The Rogue Prince of Persia review: Regal roguelite makes me wonder why it took so long

What took so long, huh? Prince of Persia, a series built on pixel-perfect platforming and looping back through time, has arguably been crying out for a roguelike-style adventure for years.

Still, I couldn't have predicted that the developer chosen to undertake such a task would be Evil Empire of Dead Cells fame, possibly the game that got me into roguelikes in the first place. Thankfully, Rogue Prince of Persia stands up to expectations from both of its lineages to make one of the most enjoyable platformers I've played since, well, Dead Cells.

Missing chapters

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It's worth noting right off the bat that The Rogue Prince of Persia is an early-access title, but I'm reviewing it anyway since you can spend money on it. It's still missing some story chapters, and Evil Empire expects the early access period to last more than a year.

Still, it's commendable just how much is already here. There are half a dozen levels and a couple of bosses to tackle, which doesn't sound like a lot but there's plenty of challenging entanglements and platforming sections that may stop you reaching them at all.

With the help of a magical Bola, our royal hero can jump back to a safe spot after death, but he'll lose most of what he's gained up until that point. It's a pretty rote formula now, and anyone who's played Dead Cells, Enter The Gungeon, Spelunky, Rogue Legacy, or any number of other genre contemporaries will know just how it works.

Sands of Time

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It may seem like a big step to put an early access title in the same stratosphere as those forebears, but the basis here is as strong a foundation as you're likely to find. Everything about The Rogue Prince of Persia feels polished to a shine, and while we can expect more added over time, I can't see a lot of the core gameplay changing.

That's a good thing, too, because it threads the needle nicely between combat and platforming. As I mentioned in my preview, The Rogue Prince of Persia's combat is fluid, shifting nicely between the weapons you pick up and your equipped power-ups. Players can vault over opponents to get the drop on them (or simply run past), and the kick ability can send them hurtling into environmental dangers or off of ledges to their doom.

One of my favourite parts of Dead Cells was always dropping down onto enemies with a downward attack, and I'm pleased to say The Rogue Prince of Persia's own version feels just as satisfying to pull off, without losing any of the danger of dropping into the unknown without knowing if there's an enemy of a spike pit below.

This is all backed up by a pastel art style that belies some of the more brutal animations of kicking an enemy off a ledge then diving onto them, blades first, but the real draw, and what separates The Rogue Prince of Persia from its spiritual predecessor: the wall run.

4D chess

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A mainstay of the Prince of Persia series, and one of the coolest movement mechanics in gaming, the wall run remains my favourite part of The Rogue Prince of Persia.

Running up or across walls opens up the potential to chain another jump onto the end of it. Before long you'll be running on a horizontal surface, leaping to a vertical one, running back across yourself to grab a rope, and then running further along the wall before reaching the next platform. It all feels so good, and when mixed in with the aforementioned combat, can lead to so many "how did I do that" moments as you hop off of enemies and into platforming sections.

It's all about momentum, and many of the in-game items are tailored to augment your abilities in both movement and combat. Loot can trigger effects like burning when an enemy is kicked into a wall, or supplement your blades with poison.

My only complaint, at least during early access, is that I wish there was something approaching the swathe of upgrades found in Dead Cells. In The Rogue Prince of Persia, it didn't take long to see the same upgrades coming up, and while that makes it easier to theorycraft a build, I prefer the chaotic number of options in Dead Cells. Still, that's likely to be built on as early access continues.

Steamy Dream

Currently exclusive to Steam, The Rogue Prince of Persia is great on PC, but with a controller really is the only way to play (the game explicitly recommends it at startup).

I tested it on Steam Deck, too, and found that it's an absolute treat on Valve's handheld, despite some occasionally choppy scene transitions. That's perhaps to be expected given how well Dead Cells runs there, but even in early access, I can see myself pouring hours into it on the sofa and in bed. In fact, between this and Hades 2, it's been a hell of a few weeks for roguelites that play perfectly on handheld.

The Verdict

While it's still in early access, there's already a fantastic foundation for Evil Empire to build upon with The Rogue Prince of Persia.

If the team can build on the loot available, it could be the finest roguelike Metroidvania since Dead Cells.

4.5/5

Reviewed on PC with time spent on Steam Deck. Review code provided by the publisher.