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.
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