Playing A Game Prince of Persia (2008) PC

After finally limping through Fallout 4 (and especially Nuka World), I felt like playing something completely different. Something with a gripping adventure story, simple mechanics, pleasant visuals, a short running-length; and to be safe, something I'd played before. My memory of Prince of Persia (2008) fit that bill perfectly -- but unfortunately, my memory didn't age very well.

A decade ago, I was in love with the game's "optional dialog sequences." Today, they feel more like cutscenes that you need to keep pressing a button for. Some of the dialog is vitally informative to Prince's and Elika's character building; so why is it optional? And the rest are throwaway lines that feel like a waste of my button-presses.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was released the year before PoP 2008, and the following ten years of Uncharted games more than proved Naughty Dog's concept of mixing banter with parkour in real-time. If this game was made just a year later, I'm sure they would have done the same; now, the optional cutscenes - which still interrupt gameplay - feel like a big step back. (And Nolan North's wry voice acting keeps inviting the comparison.)

The combat is stupid. I tolerated it back then, and I can barely put up with it today. Maybe, back in 2008, the movement and ability controls were like a breath of fresh air compared to Sands of Time and its sequels; but now, it's really nothing special. Now, I can't help but focus on the aggravating timing quirks - like when I successfully parry an enemy attack, but then it attacks again immediately, anyway - and how disruptive and time-wasting the "we're at the edge, better turn around!" animations become. Especially for the Warrior boss, who needs to be corralled to a specific spot and moves ... so ... slowly.

And while, in theory, gathering light seeds via explorational parkour is a highlight of the game; in my replay, I dreaded the backtracking involved in collecting more glowing bits. Maybe it's a consequence of the environment art no longer holding my interest -- I just didn't look forward to going off in new directions, or finding new obstacles to overcome. I only wanted to make progress in the story, and the light seed requirements to do so felt like a pretty artificial hurdle.

That story, by the way, isn't compelling on its own. But this was true back in 2008, too. And... can you believe that the PC version still doesn't have the Epilogue DLC that picks up after the main game's abrupt, borderline-cliffhanger ending? (Well, sure, I can believe it. But I feel like I shouldn't.)

The years haven't been kind to our prince. I'll admit that I still have a soft spot for the idea of wall-running and jumping through canyons to save ancient kingdoms from evil magic; but in retrospect, it's clear that a lot of this game's appeal was in its newness, and how pretty it looked. The mechanical sophistication and graphical horsepower of today's games make PoP look relatively sloppy.

I hope that, someday, someone figures out how to properly revive this series. A man can dream...

Better than: RiME
Not as good as: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (NGC, PC, PS2, PS3, XBOX), whose storytelling, at least, still holds up.
Oh hey, remember the demo for: Raji: An Ancient Epic? Not holding my breath, but, there's a chance!

Progress: Barely more light seeds than were absolutely required.

Rating: Meh