Mumbai: Seventeen years on from the release of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Ubisoft has announced a full-fledged remake of the iconic game; Ubisoft Pune and Ubisoft Mumbai is leading the development on the remake .
To the uninitiated, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is one of the most popular entries in the series, whose origins date back to 1989. Since then, Prince of Persia became Ubisoft’s flagship franchise, and its popularity only dwindled with the release of Assassin’s Creed in 2007. The game’s story revolves around the titular Prince who is on a quest to recollect the Sands of Time and place them back to a magic hourglass after being tricked to releasing them in the first place. The game features action-adventure gameplay that combines combat and traditional platforming mechanics. One of the hallmark features of The Sands of Time was the ability to rewind time whenever the player makes a mistake. Shortly after its release in 2003, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time received glowing reviews from both players and critics and is often considered as the best entry in the franchise. Due to the game’s popularity, a film adaptation starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince was released in 2010.
The remake has been made from the ground up with a new engine, re-recorded dialogue, and new camera angles. Being in work for more than 2 years and deadline extended due to Covid19 pandemic ,Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake will be available January 21, 2021 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
However after teaser trailer and several screenshots from the games were released by Ubisoft in the “Ubisoft Forward” event , the response has been mostly negative. For a title that uses the same engine (AnvilNext 2.0) as Assassin’s Creed Origins, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake looks nothing like it. In fact, it looks something that belongs to the previous era.
However, new screenshots appear to show a brand new build of the game, not shown during the event. The characters look much more detailed and no longer look like wax statues. The colours are more vibrant, shadows are darker, and a faces sharper.
Though the game won’t have a proper launch on PS5 and the Xbox Series family, it will still run on next-gen consoles thanks to backward compatibility. It will cost Rs. 3,500 across platforms. Pre-orders for the game are also available now, and Prince of Persia hopefuls will receive bonuses such as a classic weapon set, classic filter, and classic price outfit.
Unfortunately, it appears that Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake won’t be supporting the Switch or Google Stadia.
For Ubisoft Pune and Ubisoft Mumbai , it was an hour of glory when it the news was announced that these two teams will be in charge of the game. Both the offices have grown exponentially in terms of number of employees since then and hopes to pave the way to Indian gaming industry.
