Highlights

  • The Rogue Prince of Persia offers a unique 2D roguelike experience with thrilling parkour mechanics and challenging boss fights.
  • Players must navigate through Ctesiphon, face off against Hun invaders, and conquer General Berude and Baatar in epic battles.
  • While only two bosses are currently available, Evil Empire promises more high-quality boss fights in future updates for a rewarding experience.

For the second time this year, the Prince of Persia franchise has been lovingly revived, this time by former Dead Cells co-developer Evil Empire. Released onto Steam early access about a week ago, The Rogue Prince of Persia is another 2D entry in the series that hearkens back to the series' roots, but as opposed to The Lost Crown's Metroidvania approach, The Rogue Prince of Persia adopts the roguelike genre.

During an average run in The Rogue Prince of Persia, players will be parkouring their way through the city of Ctesiphon, vaulting over Hun invaders, and quickly stabbing them in the back, all in an attempt to save the Prince's city and loved ones from the dark magic threatening to consume them. Of course, along the way, players will have to face off against some more imposing foes, and The Rogue Prince of Persia's boss fights are already shaping up to be something really special.

The Rogue Prince of Persia Medallions
Related
The Rogue Prince of Persia: Medallion Tier List

The Rogue Prince of Persia is home to a unique perk system called "Medallions," some of which are extremely helpful, and some of which aren't as much.

The Rogue Prince of Persia Should Double Down on Bosses

The Rogue Prince of Persia's Bosses Are a Big Highlight

After successfully making their way to the end of two consecutive biomes, The Rogue Prince of Persia will reward players with a boss fight. This first boss fight puts the player up against General Berude, a minotaur-like enemy that towers over the Prince. While Berude's moveset is pretty predictable for an enemy of their stature and animalistic nature, it's how that moveset compliments Rogue Prince of Persia's mechanics that makes the fight feel so rewarding.

In The Rogue Prince of Persia, players are given the novel ability to climb and run along most of the screen's background. In the Berude boss fight, players can parkour across the entirety of the screen's background, essentially making the entire stage their playground. This mechanic goes hand-in-hand with Berude's moveset, which forces the player to avoid AoE attacks, oncoming projectiles, and charge attacks by climbing the background wall at opportune moments.

The Rogue Prince of Persia's second boss fight delivers an even more compelling engagement, being a real test of everything the player has learned so far. Named Baatar, this second Hun General primarily uses a series of ranged magic attacks that must all be avoided quickly. These magic attacks will have players running to the other side of the screen to avoid a projectile, climbing walls to avoid a horizontal blast of energy, and reaching higher platforms to escape a ground blast. Every few attack cycles, Baatar takes to the sky, causing the arena to fill with dark magic, and forcing the player to quickly parkour their way up the environment to avoid being consumed by the darkness. It's an incredibly difficult fight, but its highly skill-based nature also makes it feel incredibly rewarding.

Evil Empire Needs to Deliver More of the Same with Its Boss Fights

The one big downside of The Rogue Prince of Persia's boss fights is that there aren't enough of them. In its current early access build, The Rogue Prince of Persia has just two bosses, but the high level of quality present in each bodes very well for the game's future. Developer Evil Empire has already stated that more boss fights are coming to Rogue Prince of Persia during its early access period, and when creating them, the devs mustn't forget why the last two fights feel so rewarding.