The game we think will be a surprise hit from the summer showcases – and it’s not Assassin’s Creed

THIS summer hundreds of games were revealed as in development during the summer showcases.

We were lucky enough to go behind the scenes and get our hands on a number of upcoming games, and one stood out from the crowd.

In particular, we were impressed by Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, a new entry to the series in a completely new genre.

Rather than a 3D action adventure, The Lost Crown will be a 2D Metroidvania where you explore more of the map as you gain new skills.

People were intrigued by the announcement trailer, which was dropped with not even a whiff of a rumour about the game’s development.

However, with little known about the game, the hype hasn’t been huge, especially in a year when Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be released.

Even when it was announced that it was being developed by the same team that worked on the excellent Rayman Legends, people only became cautiously optimistic.

Having had some hands-on time with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown though, we can confidently say it’s our pick of the summer showcases.

We were able to play for 30 minutes at Ubisoft’s invite-only event, and we were tossed straight into the action.

Everything clicked as soon as we got our hands on the controller, as play felt fluid, sharp and immediate.

There are so many movement options that it feels like you are playing Super Smash Bros. but much faster.

When combined with your dash you can go very fast, and once you get the hang of things you will speed through stages.

There is plenty of style in the combat as you choose to dash and slash through enemies, or jump and rain down arrows from above.

And it feels as if movement can be comboed as easily as the fights, as you slide, dash, wall jump, and swing through the levels.

As with all great action games it has a parry, which will build up your power metre and make opponents easier to take down.

We also had the chance to take on a boss. A huge chimaera with a scorpion tail.

Using the various special abilities was the key to winning, and gives you more options for taking on large foes.

We came away impressed, and were reminded of a surprise hit of this year, Metroid Dread.

While we didn’t get a sense of how large the map will be, we’ve been promised that Metroidvania experience.

We think Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will be a surprise hit of 2024, and is definitely one of the best ever Prince of Persia games.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.