When all of the gaming industry, especially the fans, were just gearing up for the next big release of the next generation Prince of Persia title, a massive blow was dealt to all those expecting the game to arrive for their consoles and PC. As reported, Ubisoft has announced that the massively popular Prince of Persia series is set for a comeback with the newly announced Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame. The only catch here (and it’s quite a big one) is that the game is only meant for mobile devices running on Android and iOS.
This is a sort of big news for the franchise. The new Prince of Persia could have generated more interest had it been on consoles and PC, but some games are just meant to be where they are.
Nonetheless, Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame, the mobile remake of the 1993 sequel to the original Prince of Persia, is currently set to head over to iOS and Android devices starting July 25. The game will be available for $2.99, will boast a new visual design with 3D levels and redesigned controls.
The game’s official developer diary sheds a bit of light on what we might get to see and hear about the game in the upcoming days following up to its release. Akshay, product manager for Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame, stated that Prince of Persia “is in itself a very strong brand and not just in Ubisoft but worldwide. The Shadow and the Flame is a great game, but we couldn’t bring it to today’s standards and not adapt it in terms of accessibility, visuals and the game itself.”
On the decision to develop a remake for the original 1993 classic, Akshay added that the answer is pretty simple. “Because people evolved, platform evolved. More casual audiences, shorter playing cycles and of course tablets and smartphones. But we had an objective on our hands, we needed to make a game that was easy to play but hard to master and at the same time keeping it faithful to the original. We needed to make a game that was more objectified and less trial and error.”
As far as the story buildup is concerned, Sashi Menon, Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame producer stated, “Shadow and the Flame takes place eleven days after the events in the original Prince of Persia and Jaffar is back from defeat and has taken control over the kingdom. And now it is up to our prince to do what he does best: Save the kingdom, rescue the princess.”
Menon also stated that the team is proud to maintain the balance between staying true to the original and adapting to the new platforms at the same time.
Alongside the redesigned control scheme for the game, players are also said to be able to opt for either a touch-based gesture control system or make use of the virtual joystick. The in-game combat will see a new combo system along with different challenges and enemy categorizations.
The game is also expected to feature advanced social connectivity integration, which will help unlock achievements. The game also has leaderboard support and Facebook integration. Check out the trailer below.
