What’s the most thrilling aspect of Prince Of Persia: The Misplaced Crown is its breathtakingly beautiful visuals and smooth gameplay that seamlessly blends exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat.

After a lengthy hiatus, the Prince of Persia series returned to Mac platforms, with The Lost Crown debuting initially on Windows PCs in early 2024. Despite initial lack of hype, this game has quietly emerged to climb Apple’s gaming charts with ease.

Here are some additional Mac video games that are beneficial for us to learn:

* Portal Knights: This sandbox-style action-RPG lets you build your own world and explore procedurally generated terrain.
* Abzû: An underwater exploration game where you control a diver swimming through vibrant ocean environments.
* Little Inferno: A puzzle game about burning things in a fireplace, with increasingly complex challenges. 

The Misplaced Crown is a nostalgic throwback to gaming’s past, as it takes the form of a side-scrolling metroidvania that masterfully blends the combat and platform-jumping elements from classic Metroid and Castlevania arcade games – previously unavailable on Mac. While prior video game experiences are not essential, The Misplaced Crown offers a unique narrative with its own distinct storyline. Here, players take on the role of Sargon, a youthful warrior and member of an enigmatic group known as The Immortals, whose tale unfolds through this engaging adventure.

As the campaign commences, the Persian Empire finds itself under siege by a formidable foe, its prince, Ghassan, seized and incarcerated atop the mystical Mount Qaf. As Sargon and his companions embark on their perilous quest to rescue the Prince, they soon discover that the treacherous terrain of Mount Qaf conceals a multitude of mystical adversaries, enigmatic riddles, and formidable hurdles that must be vanquished in order to succeed.

The sport leverages detailed, vibrant 3D graphics, with primary characters seemingly rendered in three dimensions, but is initially presented as a classic 2D platformer where players primarily navigate left or right across the screen, using the Home button to leap over hurdles. As the sport unfolds, it’s clear that the attention to detail in crafting immersive environments is impressive, transporting players to settings like the grandeur of a royal palace or the lushness of a forest, where every swing and clash feels all the more visceral.

Foundry

Unfortunately, the sport doesn’t support Intel-based Macs; it’s exclusively optimized for M1 processors or later, running on macOS 12.0 or a more recent version of Monterey? Notwithstanding its 2D appearance, this game does not require a powerful Mac; in fact, our testing showed no issues running the title with high-end graphics settings at 4K resolution on a MacBook Pro equipped with an M2 Pro processor.

As you initiate combat, the early stages of the game unfold with straightforward mechanics, where basic attacks are allocated to your mouse buttons, complemented by the ability to deftly dodge or parry incoming strikes. The game’s opening section serves as an instructional tutorial, teaching players the fundamental principles of the game. Furthermore, it features five difficulty levels that allow new players to gradually acclimate themselves to the gameplay experience, accompanied by more challenging modes such as perma-death and speed-run options for experienced gamers seeking an added level of complexity. The fight is quick and fluid, but may benefit from a recreation controller, as I found that parrying assaults with keyboard and mouse controls required extremely precise timing, necessitating multiple attempts before slicing through enemies with ease, even after the first boss battle.

Foundry

With few exceptions, there isn’t a plethora of Mac-based video games that emphasize parkour mechanics akin to Prince Of Persia, where players must execute precise jumps, runs, and climbs to overcome various obstacles seamlessly. As you navigate this challenging level, timing is crucial: rapid leaps to the House bar can be achieved by hitting the jump button, or holding it for a larger leap; numerous obstacles demand quick lateral jumps left and right in rapid succession to access otherwise inaccessible areas. Enjoying with a controller can be a bit of a challenge on a keyboard, but it’s definitely possible to have a simpler time with a bit more practice. One key aspect is mastering your fighting and movement skills – once you get the hang of it, you’ll find that the game becomes much more enjoyable.

As you advance further in the sport, you’ll learn to harness the mystical energy of Athra, allowing for more potent attacks, and you can also uncover or acquire magical amulets that grant additional abilities. In a departure from convention, the Prince Of Persia series has consistently employed “time powers” as its hallmark feature, allowing players to manipulate time and thereby avoid perilous situations or outmaneuver adversaries with cunning precision.

Is purchasing Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time necessary for your gaming experience?

While the demand for precise timing in both combat and movement may prove frustrating for inexperienced players, fans of classic arcade games will find The Lost Crown a delightful opportunity to relive their nostalgia-fueled past. While it’s slightly frustrating that the Mac version is currently exclusive to the Mac App Store, this limitation means that users who already own the PC version on Steam or Epic Games don’t gain access to the Mac version as well (and neither do they get to enjoy additional DLC packs available only on those platforms).