Prince of Persia’s creator returning with a new spy story reminded a lot of PC players just how singular the original series felt: parkour that read as gymnastics, sword combat with weight, and levels built like puzzles you solved with your body. If you finished Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and want more of that same feeling, or you go back to Sands of Time every couple of years and want something newer, these seven Prince of Persia alternatives on PC hit the same notes.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Base price | Length | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollow Knight | Deep metroidvania exploration | Around $15 | 40-60 hours | Hand-drawn interconnected world |
| Blasphemous 2 | Brutal 2D swordplay | Around $30 | 20-30 hours | Weighty combat with three weapons |
| Ori and the Will of the Wisps | Cinematic movement and story | Around $30 | 15-20 hours | Movement that flows like Sands of Time |
| Dead Cells | Fast, roguelike replay | Around $25 | Endless runs | Tight combat with permanent unlocks |
| Sekiro Shadows Die Twice | Sword-and-parkour 3D action | Around $60 | 30-40 hours | Deflect-driven melee like nothing else |
| Guacamelee! 2 | Lighter combat platforming | Around $20 | 12-15 hours | Wrestling moves layered on platforming |
| Nine Sols | Taopunk action-platforming | Around $30 | 25-35 hours | Sekiro-style parry in a 2D world |
Why look past Prince of Persia
Franchise releases are sparse. The gap between Sands of Time and The Lost Crown was long, and Ubisoft’s future PoP output remains unclear after leadership changes. Waiting is not a plan.
The Sands of Time remake keeps slipping. Ubisoft’s remake has moved through multiple studios and delays. Even fans who still want it stopped counting on a firm date.
Modern PoP fans want either metroidvania or 3D action. The Lost Crown drew the metroidvania crowd; the classic trilogy still owns 3D parkour. Alternatives tend to specialise in one or the other rather than mix both.
Difficulty and platforming can grate. The Lost Crown’s late-game trials and Sands of Time’s dagger management are polarising even among fans. Other games in the same space handle challenge differently.
No proper co-op or shared save. All PoP games are single-player. Some readers want a game to share on the same PC with a partner or child, and the franchise never has.
The 7 best Prince of Persia alternatives on PC
Hollow Knight, best for deep metroidvania exploration
Hollow Knight built the modern template that The Lost Crown draws from. Its handcrafted world layers dozens of areas, each hiding shortcuts, boss fights, and lore you piece together from item descriptions. Combat rewards precision, and the movement upgrades let you re-read the map for new paths. Team Cherry’s Silksong sequel is still in development, but the original stays essential.
Where it falls short: No fast travel in early stretches. The story is opaque unless you seek it out. Bosses ramp hard in the DLC content.
Pricing:
- Base: Around $15
- vs Prince of Persia: Cheaper, longer, but 2D only
System notes: Runs on almost any modern PC. Steam Deck Verified.
Bottom line: Buy Hollow Knight if The Lost Crown’s map system is what you loved. Skip it if you need voice acting and clearly signposted objectives.
Blasphemous 2, best for brutal 2D swordplay
Blasphemous 2 ships tight, weighty sword and mace combat in a pixel-art world drenched in Spanish Catholic imagery. Three interchangeable weapons let you rebuild your fighting style mid-run, and platforming sequences echo the same “get the timing right or restart” tension classic Prince of Persia lived by. It corrects most of the original Blasphemous complaints without losing the tone.
Where it falls short: The art can be intense for anyone squeamish about religious body horror. Some late-game platforming rooms are genuinely mean.
Pricing:
- Base: Around $30
- vs Prince of Persia: Cheaper, focused, more punishing
System notes: Steam Deck Verified. Runs well on older GPUs.
Bottom line: Buy Blasphemous 2 if you want the closest 2D equivalent to the sword-first identity of classic PoP. Skip it if grim visuals put you off.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps, best for cinematic movement and story
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the closest thing to Sands of Time’s flow state on PC. Movement chains together with a rhythm that Prince of Persia fans recognise instantly: wall runs, dashes, and grapples layered so you rarely touch the ground. The story is emotional and told mostly through animation, backed by an original orchestral score.
Where it falls short: Combat is lighter than in The Lost Crown. A handful of chase sequences frustrate on repeat deaths. Not much replay value.
Pricing:
- Base: Around $30
- vs Prince of Persia: Cheaper, shorter, but the movement is unmatched
System notes: Runs on integrated GPUs. Steam Deck Verified.
Bottom line: Buy Will of the Wisps if you loved how Sands of Time moved. Skip it if combat depth matters more than movement to you.
Dead Cells, best for fast, roguelike replay
Dead Cells takes metroidvania architecture and mixes it with roguelike death loops. Runs are short, weapons rotate, and permanent progression unlocks new zones and gear over dozens of hours. Combat is fast, readable, and rewards knowing when to dodge and when to parry. Motion Twin still ships free DLC years after launch.
Where it falls short: Not a story game. If you want dungeon-by-dungeon narrative like The Lost Crown, this is not it. Some biomes are less popular than others and appear too often.
Pricing:
- Base: Around $25
- vs Prince of Persia: Cheaper, replayable, but structurally different
System notes: Steam Deck Verified. Runs on almost anything.
Bottom line: Buy Dead Cells if you want a fast metroidvania you can drop into for 30 minutes at a time. Skip it if permadeath is a dealbreaker.
Sekiro Shadows Die Twice, best for sword-and-parkour 3D action
Sekiro Shadows Die Twice is FromSoftware’s take on samurai combat, and it is the only modern 3D game that captures the “one perfect sword duel” quality classic PoP hinted at. The grappling hook adds a vertical parkour layer to exploration and boss arenas. Deflect timing replaces dodging, and once it clicks, fights feel like choreography.
Where it falls short: No difficulty options. Learning the deflect system takes hours. Story is minimal by design.
Pricing:
- Base: Around $60 (frequently discounted)
- vs Prince of Persia: More expensive, harder, but 3D combat is unmatched
System notes: Needs a mid-range GPU. Steam Deck Playable, not verified.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Buy Sekiro if you want the modern 3D heir to Sands of Time’s sword-first identity. Skip it if extreme difficulty is not something you enjoy.
Guacamelee! 2, best for lighter combat platforming
Guacamelee! 2 wraps a family-friendly cartoon aesthetic around genuinely good metroidvania design. Wrestling combos, dimension-swap traversal, and co-op for up to four players make it the pick for households where a parent wants to share a game like this with a kid or partner. The pacing is brisk and the humour lands.
Where it falls short: Combat has less depth than Blasphemous 2 or The Lost Crown. Story leans jokey, which is not everyone’s taste.
Pricing:
- Base: Around $20
- vs Prince of Persia: Cheaper, lighter, and the only pick here with couch co-op
System notes: Runs on integrated GPUs. Steam Deck Verified.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Buy Guacamelee! 2 if you want a metroidvania to share with a partner or kid. Skip it if you want the grim, focused tone of a classic PoP.
Nine Sols, best for Taopunk action-platforming
Nine Sols merges Sekiro’s parry-first combat with a 2D metroidvania and a distinct Taopunk visual style. The parry system asks you to read enemy attacks, deflect at the right frame, and counter, exactly the muscle memory Sekiro trains but in a genre closer to The Lost Crown. Boss fights are the highlight and often called the year’s best on PC forums.
Where it falls short: Story beats are heavier than the mechanics reveal at first. Difficulty spikes will lock some players out of the final act unless they commit to relearning the parry timing.
Pricing:
- Base: Around $30
- vs Prince of Persia: Cheaper, more punishing, more painterly
System notes: Runs on mid-tier hardware. Steam Deck Verified.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Buy Nine Sols if you loved The Lost Crown’s parry timing and want harder, deeper combat. Skip it if you find “one more try” boss fights frustrating rather than motivating.
How to choose
Buy Hollow Knight if you want the deepest, longest metroidvania on PC and don’t mind reading a map for hours.
Buy Blasphemous 2 if you want the closest 2D equivalent to classic PoP’s sword-first identity.
Buy Ori and the Will of the Wisps if what you loved about Prince of Persia was how the character moved.
Buy Dead Cells if you want to drop in for 30-minute sessions and always have a new run to try.
Buy Sekiro if you want a full 3D game with the same sword duel obsession, and you accept punishing difficulty.
Buy Guacamelee! 2 if you want a lighter, co-op friendly metroidvania to play with someone else on the couch.
Buy Nine Sols if parry-timed combat is what you want to master next, and you can handle a steep learning curve.
Stay with Prince of Persia if you have Sands of Time or The Lost Crown installed and just want more of exactly that. There is no perfect substitute for the PoP identity; these are the closest alternatives.
FAQ
What game is most like Prince of Persia on PC? For classic Sands of Time flow, Ori and the Will of the Wisps captures the same movement feel. For The Lost Crown metroidvania style, Blasphemous 2 and Nine Sols come closest.
Is there a game like Prince of Persia with 3D combat? Sekiro Shadows Die Twice is the closest modern 3D game to the sword-and-parkour identity of classic PoP. Assassin’s Creed borrowed PoP’s parkour DNA but focuses more on open-world stealth than duelling.
What is the cheapest Prince of Persia alternative on PC? Hollow Knight at around $15 is the strongest value in the genre. Dead Cells and Guacamelee! 2 both sit under $30 with high replay value.
Do any of these run on Steam Deck? Hollow Knight, Blasphemous 2, Ori, Dead Cells, Guacamelee! 2, and Nine Sols are all Steam Deck Verified. Sekiro is Playable but not fully verified.
Which alternative has the best story? Ori and the Will of the Wisps for emotional weight. Nine Sols for depth revealed slowly. Sekiro for atmosphere over exposition.
Are there any PoP alternatives with co-op? Guacamelee! 2 is the only one on this list with proper couch co-op. Most metroidvanias remain single-player by design.
