Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is gearing up for its first paid story DLC, 'Mask of Darkness,' which lands in the meaty metroidvania on 17th September. Ahead of its launch, Ubisoft has shared the four biggest things we need to know about the upcoming expansion in a new blog post, so we can ensure Sargon is in tip-top shape to tackle the challenges ahead.
To access the DLC, you'll first have to escape the depths and nab the Shadow of the Simurgh time power. With that out the way, though, the 'Mask of Darkness' expansion is yours to explore.
The first section of the Ubisoft blog, titled 'Bring Your Skills, Leave Your Powers,' clues us in on the DLC's central gimmick: yep, it's an Eventide Island situation. 'Mask of Darkness' will see Sargon travel to Radjen's Mind Palace, a brand-new area where he is stripped of all his time powers except the Rush of the Simurgh dash and Shadow of the Simurgh teleportation. You can also say "bye-bye" to all the Immortal's amulets and healing potions, and most of his health and arrows.
There will be plenty of new items to find in this fresh area, and all powers will be returned when teleporting back to Mount Qaf, but it sounds like we'll need to brush up on our movement skills if we are to make it very far.
The second blog section, 'Nimble New Threats,' details some of the new enemies we can expect to find in the Mind Palace. While we haven't seen images of any of them yet, we now know that "undead soldiers, nimble wraiths, and flying mechanical 'saw birds'" will be waiting for us at every turn, each requiring a different combat approach to take 'em on.
Oh, and there's also a "big, spiderlike mechanical monstrosity known as the Sentinel" to look forward to. Nightmares incoming.
The post also details 'New Ways to Get Around (and Die)' — an introduction to the many fresh movement options available in Mask of Darkness. These include floating "bumper orbs" that fire Sargon in a set direction when hit, vertical pillars to shimmy up, canon-ball-firing statues and pesky spinning sawblades. It doesn't sound like a walk in the park, if we're honest.
The final section, 'Uncover the Enigma of Radjen,' tees up some of the story elements we can expect to encounter throughout the DLC. As the heading suggests, this expansion will dive into Radjen, Sargon's last remaining Immortal after the events of the base game unfolded. It looks like there will be flashback scenes aplenty, so prepare for some bonus lore.
And that's just about it! You can find the full blog post on the Ubisoft website, or just sit tight for a couple more weeks and see the DLC yourself when it lands on Switch on 17th September.
For those still yet to dive into the Sargon's adventure, The Lost Crown is a wild ride. We awarded it a 9/10 in our review earlier this year, calling it "the first must-play of 2024".