It was 2010. Everyone was talking about Jake Gyllenhaal’s hair. Disney had just poured a massive budget into a live-action adaptation of The Sands of Time, and Ubisoft, ever the opportunist, realized they hadn't actually released a "classic" Prince game in years. So they scrambled. They looked at the 2008 cel-shaded reboot—which was beautiful but divisive—and decided to sprint back to the safety of the nostalgia well. That's how we got Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands.
Honestly? It's kind of a weird game.
Most people remember it as a cheap movie tie-in. It wasn't. While it launched alongside the film, it had nothing to do with the movie's plot. Instead, it tried to shove itself into the narrow gap between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within. It was an attempt to explain how a charming, idealistic Prince turned into a moody, "I stand alone" emo protagonist with a Godsmack soundtrack.
But it didn't really do that either.
The Identity Crisis of the Seventh Gen
Ubisoft Montreal was in a tough spot. They had the Anvil engine—the same tech powering the early Assassin’s Creed games—and they had to make a platformer that felt "old school" but looked "next gen." If you go back and play it today, you'll notice something immediately: the Prince looks different. Like, really different. He looks less like the guy from the 2003 hit and more like a generic action hero who spent too much time in a tanning bed.
The gameplay, though, is where things get genuinely fascinating.
While the 2008 game was all about flow and "not dying," The Forgotten Sands brought back the punishment. Sorta. You could still rewind time using the literal Sands, but the developers added a layer of elemental powers that made the platforming feel more like a puzzle than a rhythm game. You weren't just running on walls; you were freezing water mid-air to create poles and pillars.
It’s a mechanic that still feels fresh. Imagine sprinting toward a waterfall, hitting a button to turn it into a solid wall of ice, leaping off it, and then letting go of the trigger so you can pass through the next waterfall. It required a level of finger dexterity that the series hadn't demanded before.
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Why the Combat Felt... Off
Let's be real: the combat was a mess.
In Warrior Within, the combat was a rhythmic dance of decapitations and environmental kills. In The Forgotten Sands, Ubisoft decided to throw 50 enemies at you at once. It felt less like a duel and more like Dynasty Warriors lite. You’d just mash the attack button, occasionally using a "Whirlwind" power to clear space. There was no weight to it. No tension. It felt like hitting bags of flour with a stick.
This shift happened because the industry was obsessed with "scale" at the time. Everyone wanted to show off how many NPCs they could cram onto a screen. But Prince of Persia was always better when it was intimate—one Prince, one blade, and one very angry Sand Creature.
The Story That Didn't Really Matter
The plot follows the Prince visiting his brother, Malik, whose kingdom is under siege. Naturally, Malik decides to release an ancient "unfathomable" army to save his people. It goes wrong. Obviously.
Razia, a Queen of the Marid (elemental djinns), shows up to help you fix things. She’s the one who grants you the powers over water, earth, and wind. The relationship between the Prince and Razia is actually the best part of the writing. It’s cynical and weary. But the overarching narrative feels like a filler episode of a long-running TV show.
By the time you reach the end, nothing has really changed for the Prince’s character arc leading into Warrior Within. He doesn't seem more "dark" or "troubled." He just seems like he had a very long weekend.
Differences Across Platforms (The Real Secret)
Here is a bit of trivia most people forget: there are actually four different versions of this game.
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- PS3/Xbox 360/PC: The "main" version with the elemental water powers.
- Wii: A completely different game built on a different engine with totally different levels and a focus on "Life Powers." Many fans actually argue this is the better game because it was designed specifically for the hardware’s limitations.
- PSP: A 2.5D side-scrolling version.
- DS: A touch-controlled adventure.
If you only played the version on Steam or PS3, you missed out on the Wii version’s weird, creative level design. It had a much more cohesive story involving a literal spirit following you around and "sealing" checkpoints. It’s one of those rare moments in gaming history where the "lesser" console got a more polished experience.
The Technical Legacy
Technically, The Forgotten Sands was a marvel of the Anvil engine's physics. The way water reacted to being frozen—the textures and the lighting—was top-tier for 2010. If you look at the way Assassin’s Creed Unity eventually handled cloth and crowds, you can see the DNA of those early experiments in this game.
However, it was overshadowed. Red Dead Redemption came out around the same time. God of War III had just redefined what "epic" meant. The Prince felt like a relic of the PS2 era trying to put on a tuxedo. It didn't quite fit.
The Misconception of Failure
People often say this game "killed" the franchise. That’s not quite fair.
While it didn't set the world on fire, it sold decently. The problem was that Ubisoft found a new golden goose: Assassin's Creed. Why spend money on a linear platformer when you could make an open-world sandbox with microtransactions? The Prince was sidelined not because The Forgotten Sands was bad, but because the industry changed its definition of "success."
How to Play It Today (And Should You?)
If you want to revisit Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands, it’s a bit of a headache on PC.
Ubisoft’s DRM (Uplay, now Ubisoft Connect) has a nasty habit of breaking older titles. You’ll likely need to hunt down community patches or "fixer" files on PCGamingWiki to get it running at 4K without the camera spinning wildly. On consoles, it’s backwards compatible on Xbox, which is the easiest way to experience it.
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Is it worth it?
Yeah. For the platforming alone. The late-game levels where you have to juggle freezing water and "remembering" broken platforms mid-jump are genuinely thrilling. It’s a 7-hour experience that doesn't overstay its welcome. In an era of 100-hour open-world bloat, a tight, focused platformer is actually refreshing.
Actionable Steps for Returning Players
- Check the Version: If you have a Wii or an emulator, seek out the Wii version. It is fundamentally a different game and arguably more creative in its use of the Prince of Persia lore.
- Fix the PC Controller Bug: If playing on PC, use a tool like DS4Windows or Steam Input wrappers. The game has "XInput" support, but it's finicky with modern Bluetooth controllers.
- Don't Grind: The upgrade tree for powers is mostly fluff. Focus on the "Stone Armor" and the "Ice" paths. The fire trail is basically useless in the endgame.
- Look at the Environment: The Marid architecture in this game is stunning. It’s some of the best art direction in the series, blending traditional Persian motifs with ethereal, glowing blue elements.
The game is a time capsule. It represents the exact moment the industry transitioned from "tightly scripted adventures" to "endless maps." It’s flawed, sure. But its heart—the jumping, the climbing, and the manipulation of time—is still pure Prince of Persia. Don't go in expecting a masterpiece. Go in expecting a very high-budget, very polished B-movie that lets you walk on water.
Key Technical Checklist for PC:
- Disable "Overlay" in Ubisoft Connect to prevent crashing.
- Set Affinity to a single CPU core if you experience "speed-up" bugs where the game runs at 2x speed.
- Force V-Sync through your GPU control panel; the in-game toggle is notoriously unreliable on high-refresh monitors.
This game might have been "forgotten" by the general public, but for anyone who loves the feeling of a perfect wall-run, it remains a vital piece of the series' history. It was the end of an era. The last time the Prince truly felt like the King of platforming before the shadows of the Assassins took over the throne.
Don't let the mediocre combat turn you off. Push through to the palace gardens. Turn the fountains to ice. Jump. It’s what the Prince does best.