Key Takeaways
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a classic game reborn with side-scrolling action and anime-style visuals.
- The game runs smoothly on the M-series MacBook, delivering 60fps, crisp graphics, and no lag with the Bluetooth controller.
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is due out this winter and is available to preorder on MacBooks with at least the M1 chip and macOS 12.0 or later.
Recently, we had the chance to go to Apple’s latest games showcase in Los Angeles and get hands-on with some of the popular and upcoming games that take full advantage of Apple’s M-series chips. Developers from Ubisoft, EA, and Capcom gave us a sneak peek at the titles that have just come to iOS and future plans to expand Apple’s game catalog. Games featured at the showcase included Zenless Zone Zero from HoYoverse, NFS Mobile from EA, Temple Run: Legends from Imangi, and Vampire Survivors from Poncle. One of the most anticipated titles I was able to check out was Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, which is set to be released on all M-series MacBooks this winter (sorry iPhone and iPad users, it’s Mac-exclusive for the time being).
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- system
- Nintendo, PC, PlayStation, Xbox
- platform
- PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Switch
- release
- January 18, 2024
- Developer
- Ubisoft Montpellier
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What is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown?
A classic reborn
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, which launched in January of this year, is a true love letter to the series’ roots, preserving that classic side-scrolling action. Its Metroidvania-style gameplay and unique setting have revived interest in the series among old fans and attracted new ones as well. One thing I really like about this title, and I spoke to the developer (Ubisoft Product Director Guillame Cerda) at the event, is that it includes Farsi among the language options, which is quite rare in the industry (Guillame also confirmed my hunch that the art style was inspired by anime).
Players take control of a young Persian warrior as he navigates Mount Qaf in a 2.5D rendition of (the cursed) Persia, inspired by Persian mythology. In this side-scrolling adventure, players will gather powers, platform, solve puzzles and engage in combat (those parries are super satisfying) to rescue the kidnapped Prince Ghassan.
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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown for Mac proves Apple’s commitment to gaming
The game is smooth, crisp and great fun
During the showcase, the game was running on the latest MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, meaning the powerful M3 chip is powering everything (as we immediately saw and felt). And this wasn’t just a quick demo; I made it to the first boss (which was surprisingly difficult) and beat it in just two tries. It’s clear that Apple has come a long way when it comes to gaming hardware; the company hasn’t always been seen as the most reliable choice, but ports like this prove that Apple is getting better and better.
You get a super-smooth 60fps and a crystal-clear display that takes full advantage of the MacBook’s Liquid Retina XDR display (native resolution 3024×1964 on the Pro, 2560×1664 on the Air). The demo used a PS5 controller, and there was none of the latency or lag that laptop gamers have had to deal with in the past with Bluetooth controllers.
You can see in the photo above how vivid the colors look on this display. I wanted to press it harder, but had to give the stick to another event-goer who wanted to try it for himself. The big takeaway for me from playing this game on my MacBook is that we’re entering an Apple era where AAA titles look just as good on a MacBook as they do on a PC, PS5, or Xbox One X, and developers like Ubisoft are starting to realize that.
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Required specifications and release date
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown It’s due to be released this winter for MacBooks with Apple Silicon and macOS 12.0 or later, which means you’ll need at least an M1 chip in your MacBook. You can pre-order the game now on the Mac App Store.
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