Prince of Persia The Lost Crown – How not to suck at combat

Prince of Persia The Lost Crown is quite hard. It certainly isn’t the more casual-focused romp I expected when I first booted up the cartoon-comic reinterpretation of the classic gaming IP. Whether it’s surprisingly challenging platforming segments, smart ability and time-based puzzles, or some boss encounters that give even Hollow Knight battles a run for their money, PoP The Lost Crown is a tricky old game to get to grips with.

The game doesn’t outright tell you a lot of the cool tricks you can do in combat, so we’re here to demystify some of the more advanced techniques you can use with your swords, bow, chakram, and other weapons in the hopes you can take out some of the bosses (and even the trickier rank-and-file enemies) and get on with exploring the peculiar paths and tunnels of Mount Qaf.

Here’s how to get better at combat in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

Do the tutorials

You’ll actually find a tutor that’ll teach you some pretty advanced combat moves a few hours into the game. He’s located in The Haven, in the upper-right segment of the map. Named Artaban, he’s a mentor to Sargon and knows a thing or two about the rock-paper-scissors combat of the systems in PoP:TLC. It’s here you’ll learn about directional inputs in combat, how to follow-up on launchers or dodges, and what it takes for you to overcome certain enemy types (shielded, armoured, dimension shifted, etc).

Spend wisely

You’ll also get crystals for your efforts in the tutorials, which is handy since the forge and a vendor are also located in the Haven. You’re going to want to upgrade your swords as often as possible, and your bow and chakram after that – I found pumping upgrades into amulets was a waste of time, since you pick up increasingly better pieces of gear as you play on, anyway. More damage is always good, and later bosses will be even more of a slog if you neglect to upgrade your swords. Make sure you explore thoroughly, then; you can’t improve your weapons without rare ore.

Mix up your attacks

Sounds simple enough, right? But it’s not something you’re taught out the gate. Don’t just mash X or Square; there are a variety of other moves you can use to better mix-up your opponents. You’re better thinking of PoP: TLC as a 2D fighting game sometimes – if you just hammer your basic 3-hit combo over and over again, enemies will dodge, parry, and take advantage.

Instead, you’re going to want to use a mix of aerial and low attacks (simply achieved by holding up or down, respectively, at the start of your attack string or mid-combo). This will bounce or launch your enemies, allowing for a break in the melee or an opportunity for you to follow-up attack – a very useful trick to have up your sleeve when you need to crowd control. Many shielded enemies can also be low attacked to break their stance.

Parry everything you can…

Ah, parrying. Every good game has it. In PoP: TLC, it’s an essential part of combat – later in the game, there are encounters that are basically unwinnable unless you manage to perfect the parry. Yellow flashes on enemy attacks represent moves you can parry (and they will instantly kill weaker foes), and responding correctly to these moves usually takes a chunk of boss health, too. Certain charms you can equip will also make parries heal you – I found this essential in the early- to mid-stages of the game – and create bubbles of slow-downed time in which you can heal, rally, or charge up more powerful attacks.

The timing can be tricky, and some enemies don’t necessarily telegraph their attacks how you’d think, but once you learn the patterns, even the gnarliest of foes can be trivialised by some well-timed parries. Breathe, learn your timing, and watch out for the red flashes.

…and dodge what you can’t

Speaking of which, enemies that come at you with red attacks can’t be parried – and you will take a frankly obscene amount of damage if you try to. Instead, you’ll need to dodge these. Dodging is a good habit to be in, anyway, though you will often leave yourself vulnerable if an enemy uses a quick attack and you dodge it instead of parrying.

I tend to only dodge ‘through’ red attacks, because it usually means you get a nice, generous window of opportunity to counter your enemy with a combo string or charged attack. Be mindful, though; some red attacks – especially later – are part of a string of unblockables that require multiple dodges before you start the offensive.

Deal with ranged threats first

There are lots of ranged attackers in this game; even melee baddies tend to have moves that can interrupt you from a distance. When wandering into any new encounter, be smart about who your prioritise – if there’s some goon wandering around on the lower level with a club, ignore him and take out the mage that can freeze you first: you don’t want to get suspended in place and then take a bonk to the noggin, because you’re only likely to get frozen again immediately if you’re not smart about the order you take ‘em out.

Stagger locks are lethal – both ways

There have been multiple instances where I’ve been cheesed out by enemies that have caught me in combo flurries (alternate versions of Sargon being the worst for this). If you get juggled, you’re liable to die immidiately – that health bar goes down quick once it starts bleeding. Make liberal use of your dodge, and don’t get stubborn; engaging an enemy when you have advantage is always better than falling into a feint or dodge of their own.

Using the tip below, and unpredictable chains of attacks, you can often stun lock most enemies – and even interrupt a few bosses, too. Just don’t get greedy and fall into a trap. Some late-game enemies can finish you in one go if you’re careless.

The bow/chakram are better than you think

Perhaps my favourite thing to do in this game is spy a group of enemies, hold Y/Triangle to charge my chakram, and then unload a combo string (including a charged attack near the end) as the enemy reels from the ambush. If you time it right, the chakram will bounce into them, and come back to you near the end of your string – meaning you can parry the throwing weapon back into the melee. If you’re smart, and have good timing, you can keep this up forever – I have killed a few shield-bearing enemies from one chakram throw, constantly parried, that kept them in a stun lock.

If you need to charge your Athra gauge and have a sliver of health left, this is a smart way to build meter without getting in harm’s way. Save your skin with the Healing Burst by using the chakram to power up when you’re out of arrows – and prevent getting sent back to that oh-so-far-away Wak-Wak tree.

Charged attacks are your friend

Enemies are nimble and quick in this game – but that doesn’t mean you don’t often have time to use charged attacks. These blasts are great (especially once you unlock the ranged version of your standard heavy attack) and can quickly thin out amassing troops. You just need to create windows of time in which to use them. So launch, bounce, parry, dodge, and get away from your foes – sometimes just hugging the edge of an arena and charging attacks is enough to deal with problematic combinations of enemies.

You can also jump, and charge ‘down attacks’ that have nice area-of-effect damage – handy for dealing with problems before they’ve even begun. And, when you unlock Shadow, you can charge a blade, place your Shadow, send it, rewind, and send another one – free! Worth doing when you have the time.

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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the best game I played at Summer Games Fest, is out now on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

The soundtrack for the game is by Gareth Coker, and it's excellent; if you want to listen to more exceptional video game music, you can read about the best gaming soundtracks at the link.