Ubisoft’s new Prince of Persia game boasts a feature that every Metroidvania should have
Memory Shards sound like a game changer
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
In a new trailer running down accessibility features for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown,Ubisofthas revealed a map option so smart that every Metroidvania should make use of it.
The Lost Crown lets you place “Memory Shards” on the map. Essentially, you take a screenshot of your current location and pin it to the map, and anytime you hover over that pin you can view the image you took. This gives you a quick, easy way to annotate the map with inaccessible locations you might want to return to when you unlock new powers.
“Actually, it’s a new feature for these kind of games,” senior gameplay programmer Cristophe de Labrouche explains. “We’ve made a lot of tests because we didn’t know if the players would use it. And once they get it, they love it. They place them everywhere in the game. They really use it very much.”
“A lot of players said that it was helpful and that it seems natural,” senior game designer Rémi Boutin adds. “I think it really pushes the boundaries for the genre, and I hope to see this feature in other games.”
Ialsohope to see this feature in other games - it’s such a natural addition to the Metroidvania genre that I’m shocked I haven’t seen it used elsewhere before. Ubisoft itself has added screenshots to maps in its bigger titles, but that’s primarily been a social feature to let you share your in-game photography in things like Assassin’s Creed. This is an incredible map addition that I can’t wait to try out.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is due to launch on January 18 across pretty much every major platform, and you’ll be able to try it out for yourself ahead of that release with a free demo on January 11.
Check out ourPrince of Persia: The Lost Crown previewfor more, or dive into our list of thebest Metroidvania games.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He’s been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.
Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow are full of invisible, ultra-rare shinies, and this RPG mod will make sure you never miss one again
The Monster Hunter Wilds beta isn’t even live yet, but over 23,000 fans on Steam gather to stare at its start-up screen
Why Silent Hill 2 Remake’s Toluca Prison is even more terrifying than the original
