Are you waiting for Silksong or another 2D Metroid? Get it here

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the rare video game that has me googling and going down research rabbit holes because of the world's lore and the inspiration it draws from. For example, did you know that the Immortals – which you may know from the movie 300 – were a real heavy infantry unit in ancient Persia, made up of fighters trained from the age of 5? I didn't, until Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown's fusion of history and mythology engulfed me and wouldn't let go. The game's protagonist, Sargon, is one of the immortals, and dozens of times in the 10 hours I've spent on this game so far, I've put down my Nintendo Switch to learn more about the nooks and crannies of this layered world.

I began this review with learned praise for The Lost Crown because everything else I have to say about this game will be infused with simplistic, childish glee. It feels so damn good to just swing Sargon's sword in this game; maybe it's the animation of light glinting off the silver surfaces of the leaves, maybe it's the clever rhythm of connecting multiple swings into a complete combination. But since The Lost Crown is effectively a Metroidvania – meaning the emphasis here is on exploration and discovering power-ups and abilities that will facilitate further exploration – Sargon's Blade is just the tip of an extraordinary iceberg of combat techniques.

If you don't want to hear about the rest of Sargon's abilities, and all you need to know is that The Lost Crown is the perfect package — an excellent Metroidvania with gorgeous environments, challenging but intuitive puzzles, beautiful music and even better voice acting, plus those story- the meets-mythlore entries that can capture your imagination and curiosity – then you can stop reading right now. Go ahead and buy this video game. That's great, okay? We can't just say that in a review; we must explain why, and I will. But if there was ever a time to just trust me, this is it.