Hello everyone,
Welcome to our second community update for The Rogue Prince of Persia!
Sorry it's a bit late but let's get stuck in! As before, if you prefer to watch/listen, here is a YouTube version:
This one is all about how we made the game feel like a Prince of Persia with the controller in your hand – the action, the platforming, the wall-run.
We want you to feel like you are in a constant state of flow, with no interruption between traversal and combat. This will need some mastery from you of course, but we've given you all the tools you need to feel like you are the Prince himself.
Wall-run
So let's start with the one and only, the wall-run! A classic Prince of Persia move, the wall-run is key to the Prince's movement and combat strategy.
It allows you to avoid traps, move between platforms over plummeting drops, escape groups of enemies when the odds are against you, maneuver yourself into an advantageous position before attacking, and to get to areas that seem completely out-of-reach at first glance.
You can wall-run horizontally, vertically and diagonally but not downwards. But if you're worried about falling onto a big ol' pile of spikes then have no fear!
Dagger brake
The Prince can slow his descent by sticking his dagger into the wall (if there is one of course), allowing you to avoid traps or falling straight into bad situations.
OK this one isn't exactly a Prince of Persia move, but it looks cool!
Poles
What happens if the wall is too long for a wall-run? Weelllll there's usually some handy poles around that you can grab onto or perch on. Use these resting spots to stop and scout out your next move or, by timing your next jump right, bound and swing from pole to pole in a speedy whirlwhind of acrobatics. I'll let you guess which one is more fun!
Wall-run #2
There's also the "other wall-run", you know the one where you run up vertical walls. The middle child. We should really find a name for this one... Wall climb?
Anyway, this allows for quick vertical climbing and also doubles as a way to get a horizontal boost at the end as you backflip off the wall to the next spot. If you're lucky and have two vertical walls next to each other then go ahead and ping-pong upwards to your heart's content.
Dash
The dash is a... dash. Use it to get yourself out of a tight spot, out of a bomb's radius or to close the distance to an enemy. Or use it for it's primary purpose - do a speedrun in under 8 minutes.
Dodge
If you dash towards an enemy when close enough, the Prince will dodge over that enemy's head, putting himself behind them and ready to go to town on their unprotected back.
The eagle-eyed ones of you will notice a similarity to a move in another Prince of Persia game...
Fine, it's basically the vault from the Sands of Time.
COMBAT
That's the movement set, now what about the combat?
Well there'll be a lot of it, so we've provided lots of options for you to manage the numerous enemies who are waiting to bonk you on the head, stab you in the delicate bits or just smash you into a pulp.
Primary Weapons
We're not going to run through the specifics of each weapon, but rest assured that there is something for everyone.
We have quick stabby weapons, weapons you can throw, heavy weapons, and of course the twin daggers you've seen everywhere. Each one has a combo as well as a special attack, so it's not just a question of mashing the attack button in every situation (unless you want to, we're not your boss).
Each weapon is based on something that was around in the rough time period that we've based the game on, with some artistic liberties of course!! More will be added during Early Access too.
Tools
Tools are way more exciting than they sound, we just didn't want to use the term 'Secondary Weapons' because it doesn't 100% fit this pool of items. These items have 'charges' that are used up with each use - you can refill them by hitting enemies. Already starting to sound more exciting right?
There are classics like a bow and chakram, but you will unlock others that allow you to try something different. You can find ones that pull enemies towards you, pull yourself forward or jump up into the air and smash down.
Switch between Tools as you find them in a run to adjust to how your loadout is evolving or just how you want to play.
Like the Primary Weapons, more will be added during Early Access.
Kick
Sometimes even the Prince can get overwhelmed with enemies, at this point the kick can come in very handy. At its simplest it allows you to push an enemy backward to give you some breathing space, but it is much more than that.
It also allows you to sparta kick an enemy into oblivion. Or a trap. Or spikes.
As if you needed any more reason to kick an enemy, it also has the added bonus of stunning the enemy if it is kicked into a wall. Kick an enemy into another enemy and they are both stunned, leaving them insanely vulnerable to a follow up attack.
Kicking an enemy onto a shielded enemy (who you will quickly learn to hate) breaks their shield instantly, which would otherwise take precious time to break.
So yeah, the kick is kinda useful.
Dive
OK, the dive attack isn't very Prince of Persia-y. It just feels great to use and lets you both stun enemies and break shields at the same time!
Medallions
These aren't a combat move but they do enhance your fighting moveset.
Medallions are triggered by a wide variety of things, such as kicking an enemy or wall-running above them. They then either apply effects to enemies like damage or slowdown, or they can affect you with something like healing.
You can only use four, and they can upgrade each other depending on where you slot them.
Upgraded weapons can also trigger effects that medallions are triggered by or interact with, so there's lots of synergies and builds for you to explore.
Only the beginning
As mentioned before, this is just the start of Early Access, so more weapons, tools and elements will be added - this is all only a base for the game to build on!!
Hopefully you can see how much we worked on making the flow between traversal and combat as seamless as possible - you really should feel like going through a level is one big fluid movement.
But there is always room to make things even better, and your feedback will be crucial to how we move forward, so we hope you will be able to join us on the journey through Early Access.
We'll be back next week with a dive into the music and art direction of the game so don't miss that one!
Cheers,
Matt & Evil Empire