The Rogue Prince of Persia News

Hello everyone,

So if you didn't see our post on Friday, we're briefly delaying the launch of The Rogue Prince of Persia.

You can read that post with the full explanation here.
TLDR: Hades 2 stealth drop is taking up all the air in the indie gaming/roguelite/Early Access space!

You can imagine that last week was a bit of a manic one for us, but we said we'd be back today with the new release date and so here we go... we will be releasing on the 27th May.

Not too far away, but it will let people finish up playing Hades 2 and the other great games that came out last week (and the ones which are coming out this week ^^'), and we'll keep adding polish for our own release too.
If Silksong shadow drops in the next two weeks I'm burning the whole thing down!

Apologies again to anyone who was hyped to play it tomorrow, but we really believe this was the best choice for the long-term health of the game. We hope you understand and can be patient just a bit longer.

In the meantime, we have some juicy bits to keep you going until launch day - a full gameplay trailer featuring our theme song and (finally) the game's price! We think you'll like both :)

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Next Community Update[/h3]
So yeah, the music you just heard in the trailer was part of our theme song, made by the insanely talented Asadi, specialist of Persian trap music. He has created the entire soundtrack for the game, blending ancient tones with modern rhythms and, spoiler alert, it is absolutely banging..

We'll be going into his background and influences in our next community update on Friday 17th May, as well as the art direction...

[h3]What will the game cost?[/h3]
We've been seeing quite a few questions about the price of the game, with guesses varying from 30$ to 60$ (60$, really?!).

Well, we can finally reveal that The Rogue Prince of Persia will cost... 19.99$/€!

There might even be a cheeky little launch discount too, if you needed any more reason to start playing on launch day.

Hope to see you all there, for now it's back to debug for us!


Cheers,
Matt and the Evil Empire team

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Hello everyone,

So it's been a bit of a crazy week for us! It all started when a little game called Hades 2 released - you might have heard of it?



Seeing as everyone and their mum is playing that game (including our entire team... and their mums), we have decided to let people have their fun with it before we release The Rogue Prince of Persia.

We will still be releasing in May and will be back with a precise date on Monday.

While we have every confidence in The Rogue Prince of Persia, it's not every day that a game in the same genre as you, which is one of the most anticipated upcoming games of 2024, will release into Early Access a week before you plan to do the same.

We are not prideful enough to ignore the implications of that, and we truly believe that this short delay is the best decision for us and our Early Access journey.

We also want to give Hades 2 a headstart before we start running, it's only fair ;)



This also lets us keep polishing up the game, add even more cool things and kick some stubborn bugs out before release. The Day 1 patch was getting pretty hefty, so gaining more time to test it and add more stuff before launch day has considerably lowered the stress levels of our producer and game director already!

We completely understand that this is annoying news to hear for everyone who was eager to play the game, especially so close to the anticipated release. We can only hold our hands up, apologise and hope that you understand.

It will be worth the wait!

Thanks for your patience,
Matt and the Evil Empire team

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Hello everyone,

Welcome to our second community update for The Rogue Prince of Persia!

Sorry it's a bit late but let's get stuck in! As before, if you prefer to watch/listen, here is a YouTube version:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

This one is all about how we made the game feel like a Prince of Persia with the controller in your hand – the action, the platforming, the wall-run.



We want you to feel like you are in a constant state of flow, with no interruption between traversal and combat. This will need some mastery from you of course, but we've given you all the tools you need to feel like you are the Prince himself.

[h3]Wall-run[/h3]
So let's start with the one and only, the wall-run! A classic Prince of Persia move, the wall-run is key to the Prince's movement and combat strategy.



It allows you to avoid traps, move between platforms over plummeting drops, escape groups of enemies when the odds are against you, maneuver yourself into an advantageous position before attacking, and to get to areas that seem completely out-of-reach at first glance.

You can wall-run horizontally, vertically and diagonally but not downwards. But if you're worried about falling onto a big ol' pile of spikes then have no fear!

[h3]Dagger brake[/h3]
The Prince can slow his descent by sticking his dagger into the wall (if there is one of course), allowing you to avoid traps or falling straight into bad situations.



OK this one isn't exactly a Prince of Persia move, but it looks cool!

[h3]Poles[/h3]
What happens if the wall is too long for a wall-run? Weelllll there's usually some handy poles around that you can grab onto or perch on. Use these resting spots to stop and scout out your next move or, by timing your next jump right, bound and swing from pole to pole in a speedy whirlwhind of acrobatics. I'll let you guess which one is more fun!



[h3]Wall-run #2[/h3]
There's also the "other wall-run", you know the one where you run up vertical walls. The middle child. We should really find a name for this one... Wall climb?



Anyway, this allows for quick vertical climbing and also doubles as a way to get a horizontal boost at the end as you backflip off the wall to the next spot. If you're lucky and have two vertical walls next to each other then go ahead and ping-pong upwards to your heart's content.

[h3]Dash[/h3]

The dash is a... dash. Use it to get yourself out of a tight spot, out of a bomb's radius or to close the distance to an enemy. Or use it for it's primary purpose - do a speedrun in under 8 minutes.

[h3]Dodge[/h3]
If you dash towards an enemy when close enough, the Prince will dodge over that enemy's head, putting himself behind them and ready to go to town on their unprotected back.



The eagle-eyed ones of you will notice a similarity to a move in another Prince of Persia game...

Fine, it's basically the vault from the Sands of Time.

[h3]COMBAT[/h3]
That's the movement set, now what about the combat?

Well there'll be a lot of it, so we've provided lots of options for you to manage the numerous enemies who are waiting to bonk you on the head, stab you in the delicate bits or just smash you into a pulp.

[h3]Primary Weapons[/h3]
We're not going to run through the specifics of each weapon, but rest assured that there is something for everyone.



We have quick stabby weapons, weapons you can throw, heavy weapons, and of course the twin daggers you've seen everywhere. Each one has a combo as well as a special attack, so it's not just a question of mashing the attack button in every situation (unless you want to, we're not your boss).



Each weapon is based on something that was around in the rough time period that we've based the game on, with some artistic liberties of course!! More will be added during Early Access too.

[h3]Tools[/h3]
Tools are way more exciting than they sound, we just didn't want to use the term 'Secondary Weapons' because it doesn't 100% fit this pool of items. These items have 'charges' that are used up with each use - you can refill them by hitting enemies. Already starting to sound more exciting right?

There are classics like a bow and chakram, but you will unlock others that allow you to try something different. You can find ones that pull enemies towards you, pull yourself forward or jump up into the air and smash down.



Switch between Tools as you find them in a run to adjust to how your loadout is evolving or just how you want to play.

Like the Primary Weapons, more will be added during Early Access.


[h3]Kick [/h3]
Sometimes even the Prince can get overwhelmed with enemies, at this point the kick can come in very handy. At its simplest it allows you to push an enemy backward to give you some breathing space, but it is much more than that.



It also allows you to sparta kick an enemy into oblivion. Or a trap. Or spikes.



As if you needed any more reason to kick an enemy, it also has the added bonus of stunning the enemy if it is kicked into a wall. Kick an enemy into another enemy and they are both stunned, leaving them insanely vulnerable to a follow up attack.



Kicking an enemy onto a shielded enemy (who you will quickly learn to hate) breaks their shield instantly, which would otherwise take precious time to break.



So yeah, the kick is kinda useful.

[h3]Dive[/h3]

OK, the dive attack isn't very Prince of Persia-y. It just feels great to use and lets you both stun enemies and break shields at the same time!

[h3]Medallions [/h3]
These aren't a combat move but they do enhance your fighting moveset.

Medallions are triggered by a wide variety of things, such as kicking an enemy or wall-running above them. They then either apply effects to enemies like damage or slowdown, or they can affect you with something like healing.



You can only use four, and they can upgrade each other depending on where you slot them.



Upgraded weapons can also trigger effects that medallions are triggered by or interact with, so there's lots of synergies and builds for you to explore.

[h3]Only the beginning[/h3]
As mentioned before, this is just the start of Early Access, so more weapons, tools and elements will be added - this is all only a base for the game to build on!!

Hopefully you can see how much we worked on making the flow between traversal and combat as seamless as possible - you really should feel like going through a level is one big fluid movement.



But there is always room to make things even better, and your feedback will be crucial to how we move forward, so we hope you will be able to join us on the journey through Early Access.

We'll be back next week with a dive into the music and art direction of the game so don't miss that one!

Cheers,
Matt & Evil Empire

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the first community update of The Rogue Prince of Persia!

Before we get started, you can watch/hear the exact same info in our YouTube video, so if you prefer listening instead of reading (guilty), check it out here:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
(there's also more gameplay footage to look at...)

So, let's say it straight up, this is a pretty surprising game that came completely out of nowhere, we know that. It’s another 2D Prince of Persia that's arrived just a few months after another one came out. It's releasing in Steam Early Access. It's made by a studio that hardly anyone has heard of.

Sooo yeah, hands up, it's a strange one.

Hopefully this update, and the other community updates that will follow in the coming weeks, will be able to help you understand just what the hell is going on.


[h3]In this one...[/h3]

In THIS update we're going to be covering who we are at Evil Empire, what we're doing working with Ubisoft on a Prince of Persia game of all things, how that relationship works, and why we're releasing in Early Access. Just some minor subjects to begin with!

So grab a coffee, go to the loo, whatever you need to do to get comfortable, then read on!



[h3]Evil Empire[/h3]

First up, let's quickly cover who we are and why we have our grubby little hands on this iconic name.

Evil Empire was originally created to continue working on post-release content for the hit 2D action roguelite Dead Cells, which was created by Motion Twin and which won Action Game of the Year at The Game Awards in 2018. Not too shabby right?

For the past four and a half years we've been working with Motion Twin on a constant flow of free updates for the game, as well as four DLCs, including a full-on licensed Castlevania DLC, which was received pretty well, if we do say so ourselves ;)

There we both are at the bottom!

Obviously, we couldn't do that forever, people move on, games end, but the main thing is that now we want to make our own games, not just work on ones that already exist, however good they may be.

As luck would have it, a few years ago some members of Evil Empire were at GDC, the convention for game developers, and they had a dinner with some people from Ubisoft. "Refreshments" were flowing and an Evil Empire minion got the courage to throw out the idea "Wouldn't it be cool if we could use our knowledge and make our own 2D action-platformer version of Prince of Persia". I doubt it was as coherent as that but you get the idea.

Obviously everyone said "Oh yeah that sounds cool, let's see" and the night continued on.

But this idea stayed in our minds. We couldn't stop thinking about the chance to work on this renowned series.

We saw the crack in the door, put our heads together, made a pitch, and came back to Ubisoft with our idea. Lots of discussions were had yada-yada-yada, business stuff etc, and then bam, an official request came from Ubisoft, and the game was born!


[h3]So is it really a Prince of Persia game?[/h3]

Now, we've mentioned Dead Cells a few times, but we need to be clear that this is not a reskin or a clone of that game. We've used what we've learned from that game for sure, it would be pretty stupid not to right?

That's why Ubisoft wanted to work with us to make this game, for our knowledge of what makes a good 2D action roguelite.

But, this is a game designed from the beginning to be a Prince of Persia game, first and foremost. An indie version yes, but a Prince of Persia nonetheless.



You will see everything that you'd expect from this series – fluid acrobatic traversal, fast-paced combat, and a high-stakes adventure story, where the Prince has made a grave mistake and must now redeem himself and save his people from a magical threat.

There's a wall-run, spikes & traps, magical enemies and the Prince can heal himself by drinking from a fountain (Sands of Time players will know that one). The time power comes from the Prince's bola, which takes him back in time to the last truly safe place he was in, whenever he dies.

It is essentially our very own love letter to the entire series, particularly The Sands of Time, but we drew inspiration from the whole lot. Most of us have fond memories of playing Prince of Persia games, some of us are even ancient enough to have played the very first one that came out in 1989, which was actually a 2D platformer itself.

I remember booting up Sands of Time on my PS2, doing the first wall run then immediately unplugging the console and taking it to my friend's house to show him this mind-blowing awesomeness.

So yeah, we wanted to make a Prince of Persia game!

Ubisoft were always there to help guide us of course, it is their IP after all, and they're not just going to let us do whatever we want with their baby, but we had full creative freedom to make the game that we wanted to make.

So, while we pay homage to the series with this game, it is very much a fresh take from the minds of our small dev team.

The corner where the entire dev team works

The team in question are a group of less than 20 people, who have been working on the game for the last 3 years. Yes, that's not many devs at all for a Prince of Persia game, but being such a small group has let us be more creative and collaborative, which we think has helped us to craft a really great game.


[h3]Early Access[/h3]

But we think it can be even better. This is why we are releasing the game in Early Access on Steam, and that is a deliberate choice by Evil Empire for how we want the game to evolve.

We saw how Early Access helped the development process of Dead Cells, and of course other great indie games like Hades, Subnautica and Slay the Spire. The list goes on but we don't have the space to list them all, however much we love them!

A lot of roguelites, especially those with narrative elements, have been through Early Access, as it just helps to take this kind of game to another level. Even Baldur's Gate 3, THE game of 2023, became so good because of Early Access.

We want the same thing for The Rogue Prince of Persia.

Right now, we have what we believe to be a great core of a game, which will give you a ton of fun already – you don't have to worry about this being some kind of testing phase, it's already a solid game.

From here on out, we want to work with you, the players, to take the game as it is now and to make the best possible version of it.

To do this we will be releasing frequent, chunky content updates and collecting constant feedback from the community, with active devs hanging around in the Steam forums and Discord.

We already have a plan of what we want to add of course – new levels, bosses, weapons, story acts and so on – all the good stuff - but feedback from passionate players will give us that extra spice that will make this game truly great. At least we hope so!

Our plan is to double the content from Early Access launch to 1.0, so there will be a ton of interesting moments to come, and we can't wait to share that with you.

So that's it for this update, and be sure to keep an eye out for the next one where we'll be diving into the game itself to check out the traversal and combat movesets that you'll be playing around with.

Cheers,
Matt and Evil Empire

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Hello again,

We're not stopping after our announcement yesterday 💪(even if we're a little bit tired)

People have questions and we have answers, so we will be doing a Q&A with the game director of The Rogue Prince of Persia at 5pm CEST/8am PT on the 12th April on our:

• Twitch channel
• YouTube channel

Get your questions ready and we'll do our best to answer them!

We'll also be playing the game at the same time, so you can sneak a look at more gameplay...

[h3]Want to play The Rogue Prince of Persia before release?[/h3]
Well we are currently looking for alpha players!

Just head on over to our site https://www.therogueprinceofpersia.com, click on 'Apply for Alpha' and give us your email.

The only problem is you won't be able to talk about it until launch day 😉
(the game, not the alpha which will be top secret forever!)

Hope to see you in the alpha, Q&A, or both!

Cheers,
Matt and EE