Prince of Persia's original creator backs new game amid criticism of the "spin-off"

The new Prince of Persia game has the backing of the series' original creator, despite a mixed reception.

In a blog post, Jordan Mechner, who created Prince of Persia in 1989, helped Ubisoft reboot it in 2003 and wrote Disney's 2010 film adaptation, said that he'd been "eagerly awaiting" the announcement, and was "thrilled and delighted" to get to see more of the project.

That project is The Lost Crown, which Mechner describes as "a fresh beginning" for the series. He also says that he's been attached to the project in some form for "over three years from pre-conception to full beta." He has, however, been working with the team at Ubisoft Montpellier for far longer than that, since 2017's cancelled Prince of Persia game.

The Lost Crown offers a slight twist on previous Prince of Persia games, with a return to 2D gameplay. Mechner says that's evidence of Montpellier's efforts to "finally crack the challenge of reinventing POP for a new generation," although that seems to have come at the expense of the old generation.

The Prince of Persia subreddit isn't exactly impressed with the new game, with much of the negative sentiment  stemming from the fact that The Lost Crown's protagonist isn't the titular prince, but a warrior serving him. Other concerns circle the art style, and more still the presentation of the trailer.

That last one probably isn't a long-term concern, but disagreement around the game remains, and there's definitely a hope that Mechner's comments will help alleviate some of the bigger issues that some fans have with the game. We're also set to learn more about The Lost Crown at the Ubisoft Forward on Monday, so hopefully that will do more to allay some of those fears.

Haven't you heard? Prince of Persia is a Metroidvania now.