BERLIN: Titles like God of War, Valhalla, and Hades have proven that video games and ancient mythology work well together.

In Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the latest part in this long-running action-adventure franchise, we go to the ancient Persian Empire to rescue a prince.

The game’s hero is Sargon, a young fighter in a troop of soldiers called the Immortals. When the Prince of Persia is kidnapped after a successful mission, Sargon’s life is turned upside down.

Sargon has to fight monsters and guards with agility and special moves.

That’s because the kidnapper is none other than his mentor, who wants to seize power and is planning the bloody sacrifice of the prince. So it's up to Sargon as the leader of a rescue mission to free the hostage.

Despite the three-dimensional world, The Lost Crown is a 2D platformer in which you jump from wall to wall, jump over spiky obstacles and solve small puzzles.

The focus is primarily on hectic fights in which you demonstrate your agility against monsters and guards. The combat system is quite sophisticated. Over time you acquire many new skills that enable a variety of different attacks and combinations.

The enemies can cause great damage with their attacks, and some can even stop time.

On the other hand, the boss opponents have a lot of tricks up their sleeves and only allow you to make a few mistakes. If you want the game to be easier you can turn down the difficulty level a little.

Thanks to a good combination of creative level design and challenging boss fights, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has become one of the first big hits of the year. With over 20 hours of playing time, the game has a lot to offer.

Sargon has to fight monsters and guards with agility and special moves.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is available for PCs, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. It costs around €50-60 or US$50-60 .

 - dpa