Caught between a reboot and a movie release, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands feels like a nostalgic step sideways rather than a bold leap forward. It’s a strange beast. On one hand, Ubisoft had already rebooted the franchise with 2008’s Prince of Persia, yet The Forgotten Sands fits within the storyline of the older series. On the other hand, its release was suspiciously timed to coincide with the Prince of Persia film, though Ubisoft insists it’s not a movie tie-in.
So what is it, exactly? Does this continuation of the old storyline suggest the reboot was a failure? Will players see a return to the newer series, or is the classic timeline here to stay? And if that’s the case, is The Forgotten Sands really the best way to reintroduce the franchise in this unusual, rewritten form?
The Interstitial Game
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands takes place between the events of The Sands of Time, released in 2003, and The Warrior Within, released a year later. In the in-game chronology, there was actually a seven-year gap between the two titles, but Forgotten Sands is largely self-contained. It includes brief references to The Sands of Time but offers no insight into how the Prince becomes the angry, selfish figure seen in Warrior Within. Here, he is sent to visit his brother’s kingdom, ostensibly to learn how to be a better ruler. His brother, Malik, is fighting off a siege of his palace and, in desperation, unleashes a demonic sand army that devastates the region. It’s up to the Prince to set things right.
Like many aspects of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, the story and graphics fall somewhere in the middle. Multi-platform titles like Capcom’s Resident Evil 5 have proven that games not tied to a single console can still deliver stunning visuals. While Forgotten Sands is by no means an ugly game — the environments have clearly received a high-definition polish — a certain familiarity quickly sets in for longtime fans. Yet another bathhouse level, a tower-climbing section, or a corridor full of traps all feel like revisited concepts. It’s as if Ubisoft returned to the original ideas from The Sands of Time and simply reworked them for a new generation.
“Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is a strange beast.”
The same goes for the game’s audio. Nolan North, best known as Nathan Drake from Uncharted, does not reprise his previous role. Instead, Sands of Time and The Two Thrones voice actor Yuri Lowenthal returns, offering a more sophisticated tone in place of the earlier happy-go-lucky delivery. Lowenthal is clearly comfortable in the role, and it shows in the dialogue. The music, too, returns to the more orchestrated, fairy tale–inspired and ethnically tinged qualities of The Sands of Time. The sound effects, while appropriate, don’t pack much punch or make significant use of surround sound.
Rewinding To The Start
In many ways, Forgotten Sands feels like a defensive response to the tepid reception of the 2008 Prince of Persia reboot. That game’s departure from tradition — in its art style, gameplay mechanics and narrative — was met with mixed reviews. Criticism focused particularly on the lowered difficulty, the removal of “death” and the semi-automated acrobatic system.
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands largely addresses all of these complaints by simply returning to the mechanics of the original Sands of Time and throwing in a few new tricks. The game still feels slightly slower than the original Sands of Time; it wisely borrows some of the more efficient control developments from more recent games, with much-needed tweaks, such as jumping from pole to pole with a flick of the analog stick in the desired direction, rather than laboriously shimmying around the pole to get to the desired position.
“Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is a bag of potato chips or a slice of pizza. “
Players can also “rewind time” to avoid fatal mistakes, turning the clock back a few seconds before death to try again — a returning mechanic that proves essential. Puzzles can be devious in design, requiring precise timing and strong hand–eye coordination, and the very real possibility of failure is once again part of the experience. New gameplay elements, such as temporarily freezing water, re-materializing “past” objects in the present and elemental attacks, help add some variety. But at its core, The Forgotten Sands feels like a high-definition reworking of the Prince of Persia games players experienced nearly a decade ago.
It’s clear that Ubisoft played it safe and gave players exactly what they wanted — more of the same — and it works. The controls and obstacle navigation from The Sands of Time were among the best in the genre at the time, and they still hold up well here. The new environments look better, but they’re not quite as well designed in terms of size and complexity. That may be a concession to a broader or less experienced audience, as the overall difficulty feels easier than its predecessor, although not to the extent of the “automatic win button” of the 2008 reboot.
Combat has always been the weakest part of the franchise, and unfortunately, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands continues that trend. It’s more responsive and better designed than the one-on-one melee system of 2008’s Prince of Persia, placing the Prince in battles surrounded by a dozen or more enemies at once.
While it attempts to emulate the chaotic flair of third-person action games, it falls short of the visceral impact of God of War or the technical depth of Devil May Cry. The combat is simple, not especially engaging or difficult — more of a stepping stone to the next acrobatic challenge than a rewarding experience in its own right.
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is like a bag of chips or a slice of pizza — comfort food: safe, familiar and enjoyable, but not especially refined. The tight controls and sense of agility from The Sands of Time return, as do many of the elements that made that game a classic. It’s a short experience, easily finished in eight hours or less, with a challenge mode added to help extend its lifespan. But the main draw is nostalgia — this is the Prince of Persia that longtime fans missed. If you’re looking for something competent and familiar, this is a safe bet. And for newcomers to the series, it’s a solid place to start.
