Ubisoft Montpellier’s 2.5D side-scrolling Metroidvania Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is finally out on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It’s a long, challenging action-platforming game with lots of tough bosses and intricate puzzles. Here are a handful of essential tips to make your journey a bit easier.
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The Lost Crown follows the young Sargon, the newest member of the warrior clan known as The Immortals. He’s tasked with tracking down the kidnapped Prince Ghassan, who’s been dragged off to the cursed city of Mount Qaf. The game has plenty of paths to unblock, collectibles to find, and equipment to unlock. It’s easy to get lost or stuck, but I’ve got you covered.
Throw Your Chakram Often
About an hour or two into the game, you’ll unlock a new weapon: a bow. This weapon doubles as a throwable chakram that serves several functions, including calling down platforms and opening gates. The double-edged weapon can also be used in combat as a projectile that gets faster and stronger every time you parry it. More than that, though, you can use the chakram to reach those elusive resource caches without having to pull off a complex platforming feat. Be sure to use that chakram often, as it’ll make collecting stuff a little less frustrating.
Upgrade Your Gear Regularly
The fiery blacksmith—and absolute goddess—Kaheva opens up her forge to you not long after you reach the hub area of The Haven. But she’s not the only shopkeeper who can improve your equipment. While Kaheva can buff the damage of your bow and swords, The Mage, an elderly woman who operates an equipment shop in The Haven, can increase the number of health flasks you can hold and improve the potency of their healing. On top of that, both shopkeepers can power up the status effects of your Amulets, equippable pieces of gear that provide benefits such as increasing your melee damage at low health or reducing the damage of environmental hazards. It’s worth coming back to The Haven to upgrade your gear as often as possible. These bosses don’t play around, so you’ll need all the buffs you can get. Trust me.
Don’t Forget The Swordmaster
Speaking of The Haven, another person you should visit regularly is the swordmaster Artaban. Artaban is Sargon’s trainer throughout the story, teaching you effective ways to dispatch your foes in fights. You should also do his combat challenges to get Time Crystals, one of the currencies used for buying wares and upgrading gear. The challenges themselves are simple, and with enough practice and patience, will help you become more comfortable using all of Sargon’s abilities to kick serious ass.
Take Images Of Memorable Spots
With The Eye of the Wanderer, a true innovation within the Metroidvania genre, you can take screenshots that show up as icons on the mini-map, which helps make backtracking easier. Instead of trying to memorize where something is, you can use the upgradable resource known as Memory Shards to snap a quick photo to remember the spot. And when you’re finished with the image, you can delete the screenshot to free up space for more photos. Just hold down on the D-pad and snap away. Your brain will thank you for it.
Make Sure To Finish Those Side Quests
As you explore Mount Qaf, you’ll come across characters in need of help. It might be deciphering an ancient text or finding an old woman’s children. Either way, these side quests reward you with some good stuff, from currencies to use at the various shopkeepers to resources to upgrade your gear. Depending on the complexity and length of the objective, you might even get a Soma Petal, which increases your max health when you’ve collected four of them. Be a good Immortal and help some people out. It’ll be worth your while.
Take Advantage Of Guided Mode In The Settings
You’re presented with two game modes when you start: Exploration and Guided. Exploration mode is the default setting, giving you little direction for story quests and side errands on the mini-map. With Guided mode, you get much more assistance as the mini-map populates icons for mission objectives, doors and paths, and the upgrades you’ve unlocked. guessing game. You’ll still get lost, so don’t worry about that. Guided mode will just make it so you don’t stay lost. You can toggle this setting at any time—you’re not locked into what you chose at the beginning of your playthrough.
Tweak The Difficulty To Your Preferred Playstyle
The Lost Crown is a masterful example of accessibility in video games. In the extensive settings menu, you can make parries easier, extend the invulnerability you receive while dodging, skip challenging platforming sections, show markers for interactive elements in the world, and so much more. This game really lets you customize the experience to your liking, so you should do that. There’s bound to be a setting here that will give you the kind of Metroidvania experience you’re looking for.
Always, Always, Always Buy The Area Maps From Fariba
Fariba has extensive knowledge of the cursed city, and she’ll often have maps on her for sale. These maps reveal everything you need to know about that given area, including potential secrets and unexplored spots. Her location varies, and she’s usually a bit of a pain to find, often holed up in some room gated behind a complex platforming section. But picking up the area map from her will save you time in the long run. The best part? Unlike some of the other shopkeepers whose wares can be a bit more expensive, Fariba sells her services for just 50 Time Crystals. That’s a bargain in my book.
Don’t Do Much Backtracking Till You Get The Last Power
The Lost Crown is predicated on returning to areas you’ve previously visited with new powers, so it’s tempting to backtrack once you’ve acquired a new time-bending ability. But take it from me, you should wait until you’ve gotten the very last power, the Fabric of Time. You don’t get it until about three-fourths of the way through the story, but waiting to get this grappling hook of sorts will save you time and frustration. Before this point, a majority of your backtracking will be blocked by floating hooks that require the Fabric of Time to reach. There’s no clever way to get around these sections without it, so you might as well wait. Besides, by the time you unlock it, you’ll be so OP not even the toughest boss could stop you.
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And there you go, nine tips to help you bend time and survive death in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Although I’ve beaten the story, I’ve still got plenty of collectibles to find and side quests to finish. So, good luck in Mount Qaf. Prince Ghassan needs us both.
