How The Rogue Prince of Persia’s Art Style Stands Out From The Lost Crown

Highlights

• After years of waiting, fans finally got a new Prince of Persia game – The Lost Crown by Ubisoft Montpellier.
• However, another Prince of Persia game, The Rogue Prince of Persia, has entered Steam early access with a distinctive hand-drawn art style.
• The Lost Crown had an anime-inspired art style, while The Rogue Prince of Persia features bold black outlines and unified colors.

After over a decade of waiting for a new entry in the Prince of Persia series, fans finally got their wish back in January. Developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was the triumphant comeback that fans had dreamed about for years, delivering some tight platforming and combat mechanics in a well-realized Metroidvania setting. But in a bizarre twist of fate, The Lost Crown isn’t the only Prince of Persia game out this year, with The Rogue Prince of Persia having just entered Steam early access.

A roguelike action-adventure developed by Evil Empire, The Rogue Prince of Persia echoes some familiar beats from Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, with both games being 2D platformers. But there are a few key features that set The Rogue Prince of Persia apart from its barely older sibling, and that includes its art direction.

How The Rogue Prince of Persia’s Art Style Compares to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown’s

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Had An Anime-Inspired Art Style

When Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was first announced back in June 2023, many fans took immediate notice of its striking art style. A fairly stylized, almost cel-shaded design, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown looked very different from the entries that came before it, and that was all part of the plan. In an interview with Game Rant just prior to the game’s release, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown‘s art director Jean-Christophe Alessandri explained that the art team was heavily inspired by anime.

According to Alessandri, the art team used its “love for contemporary pop culture, anime, superhero comics, and street art,” and combined it with the naturally-stylistic illustrations of Ancient Persia to produce the game’s distinct art style. Alessandri also stated that this art style was designed to give Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown a “nekketsu-shonen vibe,” a genre of anime and manga that often sees its main heroes overcome failure and become all the stronger for it, which fits Sargon’s Metroidvania journey well.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown‘s anime and comic book influences can be felt throughout the game, with character models appearing well-defined, and Sargon’s special attacks causing the camera to sweep into a more cinematic angle, fully showcasing the hero’s power with a burst of bright colors.

The Rogue Prince of Persia Has a Hand-Drawn Aesthetic

While The Rogue Prince of Persia goes for a similarly stylistic approach with its own art direction, it differs greatly from The Lost Crown‘s style. The Rogue Prince of Persia adopts a hand-drawn art style, where character models’ outlines and the game’s backgrounds are clearly marked with bold black lines, and filled in with a unified block of color.

This hand-drawn aesthetic allows Rogue Prince of Persia‘s enemies and climbable objects to stand out nicely from the background, which is a really helpful trait in a fast-paced roguelike action-platformer. Though a bit more stripped back than The Lost Crown‘s aesthetic, The Rogue Prince of Persia‘s art style perfectly suits the vibe of the smaller game while still leaving its own distinctive mark on the series.