The Rogue Prince of Persia – Everything You Need to Know

With The Rogue Prince of Persia’s 1.0 out now, the game has transformed dramatically since its early access debut thanks to a stream of substantial updates. Beginning as a promising but barebones experience, The Rogue Prince of Persia now looks poised to win over players and critics alike. Here are 15 things to know before diving into this roguelike adventure.

What is it?

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Imagine a 2D side-scroller with the platforming flair, the cel-shaded artstyle and combat depth and gameplay loop of Dead Cells and you’ve got The Rogue Prince of Persia nailed on. Evil Empire are developing this one, and their pedigree in the genre is shining throughout The Rogue Prince’s recent gameplay footage.

Does it have a story?

Whilst The Rogue Prince’s stylish combat provides the game’s main hook, there’s still a narrative foundation supporting the action. According to the game’s Steam page, the adventure begins with the Prince awaking in an Oasis outside of Persia’s capital city where a furious battle with magic-wielding invaders rages on. Racing to halt the bloodshed, the Prince uncovers new paths, meets allies, and unlocks knowledge – you know, the hallmarks of roguelike, non-linear design. Every death sends the Prince back to the Oasis, ready to go again.

The Medallion System

The Medallion System in The Rogue Prince of Persia offers a suite of unique abilities and powerful buffs to add strategic depth to every run. Found via blueprints, completing challenges, and purchasing from Pachi in the Oasis hub, the Prince can equip up to four Medallions simultaneously. Everything from increasing weapon damage to launching elemental attacks and energy restoration is covered, with Medallions upgradeable if all slots are full. Choice and arrangement are crucial; Medallion effects magnify as the Prince collects more, encouraging unique synergy-focused builds and playstyles.

Traversal

The Rogue Prince of Persia heavily emphasises fluid, fast-paced, acrobatic traversal. The Rogue Prince runs along walls, vaults barricades and enemies, grinds parapets, and slides down poles, all whilst sprinting, dashing, jumping, and somersaulting in a precise moveset that is seamlessly integrated into both exploration and combat.

Combat

Fluid movement and the Medallion System’s strategic depth coalesce into a dance of rapid-fire melee and acrobatic parkour in The Rogue Prince of Persia’s combat. The Prince wields a primary weapon – swords, daggers, axes, and the like – with support from a ranged option including bows and chakrams. Each weapon in the Prince’s arsenal is upgradeable, and features unique combo opportunities. The game’s central movement expands during combat to encompass kicks, stomps, and the aforesaid vaults which can stun or reposition enemies.

Out of early access

The Rogue Prince of Persia 1.0 release has now bought its early access period to a close. Emerging on Steam back in May 2024, the game debuted as an intriguing but under-realised roguelike elevated by its stylish combat. Evil Empire has been grafting away since then, doubling the game’s content through a string of sizeable updates. Now, with its 1.0 release, The Rogue Prince of Persia is wholly unrecognisable from the barebones experience players first encountered.

Platforms and PC requirements

Throughout its early access period, The Rogue Prince of Persia has been PC exclusive, but now it’s also available on PS5, Switch, Switch 2 and Xbox Series X and S. For now, minimum PC requirements as per The Rogue Prince’s Steam page details Intel Core i5-4460 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 3.2GHz processors, Nvidia GeForce GTX 950 or AMD RX 550 XT GPUs, 8GB RAM, and 5GB storage.

June 2024 Update

From here on we’ll outline the content that was added via The Rogue Prince’s more substantial early access updates. Coming in June 2024 was a new biome, plus new traps, new weapons, new enemies, and the addition of meta progression. The latter introduced the ability to spend Spirit Glimmers on permanent upgrades towards maximum health, attack damage, potion retention, and more.

Warrior’s Ascension (August 24)

The primary focus of the Warrior’s Ascension update was to improve the roguelike gameplay loop. Introduced in this August 2024 update was a string of difficulty modifiers – dubbed The Awakening – which combine as they unlock to progressively increase the game’s challenge. Also, new skills were added to the skill tree, a new currency – Corrupted Blood – arrived, a new knife throwing enemy, and refinements to the Prince’s kick animations, including a thoroughly satisfying projectile reflect.

Weapons Within (September 24)

Tripling the arsenal at the Prince’s disposal was September 2024’s Weapons Within update. In all, thirteen new weapons were added whilst seven existing weapons were re-worked, and the Falcata sword was removed. Bug fixes, skill tree additions, UI and menu tweaks, and gameplay rebalances fleshed out what was already a significant update.

Second Act update (November 2024)

Between September and November 2024’s updates, Evil Empire added fifty new Medallions to the Medallion System, but seeing as we’ve already touched upon those we’re diving straight into the Second Act update. Here is where two new biomes, two new bosses, new enemies, save points, and story act were introduced. The most substantial update so far, Second Act also provided balance tweaks, quality of life improvements, language support, and an overhaul of the game’s art style.

Forgotten Skins (February 2025)

A new skin system with thirty five new skins is the headline addition in February 2025’s Forgotten Skins update, although truth be told this update included quite the breadth of changes. A new XP system linked to skill points and skill trees made its debut here alongside a couple of new weapons, a new tool, item rerolls, and further quality of life improvements.

The Unleashed Army (April 2025)

Elite baddies made their debut in April 2025’s The Unleashed Army update. Appearing in every biome after a player’s fourth run, Elites are bigger, stronger, and harder to take down compared to normal enemies. Appearing in six different guises, the aura-wrapped Elites exhibit specific traits such as the Gold Elite who steals the Prince’s gold to become stronger or the Smoker Elite who conceals themselves inside a grey smog.

Power and Fury (May 2025)

Here is where builds and synergies were refined to be at their most intuitive and powerful. Medallions were overhauled; their effects now easier to understand and thus how their addition will reshape builds. Traversal controls were revamped here too, fostering a smoother, snappier feel when hurtling over ledges, vaulting, and dashing. Descriptively, Evil Empire outlines reducing a ‘magnetic’ feel when the Prince slides down poles and sprints across walls.

Quality of Life (June 2025)

The last of The Rogue Prince of Persia’s significant early access updates before 1.0 releases is what the team describe as a Quality of Life update. Included is the ability to ban items within a certain category of weapon if they don’t gel with an intended playstyle. Mini maps and world maps were updated with new information, tutorials were compended, and high level story objective reminders were put in place. The Quality of Life update is intended to leave the game in the best possible place before the final push to August’s full release.