleek action that has been refined over a 15 month early access period.

Developer Evil Empire brings impressive pedigree in the genre, starting as an offshoot studio of Motion Twin, developer of the rogue-like classic Dead Cells. After being entrusted with the continued support of Dead Cells through various expansions, The Rogue Prince of Persia marks Evil Empire’s first original production. It has certainly not been afraid to take inspiration from fellow contenders to the champion rogue-like title — Rogue Prince borrows healthily from Hades as well as packing the clear influence of the game Evil Empire was created to support.

The Rogue Prince of Persia follows the core tenets of its rogue-like genre to a fault. Unique primary and secondary weapons are acquired, medallions are equipped to enhance your passive abilities, and multiple currencies are earned throughout your run to upgrade your character and make things a little more manageable next time out. Experience gained is spent on an expansive skill tree where you fulfil more staples of the genre; increasing your health, getting a second (or even third) chance after dying in a run, and unlocking ways to earn even more of the other upgrade currencies. You can re-spec in the skill tree at any time, but weapon and medallion unlocks are permanent.

The story is doled out run by run; plot progression will open new areas in future explorations and all must be revealed before the big bad can be defeated once and for all. For the advanced player, difficulty modifiers can be applied in the form of Awakening Rituals, buffing enemies and nerfing some of the Prince’s most useful tools. It will all feel very familiar if you’ve played Hades, or Dead Cells, or Rogue Legacy, or any of the myriad rogue-likes of the last decade, but it trades on the genre tropes in a tight and refined way, even if it doesn’t push them forward.

The Prince is as agile as ever, with traversal through levels smooth and forgiving. The game plays out in 2.5D, with wall running a core movement mechanic and possible not only on vertical 2D surfaces but on the background of the level when the scenery allows. Between wall running on both fore- and background, wall jumps, vaults, and air dashes, you’ll rarely find yourself with both feet on solid ground unless required to swing a weapon. Timing windows for wall jumps are very generous, and the dash will get you out of the few situations where you fail to parkour where you intended.

It is rare that Rogue’s random level generation challenges you too much with movement; spikes, traps, and bottomless pits are easily navigated with the Prince’s toolset and navigating through levels rarely gets frustrating. Optional Challenge Rooms offer a more curated test of abilities, but we’re not talking Super Meat Boy here — only once or twice did failure cause a significant setback in time or health loss. The Rogue Prince was always a joy to control in my time with it and struck that balance of making some very impressive parkour feel easy and forgiving to execute.

Combat is solid and occasionally spectacular. Primary weapons are all balanced on the “fast and feathered touch” to “sluggish slugger” scale, with unique special attacks and critical hit criteria offering important points of differentiation. Secondary weapons are usually ranged, though some enhance movement such as a grappling hook that draws in enemies or a stealth blade that teleports you behind them. Some weapons’ crit bonuses or special abilities combine well with high end medallions to provide that “I just broke this game” experience, but otherwise the medallion boosts often felt inconsequential. There is a lot of filler and only a few so powerful that you shape your run around them, provided you stumble upon them early enough. Advanced combat features include stuns, poisoning, fire and slowing resin, but these only really come into their own at the post-game level of challenge.

Combat can be a bit button bashy; in early stages most fights can be navigated with a combination of kicks to stun or interrupt then swings to attack, rinse and repeat. For when the kick is ineffective (primarily when enemies have shields), an evasive flip with invincibility frames will get the job done. Often so too will just jumping around, dashing, swinging, and dashing again, but there were also a lot of later game moments where combat became more of a dance that rewarded more considered use of the tools provided. It’s a fun dance, but it can often be a mashy one.

Enemies are creatures of habit and pattern, but learning their tendencies will barely prepare you for the chaos that ensues when those patterns are combined. It is in this chaos that the combat systems shine, dodging and dashing your way across platforms, running up a wall then dropping down to stun an enemy, kicking away another then dashing away from a bomb lobbed by some cheeky git on a platform above. In this chaos it can sometimes be hard to discern what is going on, but for the most part the intense moments of combat are highlights of the experience.

The primary storyline provides a relatively friendly rogue-like romp. You’ll die, sure (that is the point, after all) but in those early runs where reaching the Palace is but a pipe dream, the action is driven along by sub-goals such as finding a way to release an imprisoned character or deciphering a code hidden across multiple biomes. You’ll never be stumped for long or have to think too hard, while new environments are doled out at a regular pace and boss fights are challenging but fair, with fresh faces subbed in as you progress and master the methods to bash in the skulls of the earlier big baddies.

You’ll roll through the upgrade tree at a good clip and by the 10-12 hour mark will have the main storyline wrapped up. If you aren’t satiated by that point, there are further unlocks for outfits, weapons and medallions, plus more Awakening stones to unlock and enable to make each run all the more punishing. There are also challenges to kill certain enemies in certain ways, with some getting very creative in their use of the mechanics. 

The plot driving the action does what it needs to do, but those expecting storytelling and characters on par with Hades will be disappointed. Boss banter soon repeats, character interactions back at home base are minimal and largely inconsequential, and while the Prince himself has a certain charm the supporting cast are as two dimensional as the environments they help the Prince navigate. What isn’t bland is the beat driving the action, the soundtrack here is a banger with some great riffs on a common melody and a final boss theme that absolutely slaps. There are some striking visual moments (an elevator descent of a clock tower is particularly awe-inspiring) and the animation work is excellent, particularly for the Prince himself.

While nothing that The Rogue Prince of Persia offers is genre-defining, its pieces combine into an experience as rich as the Persian kingdom itself. Controlling the Prince is a joy, the progression path is smooth and the dopamine hits are delivered with a rhythm matching the thumping soundtrack. It might not have the depth at the highest levels of play to match the titans of the genre, but if you want a fun, beautiful and largely frustration free experience, spending some time with the Rogue Prince is well recommended.

The Rogue Prince of Persia is available right this second on Windows PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PS5. Switch and Switch 2 versions will follow at a later date.

The Rogue Prince of Persia was reviewed using a promotional code on Windows PC via Steam, as provided by the publisher. Click here to learn more about Stevivor’s scoring scale.