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The 2008 Prince of Persia game is one that has a weird place in my heart. Is it slow paced and kind of placid? Sure. Does it pose much of a challenge? Not really. Is it an evocative, beautifully constructed little game with really clever design, gorgeous graphics (that still hold up 15 years later), a great story, and tons of awesome details? Absolutely!
Prince of Persia's main goal is immersion. It wants you to be immersed in its unique world and just take it all in. A uniquely minimalist game with no shortage of inspiration from Team ICO's works, Prince of Persia boils down most of its mechanics to their absolute simplest approaches in order to make room for more focus on the world design and immersive qualities. This simplicity is reflected in the control scheme- you have one button for each action you can do, and performing that action in a variety of contexts will change what that button does. For instance, the jump button will always make the Prince leap, but jumping into a wall will cause him to wall run, or jumping onto a pole will cause him to grab onto it. Elika, the Prince's partner through the journey, also has a dedicated button which can be used both for help in platforming and combat. It takes on a secondary purpose in allowing the Prince and Elika to engage in dialogue too, and changes further when interacting with context-sensitive pads in the environment. This elegance and intentional design can be seen all throughout the game, which makes it rather easy to get a grip with the controls and start playing in seconds.
Platforming is very simple, being highly reactive and telegraphed. You know when and where you need to jump, double-jump and wallrun by scratch marks on the walls, and know exactly where to land by delicately placed sources of light. Combat is also a very simple affair, mostly being relegated to cinematic attacks as you perform long combos by chaining buttons together. Context sensitive actions like forcing an enemy into a wall can result in a big damage cinematic, which encourages reactive play. Combat and platforming are both intuitive enough that the game barely tutorializes them, which is a testament to how good the game feels to play.
Combat is very easy, as is the platforming, which means the appeal of the game is found less in the gameplay and more in the elements surrounding it. The game notably has no real "game over" state to begin with, something many people take umbrage with. Whenever the Prince "dies" via falling off a too-high ledge or losing in combat, Elika will automatically bail him out and reset him to back before he made his fatal mistake. A lot of people argue the game constitutes no challenge as a result, but to be honest, I find this approach refreshing. Prince of Persia acknowledges the arbitrary loss state of a lot of modern videogames and so skips through the long-winded loading screens to instead place you right back where you left off. The platforming and combat is much less about skill or reactivity and more about fluidity, so while these mechanics are good and work well, the potential challenge they offer are not the reason you will come to enjoy this game.
That would be the atmosphere and the story. Prince of Persia looks positively gorgeous, with a rich colour palette and detailed cel-shading. Character designs are excellent across the board, and the two main characters are both instantly likeable and well-developed. The writing is pitch-perfect, as are the performances of the two leads. Nolan North is, as always, wonderful in whatever role he plays, while Kari Walhgreen does a similarly excellent job as Elika. As per the minimalist inclinations of the design, we don't really find out too much about the Prince or Elika beyond what is relevant to the story, but their opinions on each other, the world, architecture, politics, and life are explored through their dialogue. In essence, we don't really know who either of these two people were, but we absolutely know who they are right now. All of this development leads up to one of the best endings I've ever seen in a videogame.
Outside of the excellent graphics and story, Prince of Persia also shines in its unique construction and immaculate level design. The basic structure of the game is four "hubs" split off from a major overworld zone. Each hub has four sub-levels that must be cleared before a boss is fought, and once all four bosses are beaten the game is over. Each time through a sub-level, you traverse a narrow gauntlet of challenges, and then once the level is beaten it opens up into a completely non-linear traversal playground. Your objective now is to collect enough orbs called "seeds of light" in order to open the door to the next level. This is a really cool way of structuring the game, emphasising a linear path through a level before opening it up for you to explore. The linear path contains platforming challenges, combat, puzzle solving and more, before rewarding you with a totally open environment to explore with abandon. With how fluid and fun the platforming is, this is a welcome and very clever design choice. Prince of Persia loves to slow things down and just let you soak it all in, which in an era of ever-increasing speed and stress can be very enjoyable.
Prince of Persia ain't for everyone. It's often considered too slow and easy to be of any real challenge to a "hardcore gamer"... but do games have to be hard to be good? A game offering a unique and slow experience can be just as welcome as any blood-pumping gorefest. The medium is dominated by these games that want to engage and thrill, yet Prince of Persia is content to take it easy and focus on things other than direct challenge. Emphasis is placed on forward motion, detailed environments, and freeform exploration, making for a game that is relaxing and rewarding in equal measure as it is thrilling.
I still find myself returning to this game every once in a while to play it again. It's not something I can beat over and over for years and years like some of my other favourite titles, but it is something that comes up a lot when I consider what my favourite games are. After thinking for so long about why, I've come to the conclusion that its because Prince of Persia offers something I don't see in a lot of games these days- intentionally slow, relaxed gameplay. That alone draws me back in.