Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands Review

After the “cartoon” part of Prince of Persia, released in the 2008th year, few expected to return to the old story familiar from the “sand” trilogy. A colorful watercolor picture and a fresh concept based on Elika's magical powers, as well as an unforgettable entourage, seemed to determine the direction of development of the series. However, Ubisoft presented a real surprise and prepared a game for the premiere of the film of the same name, which returned the “good old” prince.

One of the objectives of “Forgotten Sands” is to connect with the subject threads “Sands of Time” (Sands of Time) and “Fight with Fate” (Warrior Within). Indeed, many players had a lot of questions. What happened in seven years? Where is the headlight? Why did the prince change so much in appearance? Finally, why are he being pursued by hordes of evil?


However, “Forgotten Sands” does not answer many questions, only in passing mentioning the events of the past years. After defeating the vizier at the end of the “Sands of Time”, the Prince goes to his brother Malik to learn how to skillfully rule the state. True, it was not necessary to count on a warm reception: the kingdom of Malik was attacked by enemies who wanted to enslave the people and remove all the treasures from the vaults. Collapsing buildings, arrows flying from all sides, a handful of warriors holding their defenses with all their might - this is exactly what the Prince sees in the first minutes of his relative’s stay in the castle.
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Realizing that the forces are unequal, Malik decides to release the army of King Solomon. Combining two amulets, he summoned thousands of "sandy" soldiers from the other world. Oddly enough, but the plan worked: the enemies, seeing the army of walking skeletons, immediately fled, leaving behind the stolen treasures. True, the liberated monsters did not spare not only Malik's enemies, but also his subjects, turning them into stone statues.


However, our Prince is not so easy to defeat - he has one piece of artifact that protects against the "sand" army. In addition, he was helped by a genie girl. She taught the prince to "rewind" time ago and manage the forces of nature. If the first skill is familiar to fans from the “Sands of Time”, then the second is available only in “Forgotten Sands”. It would seem, who needs the opportunity to freeze the water? Don't we skate here? But now the frozen jets of water spurting from the walls are not just decoration, but also a means of transportation. The prince can swing on them, as on the usual crossbar. The waterfall covered with ice turns into a support from which you can jump to the far wall. In general, thanks to the new power, a whole host of new features have appeared. That's just the time of freezing is limited, so you need to be very careful, otherwise you will fall down. Although in such situations saves the "rewind" of time.


The changes affected the combat system. Combinations of strikes disappeared, but there were special talents that open up after reaching a certain number of points. For example, if you constantly use a trail of fire that ignites enemies, then there will be no need for melee combat. True, each use of such skills consumes "sand" energy, which is necessary for flirting with time.

But the battles themselves have become much bigger. We used to be attacked by small groups of enemies. Now the Prince is confronted by whole hordes led by formidable "bosses". Despite this, fights did not become more difficult. Enemies are too slow, big lumps attack with the same blows, and health is replenished after each kill.


Even the basis of the gameplay has changed - acrobatic etudes. Now jumping and running along the walls remind us of the “Prince” of 2008, but not about the “Sands of Time”. But in the intervals between clashes and dashing somersaults, we, as before, solve good riddles. Close the gate with the help of three levers related to the bolts, or turn the heavy platform in the right direction - those who are unhurriedly brainwash will not be disappointed.

Perhaps only those who expected to see fascinating fights from Sands of Time in “Forgotten Sands” will remain unhappy. Along with the series of blows, interest in the bouts was gone. Still, it was not worth Ubisoft to cut the combat system so much. After protracted and heavy battles in the first game, “Forgotten Sands” reminds an uncomplicated arcade game.


But the schedule claims much less. Gloomy castles with a bunch of traps and secret rooms, stately buildings, excellent animation of movements - all performed at the highest level. But again there was a fly in the ointment - the soundtrack was pumped up. In “The Sands of Time”, Arabic melodies sounded from the speakers, in “Fight with Fate” - hard rock, and the melody from “Forgotten Sands” flies out of my head immediately after passing.

However, this, of course, is not important. The main goal pursued by Ubisoft is clear - to please both the old fans of the series and the newcomers who sat down on the “train” after watching the film version. Hardly hardened fans will be delighted with “Forgotten Sands” - after all, the weak plot and the overly simplified combat mechanics are weakly combined with the previous parts, but the beginners will almost certainly like the “lightweight” Prince. Yes, and for the first acquaintance with the famous universe "Forgotten Sands" fit as well as possible.

Verdict: 7/10 (Good!)