The rogue Prince of Persia has undergone cosmetic surgery, and now I’m blown away by my parents’ roguelite Dead Cells.

When Robber Prince of Persia arrived in mid-2024, excitement has gripped fans of the saga Ubisoft. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown’s visually pleasing appearance made it feel like the franchise had risen from its own ashes, even though the roguelite format got off to a rocky start.

And although Evil Empirethe creators of Dead Cells laid down some nice braids to start building, the truth is that the end result wasn’t as round as it should have been. A lack of content, a gameplay loop with little variety and little reward, and below-expectation production values ​​prevented the game from shining any more.

Fortunately for Robber Prince of Persiais protected from the Early Access format, meaning it may include more content over time. Although patches have been added to the work over these months, none changes the panorama as radically as Second act. The huge developer update makes obvious changes related to the artistic aspect, but the changes go much deeper; almost, you could almost say that we are in a different game.

Now he’s a prince

You might like it more, it might turn you off more, but the truth is that choosing which characters in Robber Prince of PersiaThe presence of purple skin, including the main character, has been controversial. Not many agreed with this aesthetic decision, so Evil Empire decided to go in the complete opposite direction and offer a much more realistic perspective.

The skin became natural again, but not only that, but the clarity, detail and expressiveness of faces and models increased exponentially. It tastes like color, although the truth is that the video game took a qualitative leap after completing the workshop on a very in-depth review. Stages also benefit from this cosmetic surgery.which are much richer in depth and affection imprinted in them.

Judging by the review, the studio did the same with a plot that could have been a little vague. Yes, we had an initial trailer that put us in the context of a war between the barbarian Huns and a prince, in addition to a time loop mechanic that allowed a ball to hang from a character’s neck. For this occasion we have chosen be more specific and direct in dialoguesand also raise the importance and role of secondary characters.

Shaheen, Feriel, Paachi and company are still present, but now with longer lines of dialogue, conversations between them and very well-executed moments of humor. Nyamtur, a Hunnic archivist, joins our ranks and ensures that information about the bestiary is collected and rewards us for obtaining it.

The result is not only much more solid at the moment, but there is also more left bread crumbs along the way thinking about the future. We can enter several rooms throughout the biome to interact with the elements waiting for them, allowing us to hear the Prince’s thoughts. This is why the motives of Nogai, the Hun king, will be even more revealed in the way he conditions his vassals. Moreover, the Persian king Peroz himself has yet to be brought into the equation and is seeking to play a fundamental role.

Necessary step

When it starts Robber Prince of Persia It had 6 biomes, 2 bosses, 8 main weapons, 6 tools, 30 power-ups and 13 rooms to enter. Although this may seem like a lot of money, the truth is that in just 4-6 hours you can finish everything. In the second act, the number of biomes increases dramatically to 9, 4 bosses, 20 main weapons, 6 tools, 50 power-ups and 24 rooms to enter.

The data only highlights what becomes apparent as soon as you pick up the controller and start playing. After more than 12 hours of running constant cycles, the feeling of reward has increased enormouslyas well as the ability to form a Prince while running. Evil Empire said goodbye to the poor system of using power-ups, which was limited to four, and now gives us the freedom to use as many as we want, as long as we have the space.

The new weapons are fantastic, with a great selection such as corrupted axes, Berserksharp chains or even a boiler that you never know what damage it will cause. The most special of all can be experienced after overcoming an area full of obstacles, which come with a design that must be taken to the blacksmith Suhra so that he can forge them.

Three new biomes – the Mines, the Temple of Atar and the Artisan District – will provide a great challenge for those who appreciate platforming. Robber Prince of Persia. I’m talking about places with new enemies emerging from the ground, huge giants defending themselves with shields, or spearmen that teleport over your head. If they weren’t a big enough problem, it was the traps scattered everywhere. Tiles that activate arrows on the wall, spikes on the floor, stagnant poisonous water or unexpected collapses that force us to flee.

All this was strengthened thanks to review of the best that happened at the beginning of early accessbut the studio decided to invest even in this. And now, with every jump performed to perfection, we will little by little fill up the Vayu bar, which constantly rewards parkour. As a result, we will reach a speed higher than normal for a few seconds, which is very important if we want to overcome the random challenge.

From time to time, upon reaching the biome, we will see that a young man is trapped by a dark force, so we will have to rescue him at full speed. The goal is to get to the source of this power while avoiding all sorts of dangers, and if you achieve this, the resulting loot will be very juicy.

Reasons to stay

Despite the time invested, I still have a long way to go to achieve 100% of everything it offers at the moment. Robber Prince of Persia. Previously, I only had a few Steam achievements left to unlock because I had internally surpassed everything. However, nowadays you can take the Nyamtura Encyclopedia if you want, but there are two more fundamental elements.

It is possible to gain access up to seven skill trees that the Braziers of the Soul allow us to open up little by little if we invest in them. For every X number of Soul Heat, we will be rewarded with a portion that allows us to receive one of the improvements, but this amount gradually increases. Thus, we will have to live through more cycles in biomes to add Soul Braziers until we have enough under our belt.

As if that weren’t enough, the Altar of Awakening has also been included, a location in the Oasis with which we can complicate matters even further. Each time we complete a full loop, we gain access to a scene that allows getting runes with huge disadvantages. If we activate them before starting the game, the benefits left by enemies, chests and other elements will be greater, due to the fact that our virtues as a prince will be put to the test.

For example, we can allow an indestructible bug to constantly chase us, allow opponents to drop bombs when they die, or make the visibility of shields on them much stronger. This game type provides access to Tainted Blood, an item type that provides the ability to unlock special skill trees.

What about the bosses? There are two more additions that aren’t too difficult to overcome, but they fuel a formula that is absolutely promising. Robber Prince of Persia It’s already halfway done and it looks fantastic.

In VidaExtra | The second youth of metroidvania, a genre that never ceases to amaze us

In VidaExtra | The rarest and most original Metroidvania, adding its grain of sand to the fashion formula of the 21st century.