The Prince of Persia series was once a strong franchise with Ubisoft but after the release of the Sands of Time Trilogy and the reboot back in 2008 there was very little information about future installments and of course the Assassin's Creed series would later become Ubisoft next best-seller every year towards the Christmas/Holiday season.
The last Prince of Persia game was released in 2010 with The Forgotten Sands which was released around the same time as the movie was released. However The Forgotten Sands wasn't related to the film at all but instead its story took place in the seven year gap between Sands of Time and Warrior Within. Story is pretty much straight forward the kingdom of the Prince's older brother Malik is under siege and as a last ditch effort to save it the sands of time are unleashed once again. The Prince's usual acrobatic skills will only get him so far this time, as he faces more dangerous enemies and an army of the undead.
For anyone who has played past Prince of Persia games most of the gameplay elements make a return including the option to turn back time if you fall from your death or even getting killed by enemies you can easily turn back the sands of time where you last left off. Like past games there is plenty of puzzle solving and platforming obstacles like running along walls, jumping over dangerous saws and traps; a new mechanic that has been added in which is the ability to solidify water turn water fountains into ice columns to clamber up or run along waterfalls but you'll only have a matter time to get across certain parts if you don't the solidify ability will drain out and you'll fall to your death.
This new mechanic is pretty clever to see in a Prince of Persia game trying to keep the series fresh with new ideas and possibly might be hand in future games if Ubisoft does decide to go back to the Prince of Persia franchise. But however the game can still be a little too easy not just on the platforming side but when it comes to fighting off enemies can feel a little tedious but you can purchase and use certain abilities which are core powers based on different elements like Fire, Ice, Wind and Earth. You can upgrade your powers, health and abilities throughout the game but most of the time it will feel like a rinse and repeat when it comes to fighting off enemies and bosses.
Graphics and visuals look impressive the setting and environments set in a kingdom will have you keep pressing forward. But what can put a few people off is the camera angles which can make it a little hard to see where your enemies are and of course getting across certain platforms, another thing that can put a few people off that certain glitches pop up out of nowhere but are easily removed after a few seconds or can easily be ignored. But the layout textures can easily step in and step out at some parts of the game feel crisp and detailed but another moment the layout design might not blend in, but most of the layout design and setting still look impressive for a Prince of Persia game on a next-gen console.
You can easily finish the game within a few hours the only downside to the entire game is that it feels a little short comparing to the last games in the franchise felt a little longer. You can unlock Challenge Mode where you can fight a number of enemies in an arena and getting the fastest time, there is also Time Trial but that can be unlocked through Uplay if you have an account with them. I would say that Forgotten Sands is worth checking out if you've played past Prince of Persia games but might feel a little disappointed on how weak the combat is and how short it can be on story it does offer trophy support so if you wanted to get 100% that is a challenge for any fan of the series. But for newcomers its worth taking a look if you like a decent platformer or looking for a challenge Forgotten Sands has a good balance of puzzle solving, platforming and combat all in one.