Ubisoft Montreal masterpiece, action platformer with time manipulation. The Prince is agile and graceful, platform puzzles are inventive, time rewinding is revolutionary. Charming narration. One of the best action games of its generation.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player12+
Description
The Prince accidentally unleashes the Sands of Time, turning the inhabitants of a Persian city into sand monsters, and must use the Dagger of Time to rewind past mistakes. Published by Ubisoft, released in 2003 in the United States and Europe. Platform and combat combining wall-running, rotating poles, environmental puzzles, the ally Farah, and an original framing narrative.
Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
MAX
Story
★★★★★
"Masterful"
Chiselled Persian architecture, undulating fabrics and golden light: the adventure is steeped in a Thousand and One Nights tale of rare elegance. The acrobatic fluidity of the hero and the beauty of the settings compose an enchantment in motion. This art direction, refined and warm, elevates every leap and every ruin.
Having unleashed, out of pride, a sand that turns men into monsters, a prince must undo his mistake by rewinding time. Told like a tale from the Thousand and One Nights, the story blends adventure, romance and a lesson in humility with rare charm. Its elegant narrative frame left a lasting mark on the action-adventure.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Running along walls, leaping from pillar to pillar and rewinding time when you slip up builds an acrobatic platformer of choreographed fluidity that still enchants. The dagger's power defuses frustration without watering down the challenge. The repetitive fights are the only sour note, but the elegance of the movement and the pacing of the adventure remain a delight.
Prince of Persia The Sands of Time, the acclaimed rebirth of Ubisoft's series, reinventing acrobatics and time control in an elegant oriental tale, one of its generation's great action-platformers. Still fairly sought, its desirability rests on this status as the founding classic of the saga's renewal and a lasting demand rather than scarcity. A prime piece for an action set on the console.
Is Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2003, Ubisoft Montreal's project reshaped cinematic adventure with astonishing elegance. The gameplay built around precise jumps, scimitar combat and the dagger of time that rewinds mistakes remains a major design idea. The first person narration, the sitar driven music and the Persian settings install an immediately recognisable atmosphere. A few overly repetitive fights and a sometimes capricious camera betray the game's age. Stays a genuine reference, recommended today for every fan of platform adventures and for Ubisoft devotees curious about Montreal's golden creative run on the original Xbox.
