In a year where Hades II dominated the roguelite headlines, Evil Empire’s The Rogue Prince of Persia slipped by largely unnoticed. This is the second time Supergiant’s game overshadowed The Rogue Prince, with both titles entering early access at similar times last year.
In fact, the story you may best remember of Evil Empire’s game was the frothing criticism of the Prince’s art style – a unique blend influenced by Arabic miniatures, Mœbius comics, and the purple-skinned sprites from the 1990 PC CGA port of the first Prince of Persia game.
The final release of The Rogue Prince of Persia bowed to public pressure and traded its purple protagonist for a new art style (this is why we cannot have nice things), but this switch wasn’t enough, and the game seems to have slipped under the radar for many. This is a shame, as Evil Empire took all their learnings from co-developing Dead Cells and reinvented the Prince of Persia series, creating a game that pulsates with a quiet magic that deserves attention.
Featuring a new version of the Prince defending his homeland against Hun aggressors, The Rogue Prince of Persia channels the daring leaps over spike traps that the series has been known for since its origin at the hands of creator Jordan Mechner. But it forgoes the time-rewinding and fast-forwarding mechanics that 2003’s The Sands of Time introduced, and instead focuses on fluid parkour and the joys of speedrunning with unparalleled grace. Despite its procedural generation, the game plays as though it were hand-crafted by a designer, similar to the achievement of Dead Cells. Add to that The Rogue Prince’s copious number of weapon combinations, and it has that incessant itch of “just one more run.” This isn’t Dead Cells in different clothing, however, it plays much faster than that roguelite and features a well-defined story compared to Dead Cells’ nebulous narrative.
But what especially stands out to me is the game’s soundtrack. Composed by Iranian American musician ASADI, The Rogue Prince of Persia’s OST undulates between serene sounds for its quieter moments, like when the Prince sits by the fire in the level hub, and heavy club beats that kick you into overdrive when you’re battling bosses. It’s an extraordinary blend of trap sounds and traditional Persian instruments like the daf and oud. It’s a fine example of how music can elevate a game and also serve as a potent form of representation. Prince of Persia is a series originally inspired by The Thief of Baghdad and other outdated Arabian Nights pastiches. Following the Farsi dub of 2024’s Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, it feels wonderful to play another entry holding a legitimate piece of the culture that inspired it.
For these reasons, this is my favourite roguelite of the year. Others may be satisfied with the second Hades, but for me, the Prince did the genre proud – and I only wish more players would take a chance to guide our formerly-purple hero through this lovely vision of fantasy Persia.
