Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands on PC is a third-person action-adventure platformer built around acrobatic traversal, environmental puzzles, melee combat, and reversible mistakes. The current PC storefront listings retain the original title rather than introducing a remastered or rebranded edition. Ubisoft presents it through Ubisoft Connect, while the Epic Games Store lists the Standard Edition and Steam continues to sell the same core PC release.

Set between Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, the game follows the Prince as he reaches his brother Malik's kingdom during a catastrophic siege. The PC version is a single-player adventure focused on authored levels, escalating obstacle courses, large combat encounters, and set-piece progression rather than open-world exploration or co-op play.

Acrobatic platforming with a rewind button

The main loop alternates between precision platforming, trap navigation, environmental puzzles, and fights against sand-powered enemies. The Prince runs across walls, swings from poles, climbs pillars, vaults over hazards, and strings together movement actions through large palace interiors and collapsing structures.

Time manipulation is central to the PC version. When a jump is mistimed or a trap catches the Prince, the player can rewind the action and try the sequence again. This makes the challenge less about preserving a flawless run and more about reading the room, learning the timing, and managing the available power resource.

The levels are largely linear, but they are not simple corridors. Platforms, gears, pressure mechanisms, vertical shafts, water features, and moving hazards are arranged into multi-step traversal problems. The best rooms ask you to identify the route first, then execute it without losing momentum.

Nature powers change how rooms are solved

Razia, a powerful Djinn, grants the Prince abilities that affect the environment as well as enemies. These powers expand the platforming vocabulary beyond the familiar wall-run and pole-swing foundation, turning previously empty surfaces into temporary routes through the palace.

The most distinctive system is the ability to manipulate water. The Prince can freeze streams and fountains into climbable structures, allowing water itself to become a platform, column, or bridge. This is not a general physics sandbox; each power is introduced through carefully authored puzzles that teach you how the effect interacts with the environment.

Other abilities create handholds, launch the Prince through the air, or alter the timing and behavior of environmental objects. Later challenges combine these tools with moving traps and long jumps, producing sequences that feel closer to an obstacle course than a conventional action-game arena.

Combat is more direct than the traversal. The Prince uses his sword against groups of sand creatures, soldiers, and larger supernatural opponents, with acrobatic movement helping him reposition around crowded encounters. A separate combat upgrade system lets you improve abilities, including attacks and defensive options, but the game remains primarily a platforming adventure rather than a deep character-action fighter.

A focused single-player campaign

The PC release contains a complete single-player campaign with a defined sequence of story chapters and set pieces. There is no shared-screen mode, online co-op, competitive multiplayer, or alternate PC campaign structure. The core mastery loop is replaying demanding rooms, improving movement execution, finding collectibles, and reducing mistakes.

The story centers on the Prince, Malik, and Razia as an ancient sand force threatens the kingdom. Malik is not simply a background character: the crisis is tied to his decisions and to the consequences of using dangerous power to defend the palace. Razia provides the story's supernatural framework and explains the powers that drive the later puzzles.

Players should also know that The Forgotten Sands is the name used across several platform-specific games with different stories and mechanics. The PC version is the large-scale third-person action-adventure release developed by Ubisoft Montreal, not the separate Wii, PSP, or DS interpretations.

PC edition, launcher, and localization

Ubisoft Montreal developed the PC version and Ubisoft published it. The game uses Ubisoft's Anvil technology for its large environments and cinematic traversal sequences, and it supports keyboard and mouse input alongside an optional controller. A gamepad is a strong fit for the platforming because analog movement and quick access to jump, rewind, and power commands make complex sequences easier to manage.

The current Ubisoft listing states that a Ubisoft account and the Ubisoft Connect application are required for PC play. Steam also identifies a third-party Ubisoft account requirement, while its listing notes that the product's former online features are no longer available. The game is therefore best understood as a launcher-linked single-player title, not an online service.

Storefront localization differs slightly in how it is presented. Epic lists English, French, Italian, German, Spanish from Spain, and Dutch for text and audio support, while Steam explicitly lists the main interface languages as English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish from Spain. No separate anti-cheat feature is advertised for this single-player PC release.

GOG currently presents The Forgotten Sands through a Dreamlist entry rather than as a normal DRM-free PC product listing. That distinction matters for players comparing storefront availability: the active PC purchasing options are associated with Ubisoft Connect, Steam, and Epic, while a standard GOG edition should not be assumed.

Who should play it

This is a good fit for players who want authored third-person levels, readable environmental puzzles, and a forgiving retry system. Fans of the classic Sands of Time formula will recognize the emphasis on momentum, vertical spaces, and timing-based movement, while the nature powers give the PC version its own mechanical identity.

It is less suitable for players looking for an open world, stealth systems, deep loot progression, branching choices, or demanding combo-focused combat. The campaign keeps returning to the same central rhythm: reach the next area, understand the obstacle, use the Prince's powers, survive a fight, and continue toward the next set piece.

For a related PC adventure built around ledges, ancient environments, puzzles, and deliberate traversal, cinematic third-person platformers such as Tomb Raider: Legend provide a useful comparison, although Lara's ranged combat and gadget work create a different pace.

Similar games and mechanical neighbors

The closest comparison remains The Sands of Time, because both games combine wall-running, acrobatic movement, environmental traps, and the ability to undo a failed attempt. Warrior Within is another direct series reference, but its heavier combat tone makes it less representative of The Forgotten Sands' puzzle-first structure.

Players who prefer exploration across ancient ruins may also find useful overlap with third-person archaeological adventures like Tomb Raider: Underworld. The comparison is strongest in the climbing and puzzle-solving, not in combat design or narrative structure.

A broader mechanical neighbor is Darksiders Warmastered Edition, which also combines third-person melee combat, ability-gated exploration, dungeon puzzles, and a fantasy setting. Its combat and world structure are more expansive, while The Forgotten Sands keeps the focus on tightly controlled traversal sequences.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands FAQ

Is Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands rebranded on PC?

No current storefront rebrand has been verified. Ubisoft, Steam, and Epic continue to use Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, with Epic labeling its listing as the Standard Edition rather than presenting a new remaster or renamed edition.

Is the PC version single-player only?

Yes. The PC release is a single-player action-adventure. The co-op and platform-specific differences associated with other versions should not be used to describe the Windows edition.

Does it have the classic Sands of Time rewind mechanic?

Yes. The Prince can use time rewind to reverse mistakes during traversal and combat. The PC version also adds nature-based abilities, including powers that freeze or reshape water and create new routes through the environment.

Does the PC version require Ubisoft Connect?

Yes. Ubisoft states that PC players need a Ubisoft account and the Ubisoft Connect application. A Steam purchase also carries the Ubisoft third-party account requirement.

Does it support controllers?

Yes. The PC edition supports keyboard and mouse as well as optional controller input. A controller is particularly practical for analog movement during wall-runs, jumps, pole swings, and power-assisted traversal.

Is there a GOG version for PC?

GOG currently shows the game as a Dreamlist entry rather than a standard DRM-free product listing. Players should not assume that a normal GOG release is available simply because the title appears in GOG search results.