The Rogue Prince of Persia

The Rogue Prince of Persia is a platforming masterclass, and it’s a must play for fans of 2D action titles, Dead Cells, and pretty much everyone else.

The Rogue Prince of Persia is both a fantastic Prince of Persia game and a brilliant roguelite. Evil Empire draws on the DNA of Dead Cells to make a game that offers a compelling combination of platforming and combat, robust roguelite systems, and an understanding of the underlying rhythms of action games. It’s as enthralling to watch and listen to as it is to play.

The Rogue Prince of Persia is a must-have roguelite for fans of the genre. While not revolutionary, it introduces several enriching features to a well-known formula.

The Rogue Prince of Persia excels in 2D side scrolling combat by infusing a buttery smooth parkour system into the mix. Retaking Ctesiphon from the Huns using the immortal powers of the Prince works so well for the roguelite formula, and each run had me wanting to jump right back in.

In its complete release, The Rogue Prince of Persia didn't manage to break free from the main issue it had in its early access: the little variety and repetitiveness. However, even so, this is a fluid action game, which is extremely satisfying to explore and an easy recommendation for this reason.

The Rogue Prince of Persia may be a strange take on Prince of Persia, but it’s definitely one worth playing. It does just about everything well and makes a real effort to stand out from the competition, offering unique gameplay mechanics that create dynamics completely different from those of Dead Cells (the game it’s most often compared to). If you can get past the prejudices surrounding it, you’ll find an excellent title in your hands, full of ideas that we hope will be carried forward in the future.

Evil Empire delivers a fluid, stylish roguelite with excellent platforming, engaging combat, and strong audiovisual design that keeps each run fresh and rewarding, though it still lacks a bit of variety in enemies, environments, and builds to reach the very top of the genre.

The Rogue Prince of Persia presents itself as a solid and engaging roguelite action platformer. While strongly reminiscent of Dead Cells, it manages to carve out its own identity thanks to the protagonist's agility and fluid, rewarding gameplay. The variety of equipment, meta-progression, and procedural level structure offer a good amount of depth, although the moderate difficulty and limited content may disappoint more demanding players.

The one thing that all roguelikes and rogue-lites need to get right is convincing the player that the next run is going to be rewarding in some new way. In The Rogue Prince of Persia, this most often comes from increasing mastery of the game’s traversal, which is both accessible and challenging. Procedurally generated levels sometimes inhibit the flow and create frustration. At this point, The Prince of Persia is more a vague character concept than a game franchise, but it keeps inspiring developers in new directions, and that’s a win for gamers.

Not a Prince of Persia like any other. But one that you should definitely give it a chance.

The Rogue Prince of Persia is an extremely competent and entertaining roguelite that excels where it matters most. Its acrobatic movement is the highlight, complemented by a solid combat system and vibrant art direction. While it doesn't reinvent the wheel and follows a safe formula, it executes it masterfully and offers replayability.

The Rogue Prince of Persia stands out for its character's agility and combat. With fast-paced and balanced progression, the game is a great option for those who want to get into the roguelite genre.

Between early access and this definitive release, it's night and day for The Rogue Prince of Persia. We have here an enjoyable game, which relies heavily on the studio's strengths acquired on Dead Cells, but with an artistic direction and gameplay specificities that do honor to the Prince of Persia. If the overall result is perhaps a little too easy and fast, it's not unpleasant to have a roguelite capable of offering a contained experience, notably thanks to an effective story system.

The Rogue Prince of Persia is a solid 2D action roguelite. It excels in its movement mechanics making for great platforming sections combined with satisfying combat. Much of what I have said that I didn’t feel too strongly about the game were smaller aspects such as the medallions and the limited dialogue variety. Regardless of these small gripes, I would say this a great roguelite to pick up and sink some time into.

Whether or not you're immune to the restrictive mechanics of roguelites, you absolutely must dive into the world of this excellent The Rogue Prince of Persia. You'll come for its highly effective gameplay that's free of any superfluous elements, and you'll stay for the diabolical flow that emerges from the combat and exploration. Available in Game Pass and PS Plus Extra at the time of writing, the Evil Empire title published by Ubisoft aspires to only one thing when a game is over: restart another one to stay in this unbridled loop.

An excellently crafted action roguelike that directly aims to entertain fans of Dead Cells and Hades with a wide spectrum of new challenges. A vast selection of combat options, platforming sections that require a lot of attention, and an excellent movement system elevate this title above most of its competitors.

Between Dead Cells and other rogue-lites, The Rogue Prince of Persia may not hold hardcore fans over in the very long run. Nevertheless, its premise is incredibly solid, backed by strong gameplay that channels the essence of its gameplay in all the right ways.

The Rogue Prince of Persia raises the bar for the saga, offering a good, straightforward roguelite with an unmistakable style. Its simplicity will make some people love it, while others will hate it, but there's no denying how much love the small team at Evil Empire has poured into one of the most celebrated video game icons of all time. The gameplay is fun, despite its modest offerings, while the art is completely convincing. It's undoubtedly yet another title that demonstrates Ubisoft's ability to still excel when it chooses to focus on smaller projects, giving developers the freedom to express their creative flair.

Ultimately The Rogue Prince of Persia is an exceptional roguelite that honors the legacy of its franchise while forging a new identity that boasts stylised graphics, decent audio and strong gameplay that works perfectly on both the Steam Deck and a PC that will make you come back for more, provided you don’t get too frustrated from the roguelite nature – kudos to Evil Empire!

The Rogue Prince of Persia is a really well rounded and finalised experience, which can almost be refreshing in a genre that can go on forever. It also lessens the impact of the game's problems, as they simply don't have time to become major issues. The Rogue Prince of Persia ties all aspects of the genre together into a solid game that will excite fans of roguelites and newcomers alike.

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.

Similar to the Metroidvania spin-off The Lost Crown, The Rogue Prince of Persia is far more than just a nice consolation prize to bridge the wait for a "real" sequel to the Prince of Persia series. It features fast-paced combat, fluid platforming, and a motivating progression system, complete with attractive graphics. If you like the genre, you can't go wrong with it.

Evil Empire proves that the success of Dead Cells is also thanks to them, and they gift us a truly worthy spiritual sequel. Let’s hope Ubisoft doesn’t hold them back — that will be the difference between a great game as it stands and the must-play title it has the potential to become.

Even if you finish The Rogue Prince of Persia quickly, odds are you'll have a fun time.

Smooth action blends seamlessly into smooth traversal, making this the better modern 2D Prince of Persia.

It takes the timeless parkour and fluid combat of the series and injects it with a progression loop that encourages skill, practice, and a constant search for better gear. It’s a game that respects your time even when you fail, ensuring that every run, no matter how short, contributes to your overall strength. The exquisite comic-book art, the fluid controls, and the challenging enemies all come together to create a compelling and addictive experience. While the inherent repetition of the roguelike genre may not appeal to every player, those who embrace the challenge will find a deeply rewarding platformer that pays homage to its roots while confidently forging a new path.

A relatively successful blend of Dead Cells and Prince of Persia. Its music and acrobatic gameplay in particular promise a few enjoyable hours. However, the somewhat linear structure causes it to become repetitive rather quickly, and after a while, you don’t really see a reason to go for another run. It would benefit from being supported with DLCs.

The Rogue Prince of Persia has all the style and flair that's expected of this series. The art is spectacular, the combat is fluid, and the parkour is as captivating as any of the other games in the Prince's long history. The 2D roguelite approach is novel and works in some big ways, such as the Mind Map being used to push the story forward and unlock new stages. However, it does lead to static level layouts that inevitably feel stale after multiple runs. On top of that, the focus is often going to be on using any collected currencies to upgrade the Prince's weaponry and passive abilities, which means using that same currency for cosmetics seems like a sure-fire way to ensure I never see those outfits...Even with its faults, The Rogue Prince of Persia is another strong outing for Ubisoft's long-running franchise, still fresh off of last year's overlooked gem, The Lost Crown. Evil Empire continues to up its game and it'll be exciting to see what awaits the team beyond the Prince's Oasis.

Fans of side scrolling roguelites will find plenty to sink their teeth into here. Though The Rogue Prince of Persia lacks the challenge and platforming precision of a game like Dead Cells, hitting that free flowing sweet spot of both parkour and combat is a joy.

The Rogue Prince of Persia can be a bit too conventional for its own good, lacking any real unique qualities in a crowded market, but it's certainly good-looking and there's a fluidity to the platforming that will carry most players through to the end. I confess I hoped for more from the Dead Cells developer, but I won't say I'm disappointed.