Yeah, nah.

I sat down to give the game another chance and I decided that this is not for me. The gameplay feels good but it's just too little stretched too much. Each run feels exactly the same, each weapon feels exactly the same and each enemy feels exactly the same.

Almost every upgrade is "do 10% more damage". And none of them really change anything about how to engage encounters. There's even this neat mechanic of twin upgrades in which you have left and right version of "charms". But equipping both just gives you more percentage instead of dramatically altering their effect. This kind of tells you the level of inspiring design this game's at.

The moment I realised I was going to quit was one I got to the second boss. It's one of those bosses that can only be damaged at specific moments, which generally suck. It's attacks are also relatively easy to avoid as long as you're in the correct place. But he is so incredibly tanky and has a regenerating shield. Repeating the same patterns of avoiding attacks and while chipping away at his healthbar was boring me off my tits.

It's a shame because the core gameplay is really satisfying. The platforming nails that sweetspot of being easy to do but with enough depth to challenge you. There are some neat little platforming challenges that make the most of it. The highlights of the game.

Let me start by saying I'm a huge Dead Cells fan, and The Rogue Prince of Persia being made by Evil Empire (who took over Dead Cells maintenance and created the last few DLCs) makes Dead Cells the obvious first comparison point. This game is clearly Dead Cells' cousin, not entirely the same but they definitely share DNA.

The one standout difference is the modern Prince of Persia staple of parkour elements. The movement and the combat in this game take a little to get used to, but once you get the hang of it, it's fantastic. This is one of the most fluent platformers I've ever played. You're just wallrunning, pole-climbing, air-dashing, drop-attacking, arrow-shooting, special-attacking and enemy-kicking all the time. Especially kicking. Kicking enemies into spikes, off platforms, or into each other. It never gets old.

The obvious other comparison point is Hades. The storytelling, run structure, action elements, and even the music style are reminiscent of Hades. In most areas it doesn't reach Hades levels (the lack of voiceovers in TRPoP does a lot, I think), but it comes closer than any other game I've seen it try. Evil Empire show creative direction and skill that is reminiscent of Supergiant Games.

The game itself is fairly short, I finished the main story in 10 hours. Replay value is currently rather limited. The weapons and the levels have variation but nothing close to the degree of Dead Cells. You can do post-game challenge runs but I think it would start to get old really fast.

The main story is easier than Dead Cells (or Hades). Focus on DPS with a good weapon and some passives that trigger criticals or damage over time (the lightest of synergies will work), and you don't need to worry about 90% of enemies or even the boss patterns. Kind of a shame as there are some pretty creative boss fights, including one that involves a lot of fast parkour to evade the attacks. The first boss was an annoying exceptional difficulty spike though. She needs to be killed fairly early in the story in order to proceed and there are a few rather repetitive biomes until you do so. The game definitely opens up more after that fight.

I've heard the game changed quite a bit since the first early access release so if you tried it back then, maybe give it a spin again. And if you never tried it but you like fast-paced platformers and like (or don't mind) some roguelike elements, then I'd recommend it!

The Rogue Prince of Persia is a 2025 2D roguelike platform game developed by Evil Empire and published by Ubisoft. It follows an unnamed Prince who relies on fluid parkour movement and fast paced combat as he fights through procedurally generated levels set around the city of Ctesiphon. The gameplay is built around wall running, wall jumping, swinging and agile traversal, combined with melee and ranged attacks, kicks, dodging and quick weapon switching. Progression comes through Medallions, coins and weapon upgrades, while a time travel mechanic sends the player back to a hub called The Oasis after death, where skills and gear can be improved for the next run.

The game works best when movement and combat flow together, creating energetic runs that feel responsive and skill driven. It captures the spirit of the Prince of Persia series and reshapes it into a roguelike structure with strong pacing and satisfying core mechanics. However, it does suffer from repetition over time, with limited variety becoming more noticeable during longer play sessions. Overall it is an enjoyable and well made action roguelike that delivers a solid experience, even if it does not fully escape its repetitive nature, scoring 8 out of 10.

Full Review at https://www.gamingcouchpotato.co.uk/2026/04/review-rogue-prince-of-persia-2025.html