Prince of Persia The Lost Crown news & patch notes

Prince of Persia™: The Lost Crown - Mask of Darkness is now officially available! Time to find out who or what is hiding behind that mask. https://store.steampowered.com/sub/1102652/ More information on this new story DLC and the Complete Edition can be found here. Please enjoy! Your Prince of Persia Community Team

Prince of Persia™: The Lost Crown Update 1.4.0 was deployed on all supported platforms on the 12th of September 2024. It was pushed ahead of the DLC release to ensure that all players who purchase Mask of Darkness will be able to play the new adventure on release. This update contained a list of changes and new additions to the base game , but most notably laid the groundwork for the new integrated story DLC Mask of Darkness. If this latest update was not automatically applied before starting the game, see to manually update your game using the dedicated platform service. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/0930af3cd11bc46442a750e2e6e69b975ecdbd48.jpg

1.4.0 - UPDATE DETAILS

NEW CONTENT

• 1 new, free outfit inspired by The Rogue Prince of Persia – automatically unlocked for all players.

GAMEPLAY Addressed:

• The game gets stuck on invoked map if map button is spammed after exiting any of the Divine Trials challenges.²
• In a rare incident, the damage zone of an Ice Boulder gets stuck in a place in front of a sand jar in Tower of Silence, rendering the player impossible to collect it.
• At times when fighting Menolias, players can accidentally slip out of the boss arena by sliding under Menolias’ Magic Barrier.²
• Using the ‘Fabric of Time’ ability from a distance on a bridge in the Tower of Silence doesn't remove the one way icon on the map.

ACCESSIBILITY AND OPTIONS Addressed:

• “Legend” input prompt shows up in menu when “High Contrast Mode” is enabled.

²Addressed with the help of player feedback or notification. UPDATE SIZE

• PC (Steam): 5.68GB
• PC (Ubisoft Connect): 6.33GB
• Nintendo Switch: 1.10 GB
• PlayStation®5: 2.48GB
• PlayStation®4: 4.63G
• Xbox One: 4.33GB
• Xbox Series X|S: 11.25 GB
• Luna: 6.33GB

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DLC & Complete Edition

The new story DLC Mask of Darkness will be available September 17 at a recommended price of 4.99 EUR/USD. Alongside this DLC, the Complete Edition and Complete Edition Upgrade will be available for purchase to all players of the Standard and Deluxe Edition. The Complete Edition (Upgrade) includes the Mask of Darkness DLC, the two new outfits inspired by Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones and all content previously exclusive to the Deluxe Edition. The Deluxe Edition and upgrade will ultimately be replaced by the Complete Edition and upgrade following September 17. The new DLC and Add-Ons will also be available for individual purchase. DLC

• A whole new story line accessible from The Haven
• 3 new biomes (Radjen’s Mind Palace )
• 1 new, main villain & 3 new bosses
• 3 new Amulets
• 5 new enemy types,
• >10 new gameplay elements for fresh puzzle & platform experiences

ADD-ON

• 1 new outfit inspired by the Prince of Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
• 1 new outfit inspired by the Dark Prince of Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones

DLC SIZE & RELEASE 📅Playable 17th Sept 5PM UTC

• PC (Steam): included in 1.4.0 Update

📅Playable 17th Sept 9AM UTC

• PC (Ubisoft Connect): included in 1.4.0 Update

📅Playable 17th Sept Midnight Local Time

• Nintendo Switch: 899 MB
• PlayStation®5: 2.28 GB
• PlayStation®4: 2.28 GB
• Xbox One: 1.52 GB
• Xbox Series X|S: DLC: 3.02GB
• Luna: included in 1.4.0 Update

Your Prince of Persia Community Team P.S. As a little ‘Thank you!’ from the team, the outfit inspired by Prince of Persia: Warrior Within will be added & unlocked for all players within the coming weeks instead of being part of the Complete Edition.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown's tale of monsters, mythology, and Immortals left one conspicuous thread unresolved: the fate of the mysterious masked Immortal, Radjen. In the Mask of Darkness DLC, you will discover a new chapter of Sargon's story as you confront the myriad dangers of Radjen's Mind Palace. But the new DLC is much more than a story expansion, opening up a whole new biome filled with fresh traversal elements, traps, enemies, and more. To give you a taste of what's ahead, here are the four biggest things to watch out for:

Bring Your Skills, Leave Your Powers

Available once players have escaped the Depths and acquired the Shadow of the Simurgh time power, Radjen's Mind Palace is a sizable new area that players can teleport to from a hidden room in Mount Qaf's Lower City. This means two things: this DLC seamlessly integrates into your new or ongoing playthrough and it can even be played after having finished the main story. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/0930af3cd11bc46442a750e2e6e69b975ecdbd48.jpg While he's in Radjen's palace, Sargon plays by Radjen's rules - and her rules are unfriendly. On entering, Sargon is stripped of all time powers except the Rush of the Simurgh air-dash and Shadow of the Simurgh, which creates copies of Sargon he can teleport to. All of his amulets and healing potions will disappear as well, along with most of his health and quiver upgrades. Don't worry - you'll get everything back when you teleport back to Mount Qaf, which you can do from the palace's central hub room following a brief intro level. More than that, you'll however be able to keep any new amulets you find while exploring the Mind Palace (including Vampiric Chakram, a new amulet that adds a health-stealing area-of-effect attack to Sargon's chakram). The Mind Palace also has its own potions and Soma Tree flowers (which add to Sargon's health bar) to discover and earn, so Sargon won't stay fragile for long - although you won't get to keep these while exploring the rest of Mount Qaf.

Nimble New Threats

The Mind Palace is a surreal landscape of floating blocks and caverns lit by ghostly white flames, where ashen statues and clumps of dark webbing hide undead soldiers, nimble wraiths, and flying mechanical "saw birds" that spin like buzzsaws with their bladed wings. The dark wraiths attack with rapid lunges and kicks that can knock Sargon backward - and one of their favorite moves is to vanish and reappear either behind Sargon, or above him to execute an unblockable dropping attack. Several areas of Radjen's palace are dominated by a very unique creature - a big, spiderlike mechanical monstrosity known as the Sentinel, with two fearsome demon masks for a head and a huge blade in each of its four hands. It's not a true boss encounter, but it sure feels like one.

New Ways to Get Around (and Die)

Each of Mount Qaf's diverse biomes features new environmental hazards and traversal methods, and the Mind Palace introduces a dozen (about half of which we've seen so far). The most ubiquitous additions are floating metal "bumper" orbs that emit plumes of blue energy; strike them in midair, and they'll chime loudly and launch you in whatever direction those plumes point. Also new are floating vertical pillars that Sargon can climb on and shimmy across to switch sides (which are frequently covered in strategically placed spikes), and massive horizontal pillars carved with beastly faces that steadily shoot cannonballs from their "mouths." The latter frequently block essential corridors, and getting past them means finding a way to push them back until they break. Additionally, you'll contend with spinning red sawblades that can appear out of thin air and scream toward you with little warning (often while you're trying to navigate sequences of also-new disappearing platforms). The good news is that these saws telegraph their paths with glowing red lines, giving you a split-second to get out of their way; the bad news is they usually move a lot faster than Sargon does.

Uncover the Enigma of Radjen

Radjen herself - one of Persia's Immortals and a devoted follower of the group's leader, Vahram - is the malevolent mystery at the core of Mask of Darkness. It’s her mind; her Mind Palace Sargon will enter. But you will soon find out that being inside someone's mind is a double-edged sword. While you'll be able to discover more about Radjen's past and motivations on one side, you’ll also be relentlessly hunted through her deadly obstacle courses, maneuver deadly traps and fight gruesome enemies on the other. And all of this is just a glimpse of what’s waiting for you. There are many more dangers, traps and mysteries to be uncovered in this DLC. So, are you ready to embrace darkness? Your Prince of Persia Community Team

Only a little over two weeks away, we wanted to share a first quick look at what will await you in the upcoming story DLC “Mask of Darkness”. Pretty e̶͎̓̋͜͝e̵̬̤̲͖̘̊̌̄͗̀ř̴̡̬̖̮̮͇͗̆̓̓͋̑ͅi̸̳̭͚͎̯̿̑̑̓é̴̛̘͇̞̥̿̽͒̒͘, eh? Your Prince of Persia Community Team P.S. Does anyone here have an idea of who you might encounter yet?

Did you ever think, how can I customize my playstyle more? How can I survive a killing blow and come back to get that last itty bit of health off the boss left instead of restarting the whole fight? Well, that my friends, is where amulets come into play. Amulets are a way to change your playstyle in the game. Want to build for health and survivability? You can do that! Want to explore a long-ranged combat focus? You can do that too! Want those beautiful swords to do even more damage? Yup, you guessed it you can do that too. There are 41 total amulets in the game, 37 in the main game, and 4 from the latest Divine Trials update. Sadly, you cannot equip them all at once; you will have to be selective in choosing which amulets you want to equip and when. The limiting factor, outside of Sargon’s neck muscles, are amulet holders. Starting with three, you’ll find up to nine more on your journey through Mount Qaf, allowing for more combinations. Important to note is that some amulets require more amulet holders than others. For example, “Dragon King” will cost you three slots (this is my absolute must-have because it protects you against a killing blow and brings you back to life). But, “Blessing” only costs one slot which increases your max health. Let’s stay on “Dragon King” for a moment, since it’s my favorite. This wonderful amulet can be found by the Moon Gatherer in the Sacred Archives when accepting his side quest. Or, another favorite of mine “Hardiness” which decreases environmental damage. This one you can buy from the handy dandy Mage in the Haven! You can find amulets and amulet holders all throughout your journey through Mount Qaf. Some might just be hidden a bit more or protected better than others. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/11c5b933b3ff36c4fba761a911aae9c958c48681.png Here is my current early to mid-game build I use for survivability and collecting time crystals. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/754cdcd9ba39c1adc24d3003339ffd768f05c15c.png My build consists of:

• Blessing: For an increase to Max Health
• Dragon King: One-time protection from a killing blow by restoring a GREAT amount of health (we will talk about upgrades in a second)
• Ard’s Fortune: Slightly increases the Time Crystals dropped from defeating enemies
• Ecbatana Seal: Collect Time Crystals from a distance

For me and my play style I like to have a lot of health, and some help with collecting Time Crystals to later upgrade and unlock more amulets. However, before I fight a boss (trust me you’ll be able to start to pick up on where a boss fight will be) I will stop by the Wak-Wak tree and switch out my Time Crystal amulets for damage amulets. Like, Divine Spear which creates a laser beam dealing damage while using the Shadow teleport. The Ayyar Amulet can be found on the second story of the vertical passage in the Catacombs that's lined with spitting doors. This area can also be identified by the three vertical Medusa-like heads on your map. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/11c5b933b3ff36c4fba761a911aae9c958c48681.png Now you may be asking yourself, you mentioned upgrades? Yes I did! Our very own blacksmith of the gods, Kaheva, can upgrade amulets for you at a small cost of Time Crystals. So, be sure to by her forge on your visit to the Haven. Oh, and while you’re there give the Divine Trials an attempt to see if you can get one of the new amulets. Okay, that’s it for me on this topic. Byeeeee, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

You may have been wondering if and how you can play this wonderful game offline. Well, first things first: Yes, you can totally play this game offline. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/3134a4edbb75d52710abd65fcc48e9dfbd08905d.png This means yes to playing Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown at your gram-gram’s house with that fancy gaming laptop of yours, yes to playing while waiting for your ISP to plug that internet cable back in and double yes to playing on your Steam Deck while in a car, airplane or what have you. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png

Prepare for offline play

So, in order to play Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown offline on the device of your choice, you need to do the following: Launch the game at least once connected to the internet on the device you plan to play offline on and don’t close it until you’ve seen the in-game menu. If you require guidance on how to enter your information on the Steam Deck, have a look at our First Launch Info article. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png

Recommendation

And to make your life easier with follow-up sessions be sure to

Tick the ‘Remember Me’ box when logging into your Ubisoft Connect Account and

Link your Ubisoft Connect and Steam accounts. That’s it, now you can save the Prince offline too! Isn’t that something. Helpful Resources And just in case, here are some additional resources that can serve helpful:

• The on-Steam tech support forum
• Full FAQ of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
• Steam Deck – First Launch Info
• Information on Steam’s Offline Mode and how to use it

Kindly, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

You’ve gone to the Haven and met The Mage, Fariba, unlocked the Wak-Wak tree, you saw Artaban, and met Kaheva, then you unlocked the fast travel point, so why would you want to return? Well, there are many reasons to return to the Haven. Especially since you can pop right back to your adventures once you’ve had your break.

1. The Mage

The Mage is a shopkeeper, and you can find her market at the trading post. From her you can purchase more health potions slots, new amulets, and increase your max health by purchasing a Soma leaf petal just to name a few things. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/4891cf83a81197c4fbbb065262baae9b4cd1aead.png

2. Fariba

Fariba can help you along your journey. Did you get stuck on the main story? Don’t know where to go? You get a hint from Fariba to help you with what to do!

3. Kaheva

Kaheva is a blacksmith for the Gods, but she is willing to help you upgrade your gear, for more damage among other boosts. She will also help you make your amulets more powerful and offers an interesting side quest. Visit her to get important upgrades to help you in Mount Qaf. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/0af7755298ba77c2ef77ad7eae0e3d6ac9511078.png

4. Artaban

Artaban is in the Haven to help you train. Try his challenges and he will reward you with time crystals! Learn about new moves, different ways to use your time powers, and different ways to defend yourself, which will become very useful as you encounter new enemies. (He may also have some fun challenges like boss rush and boss attack)

5. Divine Trials

As you progress throughout your journey in Mount Qaf you can unlock the Divine Trials The Trials are a selection of expert challenges, in platforming, puzzle and combat. Defeating several of them grants you new outfits and amulets! You can find the glowing ethereal door below Kaheva's to the Divine Trials in the Haven. The Haven is your central location to get stronger, get upgrades, speak to friends along the way, and help you greatly along your journey through Mount Qaf. So, don't forget to visit your new found friends in the Haven! Okay, byeee, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

You know your mission; enter Mount Qaf and save Prince Ghassan. Now that you are here, how do you survive this perilous place to complete your mission? Upon entering Mount Qaf you will be met with enemies to teach you how to use your abilities along your journey. Be sure to pay attention to the skills and techniques that will be shown to you. Some tips to help you along your journey:

1. Parry and Dodge!

The art of parrying requires good timing, (trust me I would know) but it negates the damage and leaves the enemy open for a counterattack. Note that the parry can also deflect projectiles. Some enemies can perform a Reckless Attack, indicated by a yellow light flashing up in their eyes. If you get the timing right and parry these attacks, the enemy takes significant damage during an exciting and powerful counterattack animation. Don't miss the chance There are some attacks that you cannot parry, and they hurt! Dodge out of the way when you see the eyes of your enemies light up in red to avoid getting hit.

2. Use your Time Powers.

As you journey along Mount Qaf you will gain more Time Powers to aid you in your path. So, fret not if you see a blocked path or seemingly untraversable terrain. Future time powers might be just the key to pass them. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/9924d96a2642f0d5abecfa76971e9a579af999e9.jpg

3. Adjust the Difficulty.

There are plenty of features that enable you to adapt the game’s difficulty to your playstyle in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown If you feel out of breath or overwhelmed with your initially chosen difficulty, rest assured that you can adjust them at any point on your journey. In the settings, you can select a Combat Difficulty among 4 different presets: Rookie / Warrior / Hero / Immortal. These presets have different effects on enemy health bars or damage dealt, but also the parry reaction time, the dodge window, the Athra gauge gain and depletion rate, and even the damage received from environmental hazards. In addition to the predefined options, all these parameters can also be set separately in the Custom Difficulty setting. Don’t hesitate to look there.

4. Check the accessibility settings.

There are many accessibility features and settings to help you progress through Mount Qaf.

• The Eye of the Wanderer – the memory shards are an in-game tool that allows you to pin screenshots to the map. This is automatically enabled in your game
• Guided mode - optional icons marking objectives and available/blocked paths.
• Reminder of important controls** is shown on-screen during gameplay. You can find this option in your settings under system > options > gameplay
• Practice area with no consequences of failure, and tutorials. You can find the practice area in the Haven with Artaban.
• Platforming assist – optional portal to skip past challenging sections of platforming. This option will only be available on the main path. You can find this option in your settings under system > options > gameplay
• High contrast settings – remove all color from the background, apply plain bright colors to important gameplay elements (e.g. players, enemies, traps), or both. Multiple preset combinations of colors for gameplay elements. You can find this option in your settings under system > options > display

To name a few.

5. Find the Haven.

• The Haven is a one-stop shop to help you traverse along Mount Qaf. In the Haven, you can:
• Buy health potions and increase your potion carrying capacity
• Buy new amulets
• Upgrade your weapons and amulets
• Train with Artaban.
• Visit a Wak Wak tree

Enjoy your first few hours in Mount Qaf! Your Prince of Persia Community Team

As planned last week, a new hotfix was just rolled out earlier today. With this 167.94MB hotfix, a major issue resulting in the loss of progress should be resolved. Again, thank you for raising this issue and sharing all the details and specificities with our support teams on all platforms. It helped us greatly in identifying the cause of the problem. What was happening? The automatic upload of the save into the cloud had a chance to fail in some cases, causing synchronization issues. This could lead to conflicting save states, resulting in a loss of progression. Now, with this latest hotfix,

• Auto save upload has been disabled to avoid further issues.

In case you would need it, manual saving into the cloud is still possible via the in-game Save Management menu. You can copy your save into the "Cloud save slot". Just don't forget to upload your save before closing the game. 💡Please be mindful that if this latest hotfix was not automatically applied before starting the game, see to manually update your game. Thank you so much for your help, patience, and confidence. Your Prince of Persia Community Team

With this 163.7MB hotfix, a major issue resulting in the loss of progress should be resolved. Thanks to all of you flagging the issue, but also sharing details and specificities on it with our support teams. It’s because of your input that our developers were able to publish this hotfix as early as today.

About the issue

In some rare cases a game could be stuck in an endless attempt to save the game and indicating that it succeeded in doing so, when in fact it was stuck in an ongoing loop of attempts. Closing the game while the loop was ongoing would result in the loss of progress. Now, the following issues were addressed with this latest hotfix:

• Game stuck in endless loop, attempting to save the game at a Wak-Wak Tree.
• Visual “saving in progress”-indicator disappearing while the process was not actually finished.

💡Please be mindful that if this latest hotfix was not automatically applied before starting the game, see to manually update your game.

Full transparency

While this fix resolves the mentioned issues, delivering a solution to the vast majority of reported cases where progression was lost, it does not solve them all. To address other known, but less frequent cases where progress is lost, our teams continue their work on a fix planned to be published next week. So, please keep your eyes open for future updates to the game. Thank you so much for your help, patience and confidence. Your Prince of Persia Community Team

It’s heeeeeeere!

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has now OFFICIALLY launched on Steam!

I know, I know, I’m hype too. (obviously) {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png https://store.steampowered.com/app/2751000/Prince_of_Persia_The_Lost_Crown/ {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png Now, the time is here to begin your journey through the perilous yet beautiful Mount Qaf as Sargon, the youngest member of the elite, superhero-like Immortals. Armed with acrobatic combat skills and an ever-growing arsenal of time powers, Sargon explores the mythical Mount Qaf in search of the kidnapped Prince Ghassan, and gradually unravels the dark secret at the heart of the mountain’s time curse. Inspired by Metroidvanias, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown invites you to explore a vast citadel and its alluring biomes. “Prince of Persia has always been about time, and what we wanted to do differently from other Prince of Persia games is to have time affect every element, every aspect of the game, ” Abdelhak Elguess, Senior Producer This game was developed by Ubisoft Montpellier – the studio that also produced Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends, and it delivers performance to match, with all platforms targeting at least 60 frames per second. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown makes combat a top priority; inspired by the likes of Street Fighter and Super Smash Bros., its controls are straightforward and streamlined, enabling you to gracefully execute single-button sword combos and extend them by juggling, dashing, and using Sargon’s bow and arrow to keep enemies stunned. It also pays to keep a close eye on enemy movements; if a yellow flare appears when an enemy is about to strike, that means parrying will flow into a counterattack, letting you execute a finisher for potentially massive damage. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/e4dfd410041c6b8067586bc171d05b3d50cc3554.png “Prince of Persia has always been about time, and what we wanted to do differently from other Prince of Persia games is to have time affect every element, every aspect of the game,” says Producer Abdelhak Elguess. “We wanted to use it in combat, with Sargon’s time powers, and we wanted the narrative to be warped by time. The puzzles and the world itself are completely warped by time. So we have the combat, the puzzles, and the narration as game pillars, but they are all linked by one strong theme, which is time.” {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown re-imagines the franchise in another important way: by embracing its Persian setting in a way that’s unprecedented for the series. Sargon’s adventure blends Persian history and mythology with anime and superhero influences; Mount Qaf is a place where larger-than-life Immortals demolish huge monsters with impossibly flashy techniques, and where the mysterious bird-like deity known as the Simurgh is present everywhere, both figuratively and literally – its massive wings are visible in the skyline at Mount Qaf’s heights, and its claws protrude into the darkest depths. The game’s story references historical monarchs, including Xerxes and Darius, and ancient Persian art and statuary are depicted throughout Mount Qaf. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/ec529f47dd5b824f3555ca47a594d85521399db3.png “In the past, even though it was Prince of Persia, there were many Arabic elements mixed in,” says Elguess. “From the beginning, we wanted Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown to really celebrate Persia. It's very, very different from the Arabic world. And we wanted to go farther into the past, before the Islamic period, because we think mythology is universal. And the more we research, the more we see that there have been many exchanges between the different mythologies. For instance, in Europe, we know the manticore from Greek mythology, but it comes from Persian mythology.” “It was interesting to see how mythologies communicate together, and when we researched Persian mythology, there were so many exciting things that we wanted to talk about; many creatures, many stories,” Elguess says. “So, we were really excited to go in this direction.” {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png Oh, and speaking about excitement! The game is also fully playable on Steam Deck 🔥! If you happen to need a hand with your first-time setup of the game on Steam Deck, check out our little guide right here. Aaaand, for any further questions, have a look at our FAQ. With that all that being said, now it’s truly time to experience Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and change some destinies! So, see you in Mount Qaf, warrior! Your Prince of Persia Community Team

With Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown releasing tomorrow, you may have been wondering... “Will my system even run this game?” Well, you’ve come to the right place! But before we jump right into those system specs, let’s just say that Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is fully playable on the Steam Deck. And now, let’s take a look at those mentioned specs, shall we? {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/eb97839e4f9ba5c315114a4a02598568db88f531.png

MINIMUM

1920x1080, minimum 60 FPS, Graphics Quality Normal

• CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.4 GHz, AMD Ryzen3 1200 3.1 GHz
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 (2GB VRAM) or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (4GB VRAM)
• RAM: 8GB (Dual-channel setup)
• Hard disk space: 30GB
• DirectX version: DirectX 11
• OS: Windows 10/11 (64-bit only)

RECOMMENDED

2560x1440 , minimum 60 FPS, Graphics Quality High

• CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4 GHz, AMD Ryzen5 1600 3.2 GHz
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (4GB VRAM) or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (4GB VRAM)
• RAM: 8GB (Dual-channel setup)
• Hard disk space: 30GB
• DirectX version: DirectX 11
• OS: Windows 10/11 (64-bit only)

ULTRA

3840x2160 , minimum 60 FPS, Graphics Quality Ultra

• CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4 GHz, AMD Ryzen5 1600 3.2 GHz
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB VRAM) or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (8GB VRAM)
• RAM: 8GB (Dual-channel setup)
• Hard disk space: 30GB
• DirectX version: DirectX 11
• OS: Windows 10/11 (64-bit only)

The framerate on PC is not locked and can be extended beyond 120 FPS if the hardware allows for it. Find additional information on the game in our FAQ and on your first time setup Steam Deck start up here. And, there it is! Hardware requirements & information for the Steam Deck. Kindly, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

Oh.my.gosh. It’s OFFICIALLY launch week! Today, we are only two short days away from the official launch of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown on Steam! To be more concrete, it will launch this Thursday August 8th at 7 PM CEST (3 PM EST). And, to celebrate this exciting time we are going to be hosting live broadcasts right here on Steam! Join us this week as we stream Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, enjoy the show, meet some developers and get a taste of what this fantastic game has to offer you. 💖

Wednesday, August 7

Gameplay & Dev Talks

• 10 am CEST / 4 am EST (Tuesday) / 4 pm CST
• 2:30 pm CEST / 8:30 am EST / 8:30 pm CST

Thursday, August 8

Exclusive, launch celebration Streamathon

• 6 pm CEST / 12 pm EST / 12 am CST (Friday) from Montpellier, France
• 9:30 pm CEST /3:30 pm EST / 3:30 am CST (Friday) from Cary, USA*

*Cancelled due to severe tornado and flood warnings in the area.

Friday, August 9

Ongoing Streamathon + Gameplay & Dev Talks

• 8 am CEST / 2 am EST / 2 pm CST / from Shanghai, China
• 10 am CEST / 4 am EST (Tuesday) / 4 pm CST
• 2:30 pm CEST / 8:30 am EST / 8:30 pm CST

Saturday, August 10

Gameplay & Dev Talks

• 8 am CEST / 2 am EST / 2 pm CST

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2751000/Prince_of_Persia_The_Lost_Crown/ Hope to see you all there!🥰 Happy official launch week! Your Prince of Persia Community Team

The game offers up challenging combat and platforming, but the development team wanted to make sure that anyone who wants to get their hands on this game can play it and have fun. To learn more about how Ubisoft Montpellier is making Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown accessible, we spoke to Senior Game Designer Rémi Boutin. What was your approach to accessibility on Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown? Rémi Boutin: Accessibility was an early consideration for us. We integrated it into the creative vision for the game and approached it from several angles. We applied design thinking around the specific barriers and opportunities that our genre and game presents, referenced existing good practices and guidance, and worked in close collaboration with the internal accessibility team at Ubisoft. Learning directly from the audience though user research has been very important as well, and is something that we plan to continue during the rest of development to help to refine our feature set. Does the game’s genre bring any unique challenges? RB: Games with similar mechanics to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown are not always known for accessibility, so we wanted to explore ways to make our game enjoyable by the greatest number of players. We identified exploration as a key part of this. Ensuring players can feel the thrill of free exploration without the frustration of feeling lost was a strong area of focus for us from the very start of development. We have an optional guided mode to help with this, which shows objectives and blocked/available paths. But we also approached it through design, in particular with a feature that we hope our players will enjoy - Eye of the Wanderer. The genre is quite dependent on being able to "take mental notes"; remembering and visualizing things like blocked paths, or situations that need tools or powers that you don't have. We know that can be a barrier for some players, so to assist with this the Eye of the Wanderer feature allows you to take a screenshot and pin it to the map as a visual reminder. Our game offers combat depth, and we're aiming for a challenging game, for players to experience the satisfaction of overcoming dangerous enemies. But we know that people are varied and that challenging means different things to different people. So, we are providing both difficulty presets and a range of individual parameters, so that more people can experience a challenge that fits their capabilities. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/324e74a06c7709b8c11c7c0ed52f8828c342928b.png Did working as a smaller team affect the approach to accessibility? RB: Being a smaller team doesn't need to get in the way of considering accessibility. Smaller teams even have some advantages, like agility. Rather than accessibility being handled by certain people on the team, everyone is involved to ensure that the features that they're personally working on are accessible, as well as looking out for potential accessibility issues across the game in general. Another good way to work efficiently is to look for ways to avoid unnecessary barriers by default, through design choices rather than options. And there are other benefits to accessibility-by-design too, like discoverability. We were able to do this in several areas. For example, color-blindness, text presentation and QTEs (quick time events) are all addressed by default. It's also important to start thinking about accessibility as early as possible in development, it means you're able to do more and do it more effectively. Ubisoft's processes encourage and support considering accessibility early, and it's something that really made a big difference for us. We were able to make good progress even by alpha. We're excited to be able to offer this first look at accessibility alongside the announcement of the game, being able to do that means a lot to us as a team. Considering accessibility from early in development is what has allowed us to share it with you today. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/2ce0059f1b3901a1b5c8231f353e52c59e14ab16.png If you are interested in our list of accessibility features you can check them here! See you all very soon, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

Guess who’s back? Back Again? The Community Team is back, this time to talk about how our sound designers built an immersive world using music and sound. (tell a friend)

To Bring a World to Life

For Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the sound designers wanted a fresh hot take on the music and sound, but with a touch of legacy. To do this, they immersed themselves with sounds and soundtracks of earlier titles for inspiration, while working on their own way to support the beautiful and fantastic game direction, specifically for those awesome time powers and monsters. Just wait until you hear those bangers playing while you are fighting a boss. You’ll know what I mean soon.

SFX & Soundscape

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/85aa72a7fe9b154d8f70fd8e29fff56ea0b0c258.jpg They say ‘you eat with your eyes’, and well, we say ‘you play with your ears’. So, let’s quickly agree that the ambience and world in a video game just won’t work the same way without sound. I mean, everyone that played a horror game before knows that seeing the monster, is most often not the most stressful part about it. Hearing it roar, stomp and breathe is what makes the hair on your arm stand up stiff. To create such an effect, for a monster in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the designers would at times use multiple real life sounds and layer them to create something truly out of this world. Even if the sounds themselves come from real-life sources like alligators, birds, and lions. Crazier than that, using and mixing sound elements that you might have heard somewhere else in the real world before creates something more believable in your brain, even if it’s not real. (We are pretty sure most of the monsters depicted in the game don’t exist) {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/a65b75394a64b2421b6a85727688e499a5164e66.png When creating the sounds behind the biomes the sound team took inspiration from mood boards and concept arts provided by the creative team. The goal was to create a mythological fantasy Persia.

SOUNDTRACK

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png For the original soundtrack (OST in short) we partnered with two amazing composers: Mentrix and Gareth Coker. Metrix's game music is subtle, with a lot of movement creating something eerie and ambient. When creating her music, she blends traditional Persian instruments with some modern production techniques. Her music was used a lot for the exploration tracks. However, this game tells a story about bigger than life characters that fight together for what they think is right, and so the music had to be very dramatic and bigger than life at times as well. And that’s where Gareth Coker comes into play. He wrote music with very big, orchestrated pieces while blending in modern and rock elements at the same time. When you are on your first playthrough you may notice that each main character has their own musical theme which you can hear in the cinematics they appear in. It’s just a little something to help you remember each one of them and their unique qualities. 🎥 Be sure to check out our more in-depth video on To Design Smooth Platforming right here. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/2d2581c36c02dab9f239844bfdd040c51a9fb8ad.jpg Well, that about sums up how the sound designers built the immersive world of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. 🔊 Oh! Do you remember those bangers we mentioned at the beginning? Well, you can listen to them right now, right here!. See you soon! Your Prince of Persia Community Team

From reading all of our insights here on Steam, you know by now: Your journey with Sargon will surely be eventful, and to lift that time curse, you’ll need brains, brawn, and endurance. Good thing you don’t have to do it all by your lonesome and you’ll meet allies, friends you can rely on in tough times, old mentors, or just… trees and children. Yes, trees! Moving on. To counterbalance the vast array of creepy crawlies and fiery fiends that inhabit Mount Qaf, the dev team created a rich cast of friendly NPCs to help you along the way.

NEITH & ARTABAN

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/11c5b933b3ff36c4fba761a911aae9c958c48681.png Neith is a member of the Immortals. To most, her past is a mystery. Rumors suggest that she could be originally from the kingdom of Kush, far into the south. Along with Sargon, she’s one of the youngest of the Immortals. With her temper and her spear, she can keep everyone at a distance – however, it seems she sees more in Sargon than what meets the eye. Meet the Master: Artaban. An essential member of the Immortals, he’s as strong with his two-handed sword as he’s wise with his mind. With his way of talking as though he’s reciting whole books from memory, some people wonder if he isn’t a wandering scholar instead of a warrior. Always looking after Sargon, he’ll wait for him in the Haven to teach him some useful lessons. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/f2a8eb2c225532e123a4ba91e7167a94c667b58f.jpg

FARIBA

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/11c5b933b3ff36c4fba761a911aae9c958c48681.png Fariba travels around Mount Qaf and knows most of its secrets. Even though she looks like a child, with the Time Curse afflicting the place, who knows how old she really is. What’s for sure however, is that she’s unimpressed by Sargon despite him insisting on being an “Immortal”. Maybe, she’s heard this story before? Time doesn’t flow like a river here afterall... Growing hopeful for Sargon as he continues along his journey, she decides to help him. How you ask? Well, with trusty map pieces to ease navigation through Mount Qaf. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/44a5fdbc0f8e610c8522fb290db13ba2fdbfe907.jpg

THE WAK-WAK TREES

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/11c5b933b3ff36c4fba761a911aae9c958c48681.png The Wak-wak trees offer a peaceful resting place throughout Mount Qaf. They all seem to be related and somehow linked to the ancient Soma Tree at the center of Mount Qaf. Oftentimes you can hear whispers near these trees, from creatures who have taken refuge in their branches. Talk to them to gather some useful gossip! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/cd74f7e63393554f12ab9d1945aff908782f4708.jpg With this little showcase, we’ve only but scratched the surface of the vast panorama of characters, friends and allies that you’ll meet on your adventure. And don’t worry, you’ll be able to meet them and the others as soon as the game is released. So, in only two tiny weeks. That’s it for now, so see you next time for more details on the dangers of Mount Qaf: the hordes of enemies standing in Sargon’s way – and, most often than not, at the end of his blade! Oh, this won’t be a short one. Talk to you soon, Your Prince of Persia Community Team.

It’s time for another mini-dev dive, we’ve talked about Sargon, controls, world-building , and platforming. Now it’s time to talk about the beautiful story and all the elements the dev team had to consider when crafting their story for a Prince of Persia Metriodvania. 🎥 All this talk about story reminds me, come watch the live stream tomorrow, July 25, 2024 at 11 AM EST 6PM CEST, where I will go through some of the story in the upper citadel.

To Tell a Story

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png The most important aspect for any story is that the emotions need to be real. And, making a strong story in a Metriodvania did not come without its difficulties. Since, ya know, you can go left, right, up, down, skip some sections, and jump around. So, when writing the narration, the dev team had to think about the many options that players may take and consider other ways to tell the story than through cinematics and dialogue. And, we learned from previous PoP titles that time in fact does not flow like a river; and Mount Qaf is no exception. Sometimes the past can happen after the future and change the very fabric of time. (Looking at you back to the future) {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/623de88282217ae7759fa1b2d03961d840ece214.jpg First and foremost, though, this is a game, and a lot of the narration comes from the gameplay itself. So, from finding Menolias’s bow to use as your own, to finding Sand Jars to unveil a mural. In their eyes, the player should not constantly have their controls taken away for story elements to be presented. However, the narration does also not only come through the gameplay, it comes through the animation, the type of sync animations you have, and how it feels when fighting or fleeing enemies (or both at the same time). These elements concerning the dev team are the first tools to deliver narration in a video game. They say that simple things like the way Sargon moves and NPC’s are designed are a part of the narration. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/62711ec0be695ab2a771f87c13ebe0167921735f.jpg All in all, the team had to think about the story and narration from many different avenues and lenses. So, when it comes to telling the story for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, they did not limit themselves to the obvious cinematic cut scenes and dialogue you hear throughout the game, but they instead considered how the gameplay, the biomes, the NPC’s, the combat, all played into making the story in the game. 🎥 Be sure to check out our more in-depth video on To Design Smooth Platforming right here. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5a76c229e2a97b4a1594c589f23a9728a4fcdd58.jpg That wraps up this mini-dev dive on the making of the story behind Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. We hope you enjoyed it! See you in Mount Qaf very soon. 😎 Bye for now, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

Metroidvanias are built on the promise of a rich and interconnected world – but this world has to be filled with captivating, unique, and sometimes mysterious characters. To honor this tradition, the concept artists of the dev team created a rich cast of NPCs for the player to interact with in Mount Qaf. All of them have a history with the place’s Time Curse, yet not all of them are willing to help our hero. Let’s take a look at some of them.

THE MAGE & ALKARA

The Mage is a mysterious person – seemingly old, but due to the time curse it’s impossible to be sure. What’s for sure is that she’s a great person to visit in your journey, because she sells all sorts of useful items, such as amulets and potions that can come in handy for any traveler. But none is more mysterious than Alkara. The old man seems to be able to travel freely throughout Mount Qaf, hopping here and there in search of a fellow traveler to help. But one has to decipher his mysterious clues. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/111b3e477779f4e6f0a0f3336d2d50b80dd2f2d4.jpg

KAHEVA & THE COLLECTOR

Kaheva forges the gods’ weapons. Her creations are the most beautiful any mortal has ever seen – and any human would dream of owning one of her works. But only less than a handful were ever that fortunate. The late King Darius was one of them. While Kaheva is a god, the Collector is… something else. He lives in the Depths, the long-forgotten area below Mount Qaf. If you ever lose anything, go and see him and there’s a chance he’s already found it! He can find everything. The only problem is, he’ll probably try and negotiate a high price for it. Besides money, there are only two other things he cares about in life: unusual items and… gossip. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/6d73714994094facb4bad2b2bb555057636e271f.jpg

THE FISHERMAN & THE LOST WARRIOR

Mount Qaf is however not only inhabited by gods and monsters, mages and mysterious old men. There are also poor souls, mere humans trapped there by the time curse. The Fisherman is one of them, desperately trying to fish anything in a sea frozen in time. As for the Lost Warrior, you might encounter him trapped in the Hyrcanian Forest. Far from his army fellows, Ardashir’s men, he’s now lost in the lush woods. When you find him, lend him a hand, will you? {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/e870f3e05eebe471b336acf6244ac10223903431.jpg This was just a glimpse of some of the characters you’ll encounter on your journey through Mount Qaf. There’s also the Moon Gatherer, the Crawler, The Architect, the Pirate Captain, a mysterious Hermit, and so many more! 💡 Only three tiny weeks to wait now. See you next time for more details on some more friendly characters: the allies that will help Sargon on his journey through Mount Qaf. Talk to you soon, Your Prince of Persia Community Team.

When thinking about platforming in Metroidvanias it can bring up a lot of feelings: joy, excitement, exhilaration, rage, and sometimes, only sometimes, pure and utter despair. But no matter how much some of the countless platforming sections in games made me want to throw the controller through my screen over the years, something in this game just challenges and hits you differently. There is simply no arguing on how tight and smooth they play. I’d go that far to call them fair and perfectly balanced – as all things should be. And so, in this mini-dev dive we want to find out how our developers were able to design the smooth and buttery platforming of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. (Not exactly in those words, but you get it.)

To Design Smooth Platforming

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png To our devs, flow is the most important aspect when designing platforming sequences. With Sargon being a superhero in legendary Persia the team wanted to be sure that his ability to control space and gravity could be felt. In other words, the devs wanted players to feel that traversal is super fluid and light. (and they did a fantastic job at it, if I do say so myself) And it was important to the devs that you feel in control at any moment in the game. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/342037dd0cf358663fd635972fec70d086db23f4.jpg Making a side-scroller means very precise gameplay and platforming. In the way it's built, and in its legibility, the construction of a side-scroller is completely different from making a 3D game. Legibility and readability are vitally important when making platforming sequences and ensuring all ingredients featured are cohesive. Part of this is making sure that all the actions and all the elements that are shown on your screen push you forward without actively thinking about the controls. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/9924d96a2642f0d5abecfa76971e9a579af999e9.jpg To make the world of Mount Qaf enjoyable, it’s mainly a question of pacing. By creating variations in the navigation throughout the game; between short jumps, high jumps, wall jumps, you can create patterns that feel great when you are executing them. To create variety, the devs tried to give each biome a unique gameplay flavor with new challenges and obstacles based on the environment. And, also on the specific abilities that you have at that time. You may recognize some sequences and some mechanisms that are very iconic to the Prince of Persia franchise. Like, moving saws, death spikes, and other deadly traps! 🎥 Be sure to check out our more in-depth video on To Design Smooth Platforming right here. Well, that wraps up this mini-dev dive on platforming! See ya next time, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

“Ever wondered what it looks like to leave the palace?” It's quite beautiful, and scary, and terrifying, and there are lots of traps... and where was I going with this? Wait I know... How about we let the developers talk about it instead in our next mini-dev dive! Because, in the end, this earlier mentioned quote was exactly the question that led us to the mysterious Mount Qaf we have today. And yes, that’s right, it’s that time again, but this time we asked our devs about world building and the different biomes of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

To Create a World

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/11c5b933b3ff36c4fba761a911aae9c958c48681.png But before we start, how could we consider it a dev dive without a video to watch? Well, in this case there are two! So, let’s start with, “To Create a World.” Our devs of course played all of the other major Prince of Persia titles and they wanted this one to go beyond the palace, to show other types of biomes, outside of palace structures. In their eyes, the Hyrcanian Forest and the Raging Sea deserve to be known and explored. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/58cf79eccf0ce2264c7c6f3ed9f91a936c400133.jpg The previous Prince of Persia games were set in the timelines closer to the ninth century. But this one takes place waaaay before that. They wanted it to be more ancient, more mythological. Mount Qaf, being a mythological place in ancient Persia, generated a lot of inspiration. So, when designing Mount Qaf, it was never about any historical or scientific accuracy, but about capturing the essence of the Persian legacy, the stories, and the feeling and emotion you get from them. With that, the devs really wanted to build a bridge and let the references of mythological Persia be seen through the lens of fantasy.

To Illustrate a Story

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/11c5b933b3ff36c4fba761a911aae9c958c48681.png We’ve talked about the world itself, but what about the artistic direction and scenography? Well, onto the next video the next video I say. Narrative information that can be delivered visually is the best way to fully tell a story according to our team. And in a 2.5D semi-open world game it’s easier to know exactly what will be in the frame for the player at a given time. This means that they can design visual cues to be the guide. Remember the statues that are frozen in their fall when you first enter the Citadel. They are meant to immediately convey that something is off. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/a84b8c996c426896744db6e78e74fef68f770bae.png The team’s starting point when creating the biomes was the game’s narrative. It was important to our level and world designers to not only make good systems but also to tell stories through their environments. This means answering all kind of questions such as: how do we build up the pressure to lead to the next scene? Can we throw a clue in there as to what is coming next? Do we make the ground shake just before encountering a boss? The devs took all of this and more into consideration when building the biomes and the world, because for them it was important to feel the story through gameplay, not just through the cinematics. Well, that is it for this mini-dev dive! See you in the next one, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

Metroidvanias are built on the promise of a rich and interconnected world. To build such a place and create the best homage to a mythological Persia, the artists of the dev team crafted memorable biomes with excruciating detail. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Mount Qaf

Around here, time follows its own rules. Hourglasses don’t flow swift and sure in one direction – sometimes they run backward, or even stop entirely. Tales talk about a time curse and the disappearance of the Simurgh, god of time and knowledge. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/e6ff2ed4b682c870be0b12ea393b9f35900c3f08.jpg

The Lower City

The city was abandoned about 30 years ago and is now all quiet when the Persian army and the Immortals enter it. Although, with a little patience and a sharp eye, a few creatures can be seen wandering around… {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/4166ad5800da9b62d760e4885152c952a96973e8.jpg

The Hyrcanian Forest

In the magical place, it’s autumn all year round. So, if you like the orange shades of autumn leaves, you’ll love this place (just stay on your guard for a potential forest warriors ambush). {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/c62542e06360704cd82738a370fb811b2fe8d892.jpg

The Sacred Archives

Some people might think being locked up in a library is a dream come true, but not everyone agrees. The archives here have been transformed into an actual prison – best to stay quiet around it’s guardian! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/29d07b516fd36ff3e43fd1d8ccc57ce16818164c.jpg

The Depths

Dark and depressing sewers, leading nowhere but down into ancient, forgotten catacombs. Be careful where you walk though, because you might bump into The Collector looking for rare items. And who knows what passes for a ‘rare item’ in this strange place. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/6a76ffc2364ee7be6911f153ae4313f1de9259bb.jpg

The Sunken Harbor

There are always a million surprises to discover in a harbor, from all over the world. Unfortunately, right now the only surprises you’ll find are a bunch of undead and some dangerous traps. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/a483dc07da85a82afc8866590c236f923099df25.jpg

The Pit of Eternal Sands

This desert area is where you can most clearly see all the evil that the curse has brought. With no surprise, it’s where one of Persia’s most terrible monsters, the Darkest of Souls, makes its home. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/8747490ffa37467cd2a301a81ffe6272de400abe.jpg

The Tower of Silence

Even for Persia’s mountains, this place is dizzyingly high and crazy cold- certainly forcing a sense of respect. Speaking of respect, here, the whole royal family lies buried, including the beloved King Darius. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/fbb3b79fd6752378cdc3c78456977c34f9eb5bdb.jpg Well, now that’s what we’d call a long news post! And we haven’t even talked about all of the explorable biomes, but we also don’t want to spoil too much, right? See you next time for more details on the characters that populate such a place. Talk to you very soon, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

Yet another free content update? Well, you got that right! Make way for content update number three: Divine Trials. With this third update, we added twenty-two freshly hand-crafted challenges meant to truly test your skills. Pushing you to your limits! These challenges are a well-rounded mix of platforming, brain teasers, combat or spiced-up Boss Battles each with their own set of unique modifiers and original conditions. In short, it’s everything that you’ll come to love of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, but in a compact and spicy form. And rest assured, there won't be any easy victories this time! Since these trials will require unlocked time powers in your active playthrough, they will only unlock over time as you progress through the main story.

Totally new challenges

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png The Divine Trials can be accessed via a special door in the Haven (I know it really is a hub for everything). It will only appear after having gained the Rush of the Simurgh (Air dash) time power. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/63f5e4c1e086c4c9ca774babcc6a31ef98472752.png Once you enter the special door you will be led to a mystical room containing 4 Memorials, one for each set of challenges. Or 1, or 2 or 3, it all depends how far along into the story you are. The Memorials are:

• The Hound
• The Peacock
• The Stallion
• The Auroch

And of course, once a Memorial is unlocked, you can play them in any order you like. Each one of them features a unique boss battle as a final challenge. Once defeated, you’ll be granted the Memorial's reward: a new Amulet and a new Outfit for Sargon. All of which unique to the challenges and fully usable in the main story. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/f277285275a0c2497d6ded93aa988c540825a994.jpg

Each challenge is unique

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png Each trial is carefully handcrafted with modifiers to create exciting challenges deeply different from anything else in the game.

• Specific set of modifiers: Trials can present unique mechanics not used in the game. For instance, one is a Time attack: a timed platform challenge, with each killed enemy on the way adding a few seconds to the timer.
• Specific setup for each Trial: Your loadout is pre-fixed, independent from your regular gear in the game: number of potions, equipped amulets, and life bar. Some challenges will even forbid the usage of the bow, or of specific Time Powers. (whaaaaaat?!)
• Platform & Puzzle Challenges: Feel like the platforming and puzzles following the story are too easy? Just you wait....
• Combat Challenges: These very often require fighting waves after waves of enemies without dying - and most often without potions. (insert the tears of the community manager here during these)
• 4 Revised Bosses: Fight Erlik, Jahandar, Kiana and ??? anew, but this time with extra attack patterns - and a fixed loadout to begin with. (don’t worry you will know all about these bosses soon™)

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/14ee89ef30e3ce4272bf9c9d789ab3811c4692e7.png

4 new Amulets to unlock:

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png The new Amulets can be used outside of the challenges, in the rest of the game, once unlocked. However, they cannot be upgraded, contrary to their main story Amulet counterparts.

• Arash's Quiver: Arrows quiver automatically refills over time - goes back up to 5 arrows, independently of max capacity.
• Flaming Whirlwind: Charge your attack and unleash a storm of blue fire. Replaces the regular charged attack.
• Point of Honor: After hitting enemies several times in a row your next arrow shot is stronger.
• Frozen Truth: Hold down the Parry button for a few seconds to charge an ice protection that will partially protect you from the next attack. Once hit, it explodes in a small AoE ice attack that freezes enemies nearby. The ability vanishes after a few seconds if not triggered.

All Trials are compatible with difficulty presets/customized difficulty. The Platforming Help Option can be enabled during platforming sequences. Note: Speedrun mode timer keeps running normally in the Trials. Also, dying in a Trial while in Permadeath mode doesn't trigger the Permadeath.

• The exclusive outfits get unlocked across all existing save files once obtained while the Amulets remain exclusive to the save slot.

Fashion Week

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png It's not a content update without some new outfits for Sargon. This one brings 4 new outfits! Let's take a sneak peek, shall we? {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/2f69ac3c183596d68d6b3b5b8b50051ed717c407.jpg Okay, Sargon with the tattoos, I see you. Whew, that was a long read, but that’s it for now! Bye, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

It’s time for another mini-dev dive, and this one is focusing on the 3 C’s, specifically controls. What are the 3 C’s you ask? It stands for Character, Controls, and Camera. But how is that important? It describes the complex relationship between the inputs of you (controls), the reactions of Sargon on screen (Character), and how he is captured in the frame (camera). Now with the back story out of the way, we are going to dive into how our dev team considered this to bring Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown to life!

Precise Combat

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png Let’s talk combat! (One of my favorite elements in the game) The combat system may be simple to handle, but it has a lot of depth and many abilities to really make it your own. The inspiration taken for our combat system was from the modern Prince of Persia games, like the Sands of Time trilogy, specifically the acrobatic part of the combat in those games. But we can’t only get inspiration from Prince of Persia when games like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and Street Fighter exist! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/f341acf4ba64167c34df5a121bdbf3fff08cabc3.jpg The ultimate goal was to make Sargon feel like a superhero in mythological Persia. So, of course, it’s extremely fun and feels great when you get to play the game. The designers really took their time tweaking the combat until it was fun to play. Combat was super important to our dev team and was tweaked until the very end when they had something they were proud of. (and, man, did it pay off, that combat is soooo gooood!) 🎥 Be sure to check out our more in-depth video on To Design Precise Combat right here.

Tight Controls

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png I know that you know that the smooth controls are a highlight in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. (and, if you don’t know yet you definitely will once you play the game.) You’ve heard the phrase “superhero in mythological Persia” a few times already in these dev dives. But that was even considered when developing the tight controls. The team moved away from a realistic character to be able to depict the superhero feel of Sargon. To the team, it was important that you could feel his extraordinary abilities when you are in control of Sargon yourself. A realistic character comes with realistic weight, and you can’t have that when Sargon flies through the air at the speed of light. The team did not want him to feel too heavy or too slow. To make good controls you need different ingredients, and one of the first would be stellar animations. In order to have a nice balance between the motion, the action, and the feeling with the gamepad, the team chose to handcraft each element to have perfect control over timing, shape, and movement. The main objective is to bring you, the player, the most reactive and most dynamic gameplay possible. After getting the animations right, you need responsiveness, which we all know is super important in a Metroidvania. Making sure the game responds to your input the second you press it, so you don’t fall into those pesky traps at every corner of those hard platforming sections. 🎥 Find a more in-depth video on To Design Tight Controls right here. To wrap all of this up, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is really a game you must feel with the gameplay. Well, that’s it for this mini-dev dive! See you next time, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

Metroidvanias need to have fun and exciting bosses, which is exactly why we thought we‘d give you the chance to encounter those bosses in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown AGAIN. So, if you were silently hoping to fight those bosses more than once - this update is for you. Lucky for you, the Steam release includes this and the other free updates right out of the box—no additional waiting needed.

Boss Revenge

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png Boss Revenge gives you the ability to be able to try those boss fights again (looking at you Manticore...)

Here is how it works:
• Gradual unlock: After beating each Boss, they are unlocked in the Boss Revenge menu, which our trusty friend Artaban has in the Haven (don’t worry you’ll learn all about the Haven later). In this challenge, you will enter each Boss Battle with a preset (Life / Weapon Upgrades / Time Powers)
• Pick your level of challenge: For each Boss, you can choose the difficulty you want to play them against: Rookie/Warrior/Hero/Immortal or No Hit. This choice is independent from the current game difficulty.
• Prove your skills and beat your records: A seal is displayed once you've beaten a Boss in a set difficulty.

Boss Rush

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png The greatest challenge awaits the bravest: the Boss Rush. This challenge only comes once you complete the game, where you test your abilities and skills by defeating all the main bosses in a row. And not only do you get bragging rights to yourself of how amazing you did, but you can get two outfits from it!

• Endgame challenge: The Rush gets unlocked after finishing the main story. In this challenge, you will enter with your current life/Amulets/Weapon Upgrades and Athra surges.
• Fight all Bosses in order: The fights unfold in the same order as in the main story.
• Pick your level of challenge: For each Rush, you can choose the difficulty you want to play against: Rookie/Warrior/Hero/Immortal or No Hit. This choice is independent from the current game difficulty.
• Manage your resources: The amount of Life / Potions / Arrows or Athra gauge left is kept from one battle to the next. You'll need to plan your rush, and use the possibility to change your Amulets & Athra Surges loadout between each fight wisely. Some Amulets are not active in Boss Rush to keep the experience balanced.
• Prove your skills and beat your own records: A seal is displayed once you've beaten the complete Boss Rush in any difficulty, alongside the time taken to do so. Beating the challenge on a high-difficulty setting also unlocks the seal for the lower-difficulty ones. There's a possibility there's a secret seal...

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/a74f2fc23750ebccd99099c1ebefd1271a14511d.png

Fashion Week

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png I know, I know the Sands of Time outfit was fire, but we have another banger for you with this update! Only, this one you have to work for. 😎 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/a3d3013f558b48a7ac13f52f1e8b382dd7df7e72.jpg Oh, that skin looks familiar 👀

Quality of Life

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/5c8190543ab75627dd64b296a5c995ea6c1a5fec.png Some changes were brought with this update, and since the update will already be at your fingertips, you get to them right away!

• Wak-Wak trees fast travel: Instantly travel from one Wak-Wak tree to another, without the need to use Fast travel Altars. This ability must be purchased in the Magi Emporium in the Haven (Mage shop) and is unlocked after obtaining the Fabric of Time power.
• High contrast mode accessibility improvement: improvement on attack readability (yellow vs red enemy attacks)

Whew, that was another awesome free update if I do say so myself. Talk to you soon, Your Prince of Persia Community Team.

Here we are mentioning “Sargon” again, and still, you might find yourself asking questions like: what makes him worthy to journey Mount Qaf? Why does he look so angry all the time? Why is he shirtless? {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/d97fc67a574b5b327b6393cdd8a028030936fb2a.jpg Okay, Okay, let’s see if we can get our developers to answer some of these questions. Luckily, Some time ago we sat down with our developers to discuss the making of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and what better way to start than with our one and only Sargon? In this first dev dive, our developers talk about designing Sargon – and why armor is more than optional to him. To see the full mini-dev dive click here. As our Senior Art Director says, first when you see Sargon you see a young warrior who is very sharp and a bit rough around the edges. With his smooth movements, sharp fighting style, and attitude he needs light equipment on his side. So, that’s why he doesn’t wear any armor. And, as Game Director Mounir Radi says, you don’t need armor when you are super confident on never being hit. (they must have not taken into account me playing as Sargon when designing him. 😆) But, the game is not only about how Sargon fights. Every superhero has weaknesses. Sargons story is one of a warrior, and his journey evolving and growing into a hero with heart. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/3134a4edbb75d52710abd65fcc48e9dfbd08905d.png Speak soon, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

Metroidvanias need to be difficult they say, which is exactly why we thought we‘d crank Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown up a bit more. So, if you were silently hoping for more punishing modes like beating this game on a single life - this update is for you Lucky for you, the Steam release includes this and the other free updates right out of the box—no additional waiting needed.

Permadeath Mode

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/11c5b933b3ff36c4fba761a911aae9c958c48681.png We know you on Steam love to push yourself to the limits, but how about a real challenge? Introducing Permadeath Mode: Play the game with only one life and no second chances! You read that right; when you die with this game modifier applied, you must start a new game. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/1a402c327f6786427505d3f715dd72a63ca79e7b.png If you succeed in beating the game with this mode enabled, not only will you have earned massive amounts of respect from our development team, but you'll also receive a pretty sick outfit. Oh, but wait, regular permadeath isn’t enough of a challenge for you? Try beating the game in Immortal Permadeath mode! This means more enemy damage, greater enemy health, traps that hit harder, and a much smaller window of opportunity to get that cut scene animation when you successfully parry.

Speedrun Mode

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/11c5b933b3ff36c4fba761a911aae9c958c48681.png Beating the game is not enough. It has to be done fast. Luckily we created this mode for you to measure up against your fellow speed-maniacs. Introducing Speedrun Mode: race against time to beat your own records and keep track of your best attempts at completing the game as quickly as possible. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/f44d226ec50659af21b72c83babfc6a7c7237657.png Beat the set time to earn a new outfit and bragging rights among your friends and fellow Prince of Persia fans!

Fariba's Hints

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/11c5b933b3ff36c4fba761a911aae9c958c48681.png Fariba will quickly become a helpful friend and guide in your journey. With this update Fariba's hints were added to the game. As you stumble upon Fariba in each biome and purchase the map pieces you can visit her in the Haven afterwards and give her even more time crystals! But this time for a treasure map, which will show you all the locations of all the chests, (honestly, so helpful) After finishing the main story of the game, a special map can be purchased to Fariba: it unveils all the lore items that remain to be found in the game, throughout Mount Qaf. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/c096482dd109e437bc9bd8b3570a51fa7889a1fc.png

Quality of Life

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/11c5b933b3ff36c4fba761a911aae9c958c48681.png With this update, there were some quality-of-life changes!

Most notably:
• Custom Difficulty parameters range extended • • Notably: The Parry Difficulty can now be set to "Very Easy"
• Enemy Damage and Enemy Health have wider ranges
• New option to 'Hide the HUD'
• New option to adjust background Audio level.

Fashion Week

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/11c5b933b3ff36c4fba761a911aae9c958c48681.png We heard you like outfits, so, how about something with a touch of nostalgia? {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/368dd83593da0f77101d89374f856d9bb284e2a2.png This new outfit for Sargon will be unlocked immediately from the first free content update. However, the other outfits will require great effort to obtain. That’s it for this content update, whew lot’s of fun stuff was added. p.s. are any of you going to start your very first save on Immortal Permadeath mode? 👀 Kindly, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

NO spoilers ahead. You’ve probably heard us mention “Sargon” a good many times by now, and still, you might find yourself asking questions like: who is that guy anyway? Is he the Prince of Persia? Why is he so angry all the time? Why does he not wear any armor? And by the love of gods, what is at the end of his blade? Okay, okay, too fast. Let’s roll it back and start a bit earlier. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/23ef065b71027eb9732a1e862dd8abe26f6c7755.jpg While we won’t answer all of them right here and now, here is a little bit about Sargon, the protagonist of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

Sargon

Living on and off the streets as a young orphan, Sargon later found himself taken in by Anahita, Persia’s army general. Being a strict and sharp leader, Anahita raised Sargon the only way she knew how, with discipline, philosophy and a lot of military training. With his potential, Sargon was destined to become a deadly weapon for the Persian empire. A weapon is void of emotions or earthly attachments and so Sargon was trained to detach himself from just that as well. What a perfect soldier that makes, right? And what a great asset when you must defeat an invading army or find the kidnapped heir to a kingdom. Especially when that soldier is not alone but rose up to join the ranks of an elite group like say ‘The Immortals’. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/4187c7a706c2e0fbd7f1eedf4a838d8c4dfe8778.gif Enemies trembling in fear by the slightest mention of ‘the rashabar', the black wind, sadly won’t be enough to help him bring Prince Ghassan back. So, let’s hope that Sargon will learn a bit more about what it truly means to be a warrior on his quest to save the Persian Empire. You can accompany him right here on Steam starting August 8 on this time-bending quest. Talk Soon, Your Prince of Persia Community Team

Since its first release on most platforms a lot has happened; a lot of work has been put into this wonderful game. And no, we are not done just yet. Wondering what we are talking about? Well, then have a look at what updates have already arrived and are still to come to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown since January, all by yourself: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/2e9680f2be1efe25848a78455f46de1bee1697f8.png And guess what! Your Steam copy will already include all three live updates, Warrior’s Path, Boss Attack and Divine Trials right from the start. Each adding its own flavor and spice, enhancing your way to play. Here is a very short overview, followed by some more details on what each of the updates add to the experience:

• Permadeath mode
• Speedrun mode
• Boss Rush
• Boss Revenge
• 22 expert challenges
• 10 additional outfits
• A good chunk of QoL updates

Warrior’s Path

The Warrior's Path update adds two new ways to challenge yourself and experience the game. Both the Permadeath Mode and the Speedrun Mode are meant to keep you on your toes. So, you better pack your running shoes and come prepared. Alongside these new modes come some great quality of life changes, and several gauging-your-eyes-out-they-are-so-pretty outfits for Sargon.

Boss Attack

With the Boss attack update, the name might have already given that away, we added two challenges all about the big, bad and the ugly. Where Boss Revenge asks you to fight bosses previously encountered with preset conditions, Boss Rush marks the ultimate endgame test, challenging you to defeat all main bosses in a row. And of course, the update adds two new outfits.

Divine Trials

This third free update, just released last week, adds twenty-two new expert brain-teasing, thumb-twitching challenges. Sprinkled with unique and exotic conditions, these hand-crafted platforming, puzzle and combat challenges won't make for any easy victories. Not even talking about the four spiced-up Boss Battles. With four brand new amulets and outfits as rewards (usable in the main story of the game) it’s all worth it. Next step on the roadmap is the new Story DLC “Mask of Darkness”. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45058788/3a95196bc619eaaede7b5a0ddedb5f668b817558.jpg So, who’s up for a permadeath run on immortal difficulty? Speak to you soon, Your Prince of Persia Community Team