Summary
The video game landscape is more diverse than it ever has been before. MassiveAAA open-world action/adventure games, 30-hour narrative-focused titles, and smaller-scale Indie games all have their own special place in the gaming ecosphere, co-existing with one another to deliver experiences suitable for all types of players. And while Ubisoft tends to deliver sprawling 100-hour epics,Prince of Persia: The Lost CrownandAssassin’s Creed Mirageprove that the studio doesn’t need to put all its eggs into one basket.
Coming in at around 20-30 hours each,Prince of Persia: The Lost CrownandAssassin’s Creed Mirageare far from small video games, but they are considerably shorter than most other recent Ubisoft releases, with the likes ofAssassin’s Creed Valhallataking players 60 hours just to complete, and well over 100 to complete. But while a grand 100-hour epic can feel like players are getting more bang for their buck, games likePrince of Persia: The Lost CrownandAssassin’s Creed Mirageshow that there’s still a lot of value to be found with smaller-scale adventures.
AC Mirage and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Show Not Every Game Needs to be Massive
Bigger Used to Mean Better in the Gaming Space
In the early days of video games, the size of a title was often an indication of its value. The more levels, mechanics, and playable characters a game had, the more likely it was to be a hit. As gaming technology continued to improve throughout the 1980s and 1990s, this only became more true, with large-scale video games with high production values being all the rage. This became even more prevalent in the mid-2000s withthe advent of the open-world genre, with many players and developers believing an open-world to equal the best value for money.
Ubisoft jumped aboard the open-world bandwagon immediately, withAssassin’s CreedandFar Crybeing its two primary large-scale franchises. While there have been several great large-scale Ubisoft games over the years, the overabundance of them has left the open-world genre feeling a little bloated. While a 100-hour-longAssassin’s Creedtitle undoubtedly offers great value for money, that value is decreased massively when the 100 hours of content feels repetitive and dull to play.
Smaller-Scale Games Can Have Just as Much Value
While Ubisoft isn’t going to stop releasing large-scale open-world games anytime soon, its two most recent releases have shown that its smaller-scale games can actually hold just as much value, if not more so. Released in October of last year,Assassin’s Creed Miragewas the return to basicsthat fans had been asking for. While it certainly wasn’t perfect,Assassin’s Creed Mirageproved that there’s a strong desire for a return to the franchise’s simpler roots, and in this instance, a shorter length actually benefited the game greatly.
The recently releasedPrince of Persia: The Lost Crownhas seemingly been a similar success story for Ubisoft. After trying and failing to pivot the franchise to go open-world back in the early 2010s, Ubisoft putPrince of Persiaon ice, and now, 14 years later, it’s back and better than ever. A smaller-scale 20-30 hour adventure,Prince of Persia: The Lost Crowntechnically has less content than a huge game likeAC Valhalla, but its excellently-paced gameplay and story will hook players much more intensely.
