There was once a time when Ubisoft seemed to be defined more by whimsical, French-comic weirdness than by generic open-world blandness. Prince of Persia: Lost Crown, a throwback to the days of Rayman, Beyond Good and Evil, or even the best of the PoP series, The Sands of Time, wasn't supposed to surprise me at Summer Game Fest. But here it is:

The new Prince is at once a throwback to the swashbuckling charm of "The Sands of Time" and a punk edge! The art style in general reminds me of "Star Wars: Rebels" and "Sea of Thieves."

Lost Crown seems to take full advantage of the 2.5D backdrops, with huge temple complexes stretching out in the background in one scene, while another scene features oddly lush, idyllic countryside hills that look exactly like "Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze."

The trailer shows action reminiscent of "Metroid Dread," with the prince's fluid movements, a manticore-like boss filling one side of the screen, and a scorpion's tail snaking through the air and hanging down on the other side. I also thought I saw what looked like a flash of the dreaded counter indicator.

Whether The Lost Crown is a Metroidvania or a more linear platformer is not clear to me. If The Lost Crown can combine "dreaded" character action combat with difficult but not painfully linear platforming and exploration, I think it could be a real winner. Needless to say, if it really is a return to the whimsical charm of past Ubisoft platformers, I'll be very happy.

The Lost Crown will be released on January 18, 2024 (presumably long before the now-rebooted Sands of Time Remake comes out), and Ubisoft will be showing off the game during a Forward livestream on Monday, June 12. The company plans to show off details of the game during a Forward live stream on Monday, June 12.