Ubisoft finally revealed Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake during the second Ubisoft Forward digital presentation. Thanks to so many leaks and rumors surfacing the internet prior to the official reveal, fans already had an idea that Ubisoft was working on some Prince of Persia game. Naturally, expectations were quite high until the trailer was revealed. The trailer received mixed reactions from fans, and it is being heavily criticized for its visuals.
A YouTuber posted a comparison video between the original version of The Sands of Time and some clips from the new remake trailer. Even though the remake of the game clearly shows improved visuals, it isn't up to modern Ubisoft standards. Fans have also been wondering why Ubisoft would choose to adopt an outdated graphical style. And now, Ubisoft's Pierre Sylvain-Gires has something to clear up the confusion.
According to Sylvain-Gires, the new visuals for the Sands of Time remake was actually a stylistic choice and the game's development wasn't limited by its budget. Since Prince of Persia is a fantasy game, the team did not want to make the game look too realistic. The developers instead chose to stick to a more nostalgic and toned down theme. Prince of Persia isn't another Assassin's Creed and it is not even Prince of Persia 2008, this is why the franchise needs to stand out. Additionally, going with a different visual style is not only a challenge, but also an attempt at redefining the visual identity of the game.
Sylvain-Gires also pointed out that making the remake on the Anvil engine was a challenge for the development team. The engine was specially built for Assassin's Creed games and it was quite difficult to recreate some of the fast-paced actions in Sands of Time using the engine.
In another interview with Gadgets 360, Sylvain-Gires stated that the game will be further polished before launch.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake will launch on January 21, 2021 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
