Common Sense Media Review
By Chad Sapieha
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Action game features bloodless violence, parkour stunts.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 3 parent reviews
Based on 13 kid reviews
Kids say this game offers a modern twist on the iconic series with fun gameplay, challenging level designs, and impressive graphics. While it's engaging for older players, younger audiences may find some missions frustrating, and parents might want to note the mild violence and occasional adult remarks.
- fun gameplay
- challenging levels
- impressive graphics
- mild violence
- suitable for older players
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's It About?
Set between previous Prince of Persia games The Sands of Time and The Warrior Within, PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE FORGOTTEN SANDS sees our agile royal still young and optimistic as he heads out to visit his brother, Prince Malik, in a castle on the outskirts of their kingdom. When he arrives he finds it under siege and his sibling about to set loose an ancient magic force to help defend against the enemy army. But the force proves uncontrollable, and suddenly there's something greater to worry about than mere humans soldiers: An army of skeletons that can turn people into statues of sand with a single touch. Using his sword to beat back the bony hordes and his parkour-like acrobatic skills to navigate a variety of environmental obstacles, the prince works his way through the giant palace in search of a solution. He gradually learns magical spells that allow him to blast his enemies with icy cold, burn them with fire, and send them spinning into the air in swirling sand storms. He also comes to realize that his brother may end up being a greater threat than the evil he's unleashed.
Is It Any Good?
After what appeared to be a reboot of the franchise with 2008's artsy and unexpected Prince of Persia, Ubisoft's developers have gone back to basics, providing us with a Prince whose background and abilities should prove much more familiar to fans of this series, many of whom expressed their dislike of the franchise's new direction. It's both a blessing and a curse.
The good news is that it feels like slipping on a pair of comfortable shoes. The Prince controls marvellously well, and leaping around carefully designed rooms filled with platforms, swinging bars, and traps is as much fun as it's ever been. The bad news is that there's a distinct feeling that we've done a lot of this before. The new magical powers help freshen things up a bit -- it's quite fun to swallow up enemies in a sandstorm and freeze water so we can climb it -- and tweaks to the Prince's acrobatics make his movements as smooth as ever, but don't expect to be blown away with new features. It's all been expertly conceived and executed, it's just not particularly original.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the criteria involved in determining whether violent action is suitable for early teen gamers. Is it enough to simply eliminate the depiction of blood and gore? Does it matter if the characters scream or can be seen to be in pain? Whether they're good or evil?
Families can also discuss the parkour-like stunts in the game. Are the Prince's acrobatics believable? Do his tricks make you want to try running up walls and making long leaps? Do you think kids might try to emulate the Prince's moves and accidentally hurt themselves?
Game Details
- Platforms : Nintendo Wii , PlayStation 3 , Windows , Xbox 360
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : UbiSoft
- Release date : May 18, 2010
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate