A thrilling VR adventure that ignites fond memories of Prince of Persia.

Who hasn’t at one point since the creation of virtual reality (VR) hoped that their favourite series would wind up in this medium?

While some series have in fact made the leap over to this new mode of gaming – Assassin’s Creed, PowerWash Simulator, and even Wolfenstein (sorta) – it’s hard for big studios to justify the cost of making these types of games. Never mind turning over the rights for these properties to small VR studios.

Since getting the rights to a major brand is nearly impossible, studios have released VR gold that hold the essence of some of the best games ever made, while changing more than the name to ensure everyone is happy.

Ember Souls is one of those games, essentially bringing a spiritual Prince of Persia into the VR realm. Created by VirtualAge (Guardians Frontline) the game which puts you in the boots of Kasim as you venture through a vast Persian palace to take on the Shadow Sultan, releases today, Nov. 21, for Quest headsets and PCVR.

This gorgeous look game is full of melee combat, magic, parkour, and puzzles as you make your way through more than a dozen levels searching for the mysterious and powerful Ember Stones, which will help you in your fight with the Shadow Sultan.

The second you start a game, you’re treated to a beautiful view of just how big the world around you is. The palace is massive, and full of different locales for you to take on your enemies, as you avoid traps and solve the puzzles around you to make it further in.

As Kasim, you are venturing to the palace to try and stop the evil within, not knowing your true potential until you’re further into the game. Along your journey, you have the chance to use many different types of weapons – swords, axes, hammers, etc. – all of which react differently thanks to some pretty great physics. You will also harness the magic behind each of the four Ember Stones – wind, water, fire, and earth – each of which comes with it’s own set of abilities. The use of these magic spells is pretty intuitive, using either the trigger – wind for instance will get you a lasso that helps you pull yourself towards objects, or throw your enemies – or holding your hand out and pushing your arm forward – doing this with the water stone active will get you a shield.

However, the use of these spells is not perfect. Often the use of the secondary spell with the open palm would either trigger far too easily (and at inopportune times) or wouldn’t work at all (again at the worst possible moment) while this is probably just an early bug, it would probably be better to make the action more defined to avoid these issues.

Regardless of that, it’s still pretty fun when everything works and you’re able to use your ability to force push your enemies as you’re fighting.

Speaking of weapons, if you’re not a fan of games with gore, then you’ll definitely want to turn this off in the settings.

Enemies come at you fast and often and you’ll face not only skeletons rising from the grave, but citizens of the realm who have been corrupted by the sway of the Shadow Sultan. During your fights, if you have the gore settings on, you’ll probably notice early on that a well placed swing of the sword can end with your enemies head on the floor.

While fighting is not perfect in the pre-release version of the game – enemy AI is quite stupid and they generally don’t change up their fighting based on how you react – it is very satisfying to feel the swing of your sword  – haptics here are pretty great – as you take off your enemies head.

Speaking of haptics, whether you’re pulling the bow string to ready an arrow, casting a magical spell, or just swinging your sword, haptics play a big part in here and the immersion is all the better for it.

As mentioned earlier the game looks great. The world around you is vast and you really get to feel the magnitude of where you are. There were some instances during intense combat where the game seemed to get choppy and freeze up a little bit, but for the most part there weren’t many issues experienced graphically.

Parkour here is probably some of the easiest to do in VR of late, with climbing, grappling and everything in between being really intuitive and simple to accomplish. If you’ve played Assassin’s Creed Nexus, or The Burst, you’ll probably know just how frustrating it was in those to climb or swing your way around. Ember Souls has none of these issues, and yes you have the added help of magic here, but even without it, swinging yourself between poles, climbing around and everything else, is much easier to do – and less infuriating –  compared to games that have been out a year like Nexus.

In addition to the incredibly well done campaign, Ember Souls boasts additional modes including raids – procedurally generated maps with challenges that change, essentially making this a roguelite mode where you can find special weapons and compete for a high score. As well, sandbox mode gives you the chance to train to become better by practicing your fighting style and testing out magic.

There’s also an upcoming mixed reality mode, however, no information has been released regarding what this may entail.

Finally it’s worth mentioning that during your adventure, you’re not going it alone. Just as you make it to the palace, you’re greeted by your companion throughout the game, that companion is the spirit of the wind stone Alshain the falcon.

In addition to keeping you company during the times he appears in your adventure, he can also be summoned by holding the grip and trigger buttons while your hand is at your mouth. During these moments he can help give you a clue if you’re stuck. Additionally, if you hold out your arm he’ll land on it and you can then “see through his eyes” to help see what cannot be seen with your eyes – he is the magical spirit of a mystical stone after all.

Oh and yes, you CAN pet him – haptic feedback provided and all.

Ember Souls is a terrific game, coming at a time when the year end and holiday season brings about some of the biggest releases of the year. The game evokes fond memories for those who remember playing classic Prince of Persia games, while providing a unique and captivating story that makes you want to keep going back for more.

It’s unfortunate that Ember Souls is releasing just after VR game of the year nominees were announced, because this would absolutely be a contender by how good it is to play.

Priced at $33.99, this game is well worth it for the story alone, but the additional content makes this even better.

Ember Souls, was reviewed on the Quest 3 after receiving pre-release access.