Summary
Prince of Persia: Sands of Timeis one of gaming’s most beloved titles and took the franchise to its peak back in 2003. Although the series has been flying relatively high recently after the release ofPrince of Persia: The Lost Crown,theSands of Timeremake seems to be trapped in a state of unending purgatory. Despite being announced in 2020, it seems that little progress has been made with the title in four years, as can be ascertained from Ubisoft’s short cinematic.
TheSands of Timeis thePrince of Persiaseries' most iconic gameand is the one that deserves a remake. It also deserved a better film than the 2010 adaptation, but it seems that the title will receive neither, judging by what Ubisoft has shown of the remake thus far. The innovation and brilliance of the original are nowhere to be seen, and the latest teaser seems more like an announcement for a game that has long since been announced.
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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a great new addition to the Metroidvania subgenre that offers players unique combat and a good time.
Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time Deserves Better
A Beloved Game Deserves More Love
Since theSands of Timeremake was announced back in 2020, the most recentteaser revealed at Ubisoft Forward 2024basically amounts to the developer admitting that it has nothing new worth showing but that it hasn’t forgotten about the title. The game is set for a 2026 release. Hopefully, this proves to be a more definitive release date than the initial one set for 2021 and the latter date for 2023, twenty years after the release of the original, but the lack of any new gameplay or cinematics doesn’t bode well.
Back in late 2020, there was a gameplay trailer that went with the initial 2021 release date, but it failed to impress. With the current generation being new at the time, thegraphical fidelity of the game was lackluster, disappointing many fans of the franchise. Obviously, Ubisoft failed to meet the 2021 launch date and likely went back to the drawing board after the negative outcry regarding the footage of the remake.
TwoPrince of Persiatitles have been released this year.The Rogue Prince of PersiaandThe Lost Crown.
Since the gameplay reveal in 2020,no new in-game footage has been shown of theSands of Timeremake, despite all the new projects that thePrince of Persiafranchise has under its belt. The lack of gameplay fails to show what state the game is in and whether there will be a drastic change from the disappointing footage from years ago. With Ubisoft’s silence around the game until recently, the latest trailer simply states that the game is still being worked on and hasn’t been forgotten, but there’s no telling if the remake will properly honor the original.
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Sands of Time Is A Beloved Classic
The Remake Has A Lot To Live Up To
Classics as well-loved asSands of Timehave been receiving amazing remakes more frequently, andPrince of Persia’s crowning jewel deserves that kind of treatment.Final Fantasy 7and multipleResident Eviltitles have had outstanding remakes that push the graphical fidelity forward and give players a realistic look at their favorite characters. Unfortunately, the lack of footage means that players don’t know whether the game will be closer to the best remakes or more like the initial gameplay footage.
Resident Evilhas remade its first four titles, withRE 2to4using the current RE Engine.
Although Ubisoft has made some remasters in the past, such as theAssassin’s Creed 3remaster,it has little experience with remakes when compared to the likes of Square Enix or Capcom. Choosing theSands of Timewas a good decision if the developer can update it properly and make the game look as good as possible. The original made all the innovations; the remake just needs to update it for modern hardware and help players relive the nostalgia of their childhood.
Can Ubisoft Turn It Around?
Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time Stuck In Development
It usually isn’t good if developers remain quiet on anticipated projects, especially after experiencing backlash. It helps even less that the teaser doubles as a release date reveal, but most release date trailers usually feature some in-game footage. The cynics will say that the game has been redone from the ground up and is suffering from a classic case of development hell due to its extremely long production time.
Still, the trailer did reveal that Ubisoft hasn’t forgotten about thePrince of Persia: Sands of Timeremake. The optimists could say that the long silence is due to the developer responding to the backlash and deciding to address it. Hopefully, it could lead to the remake being everything that fans want, even if it isn’t being shown as yet.
