It's been almost ten years since we last saw a Prince of Persia game grace our consoles and it seems that the once-popular franchise is being revived - though perhaps not in the way you'd expect. Ubisoft has announced the first Prince of Persia VR escape room, entitled The Dagger of Time but it's only available to play at set venues across the world.
The Prince of Persia franchise peaked in popularity in the 2000s - you may even have seen the movie, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which released in 2010. Created by Jordan Mechner in 1989, the original trilogy didn't turn many heads and it wasn't until the release of the Sands of Time in 2003 that the series really took off.
The VR experience is being developed by Ubisoft Düsseldorf, and is based on the Sands of Time trilogy. Players will be required to work together in this co-op adventure as they attempt to escape the Fortress of Time to avert the release of an army of sand monsters. Climbing, solving puzzles, and using magic are all part of the experience, just as you'd expect from any Prince of Persia title.
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The Dagger of Time will require teams of up to four players and will be housed in over 300 VR escape room venues across the globe. If you're keen to test out your puzzle-solving skills or want to dabble in a bit of time-altering magic, there are various locations across the UK, including London, Cardiff, Nottingham, and Dublin. You can check out all the locations on the map here.
This isn't the first VR escape room that Ubisoft has created. The developers behind The Dagger of Time are also responsible for the Assassin's Creed escape rooms, Beyond Medusa's Gate and Escape the Lost Pyramid. If you're expecting to fight enemies in The Dagger of Time, you'll be disappointed. However, Ubisoft Düsseldorf has tried to recapture important elements from the original games.
"Time control is the key element in our VR escape room, much like in the Prince of Persia games," states Cyril Voiron, executive producer for Ubisoft Escape Games in the announcement post, "So we built the experience around this function, seeing where it might fit and how players can use the time manipulation to solve puzzles cooperatively. Something different is that we don't have any fights against enemies. Our VR escape rooms are meant for gamers and non-gamers alike; therefore, we concentrate on puzzle elements and co-op gameplay."
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In 2018, Ubisoft's Chief Creative Officer Serge Hascoet said in an interview that he'd like to see the studio return to the Prince of Persia games but that it's a case of not having the resources available. So if you are waiting for the series to return to consoles, I wouldn't give up hope just yet.
Featured Image Credit: UbisoftTopics: Prince of Persia, Ubisoft
