Is it too early to put this down as potentially one of the best Ubisoft games? Its definitely one of the best modern Ubisoft games thats for sure. I really hope this becomes a trend of bigger studios taking on smaller genres and games, its much more digestible and feasible than massive AAA graphic fidelity chasing games.
So what happens when a well funded team from an experienced studio takes on a genre mostly populated by smaller dev games? You get The Lost Crown, a very well polished and thought out game that dives deep into the genre and while it doesn't reinvent the wheel, it does show the best the genre has to offer and even adds some elements of its own that could potentially becomes staples down the line. By that I mean the snapshot feature lol.
I mentioned in my Hollow Knight review from last year that "I think some of the progression is a bit more abstract than I would have liked, I think maybe marking more points of interest, specifically points where you come across a door you can't open yet, so that when you get the key or ability required, you remember where to go" and here we are with guided mode in the lost crown just straight up adding that feature exactly lmao. On top of that, I think The Lost Crown is a slightly more accessible metroidvania than something like Hollow Knight, its got more difficulty options and it doesn't have a soulslike feel to the combat like Hollow Knight.
Getting a bit longwinded here so I'll just rapid fire some more thoughts. The story is kinda whatever, it starts off quite boring but eventually picks up but never really becomes a motivating factor to play. The general gameplay, boss fights, and platforming all feel really good, even if some platforming sections near the end are a bit too much for my liking but those are fully optionable and I didn't feel like I was missing out on the rewards hindering my capabilities in boss fights etc.
Overall, really enjoyed this, zoomed through it in 5 days which is always a good sign, glad it ended up being really good after the unfair initial negative backlash its reveal got.
So what happens when a well funded team from an experienced studio takes on a genre mostly populated by smaller dev games? You get The Lost Crown, a very well polished and thought out game that dives deep into the genre and while it doesn't reinvent the wheel, it does show the best the genre has to offer and even adds some elements of its own that could potentially becomes staples down the line. By that I mean the snapshot feature lol.
I mentioned in my Hollow Knight review from last year that "I think some of the progression is a bit more abstract than I would have liked, I think maybe marking more points of interest, specifically points where you come across a door you can't open yet, so that when you get the key or ability required, you remember where to go" and here we are with guided mode in the lost crown just straight up adding that feature exactly lmao. On top of that, I think The Lost Crown is a slightly more accessible metroidvania than something like Hollow Knight, its got more difficulty options and it doesn't have a soulslike feel to the combat like Hollow Knight.
Getting a bit longwinded here so I'll just rapid fire some more thoughts. The story is kinda whatever, it starts off quite boring but eventually picks up but never really becomes a motivating factor to play. The general gameplay, boss fights, and platforming all feel really good, even if some platforming sections near the end are a bit too much for my liking but those are fully optionable and I didn't feel like I was missing out on the rewards hindering my capabilities in boss fights etc.
Overall, really enjoyed this, zoomed through it in 5 days which is always a good sign, glad it ended up being really good after the unfair initial negative backlash its reveal got.