Prince Of Persia returns to its action platforming roots with The Lost Crown

Last week, Ubisoft teased they were going to unveil a new mystery game at their Ubisoft Forward conference on June 12th. Well, Geoff and his freshly pressed Summer Game Fest trainers have only gone and done it for them, and wouldn't you know it, it's a new Prince Of Persia game called The Lost Crown. Sorry, Sands Of Time Remake, you're old news now.

But even before Geoff got his pristine reveal mitts on it (probably), I went to see and play this new Prince Of Persia game over at Ubisoft Montpellier - and if the reveal trailer hasn't already convinced you this is something special, take it from me: this is rad as heck, and you can read more of my thoughts about it after its full reveal at Ubisoft Forward next Monday. Until then, though, here's everything else I can share about it right now, so ready yourselves for some cold, hard factoids. Here we go.

Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown is currently scheduled to arrive on PC and consoles (including the Nintendo Switch) next year on January 18th 2024. Developed by Rayman studio Ubisoft Montpellier, it's a 2.5D action platformer in your classic Metroid mould, so expect an enormous, twisty-turny map to explore and a lithe, acrobatic hero to guide through it. Speaking of the game's hero, you play as Sargon, the wild and strapping youngling of a superpowered group of guardians known as The Immortals, and who just so happens to have time manipulation powers.

Sargon isn't the titular prince of this game, though. He and the rest of the Immortals are on a mission to rescue said prince, who's been abducted and taken to the mysterious (and very possibly cursed) city of Mount Qaf. Upon your arrival at the ancient city gates, however, it's clear that something's not quite right in these abandoned ruins, and you'll need to run, jump, dash and slide through all manner of traps and monster-filled hallways to get to the bottom of it.

As you can see in the trailer, some of those horrible legendary monster bosses are going to be very large indeed - but the good news is that they're going to be accompanied by equally epic musical themes from Ori maestro Gareth Coker. Iranian-born composer Mentrix is responsible for the rest of the score, and they've used all traditional instruments to really ground the game in its Persian setting. Or at least as much as it can with those bright, vibrant, anime and comic book-infused visuals on display.

Alas, that's all I can say about The Lost Crown at this point - trust me, I've tried, but Ubi just keep rewinding the clock to erase this paragraph over and over again, so I'll save them the trouble and put a halt to my keyboard tapping right here.

As I mentioned above, I'll have tons more to share about Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown next week, so keep your eyes peeled on Monday after Ubisoft Forward has come to a close. And don't touch that clock to try and fast forward time. You never know what mischief you'll unleash.

NotE3 and Summer Game Fest 2023 is over for another year. You can find out all the latest news by visiting our E3 2023 hub, or you can catch up with our round-up posts of everything that was announced at Summer Game Fest, the Xbox Games Showcase, the PC Gaming Show, Day Of The Devs, and our top highlights from the Wholesome Direct.