Of the many new games that were revealed during Ubisoft Forward, one that many had their eye on was the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake. It has been some time since a new Prince of Persia game has released, and many were incredibly excited for a remake of one of the major games in the series. That is until some fans saw the remake's graphics.
The Sands of Time is arguably the crown jewel of the Prince of Persia series. It was the game that brought Prince of Persia mainstream attention and is still enjoyed by many in the gaming community today. Understandably, a remake of such a beloved game would excite numerous fans. However, leaked Sands of Time remake gameplay images showed the graphics to be not what most fans wanted, to say the least.
When it came time for the Sands of Time Remake and release date to be revealed, fans saw that the graphics were the same as the leaked images, and many were left unimpressed. However, in response to this, the game director for the Sands of Time Remake offered insight as to why the game looks the way it does.
In terms of the graphics, Game Director Pierre Sylvain-Gires asserted that the development team wanted to differentiate the remake from other similar games. Given that Prince of Persia is another action fantasy game among many action fantasy games, Sylvain-Gires wanted the game to stylistically set the game apart from other titles. In his own words, "It's not another Assassin's Creed."
This is an understandable sentiment to have, considering that the goal is to ultimately set this remake apart from what came before it, which includes the original Sands of Time. Given that the original game is over twelve years old and looked rather muddy when it first released, an updated, more colorful art design might work more favorably. In fact, it should also be noted that this remake does look aesthetically similar to the upcoming Prince of Persia VR game, The Dagger of Time. So that could be another reason why this game looks the way it does.
However, many fans of the original Sands of Time remember the game for its dark, gritty presentation. In many ways, it accentuated the game's atmosphere and ambiance. Thus, to have the graphics of this remake look as cartoon-like as they do is also understandably off-putting. Yet, the fact that Ubisoft brought back a seemingly abandoned gaming franchise is also impressive in its own right.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake is set to launch on January 21st, 2021.
Source: GameSpot