Prince of Persia: Warrior Within™ Reviews

Brace yourself for a loooooooot of backtracking. Move set is different this time. Both of the chicks are a comforting sight for the sore eyes.

The "second" game I played, was visiting my relatives at the time. My brother taught me some Combo, and I fell in love with this one. The story OMG, now that's a story of a King, a leader for his people to follow, not very bright though. Still play it once in a while. Loved the game, the effects, storyline, and if you try and you might already have. Begin from the Sands of time ---> warrior within ---> the two thrones, and you will complete the journey. I heard they were working on a Re-release for prince of persia 'warrior within' with better, I'd say everything, this was released back in 2004 and I think it's about time to do it.

[h1]Prince of Persia: Warrior Within – A Darker, Bloodier Evolution[/h1] When Prince of Persia: Warrior Within was released in 2004, it marked a dramatic shift from its predecessor, Sands of Time. The bright, mystical, and fairytale-like atmosphere of the first game was replaced with a much darker, grittier, and bloodier tone. This sequel embraced a more mature, brutal, and violent aesthetic, filled with gore, metal music, and an almost relentless sense of doom. Ubisoft took a bold risk in changing the tone, gameplay, and overall feel of the series, and while some fans appreciated the edgier approach, others felt it lost the charm of the original. [h2]A Dark, Twisted Story of Fate and Desperation[/h2] The story picks up years after Sands of Time, with the Prince haunted by his past actions. Because he unleashed the Sands of Time, a terrifying guardian of fate, the Dahaka, is now hunting him down to erase him from existence. Desperate to escape his inevitable demise, the Prince travels to the Island of Time, seeking a way to rewrite destiny and prevent the Sands of Time from ever being created. This leads to a dark, cyclical adventure, where the Prince must navigate past and present timelines, uncover secrets about fate, and battle his way through endless enemies in a desperate fight for survival. Along the way, he encounters mysterious characters like Kaileena and Shahdee, each with their own role to play in his struggle. [h2]Gameplay – More Brutal, More Aggressive, More Repetitive[/h2] While Sands of Time focused more on platforming and puzzle-solving, Warrior Within leaned heavily into combat. Ubisoft introduced a Dual-Wielding System, allowing the Prince to pick up enemy weapons and chain together brutal combos. The free-flow combat system was expanded, letting players execute more vicious and cinematic attacks. However, despite its depth, the combat becomes repetitive over time. Unlike modern action RPGs, there’s no skill tree or weapon progression, meaning you’re essentially using the same moves throughout the entire game. The Time Powers from Sands of Time return, allowing players to: ✅ Rewind time to fix mistakes. ✅ Slow time to gain an advantage in battle. ✅ Perform devastating time-based attacks. These mechanics still hold up well, making both combat and platforming feel more dynamic. [h2]Level Design – A Maze of Backtracking[/h2] One of the most controversial aspects of Warrior Within is its repetitive level design. Instead of a linear journey, the game uses a Metroidvania-style interconnected world, where you constantly revisit areas in different timelines. This structure can feel frustrating, as it forces a lot of backtracking. Many locations blend together, making navigation confusing at times. While it’s a bold design choice, the execution feels tedious rather than engaging. [h2]Graphics – Aged but Still Atmospheric[/h2] Visually, Warrior Within was a massive improvement over Sands of Time, with higher-resolution textures, more detailed character models, and a darker color palette. However, on modern systems, the graphics look noticeably dated, and the game’s art direction doesn’t hold up as well as its predecessor’s elegant, timeless style. One infamous issue is that the game was originally designed for consoles at 30 FPS, but the PC version lacks proper frame rate adjustments. As a result, if you play at higher FPS, certain effects (like fire and particle effects) move absurdly fast, which can break immersion. [h2]Sound & Music – A Mixed Bag[/h2] The sound design is inconsistent. Some sound effects bug out or don’t trigger properly, which can be jarring. However, the soundtrack is noteworthy for its drastic shift in tone. Instead of the Middle Eastern orchestral themes from Sands of Time, Warrior Within features hard rock and heavy metal, including tracks from Godsmack. While this helped reinforce the grittier aesthetic, it also felt out of place for some fans. Voice acting, on the other hand, is stronger than the first game, with a more brooding and serious Prince. [h2]Final Verdict – A Nostalgic, Flawed Classic[/h2] Despite its flaws, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within remains a memorable and ambitious sequel. The darker tone, expanded combat, and time-travel mechanics make it a unique entry in the series. However, repetitive combat, frustrating backtracking, and outdated mechanics make it less appealing to modern players. ✅ [b]If you’re a fan of the series or love action-platformers, it’s still worth revisiting for nostalgia.[/b] ❌ [b]If you’re expecting deep RPG elements, modern action combat, or seamless level design, you may be disappointed.[/b] [h2][b]⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆ (7/10) - Good 😊🎮[/b][/h2]

its my childhood favorite game ( trilogy as a whole series ) and playing this after 20 years and still remember the combos =) i hope i will play it after 20 years and still feel the same enjoyment

8/10 - Its a great game at its core, they made both the climbing and combat aspects better. I still think Sands of Time is a better game. It is very good when it clicks, but it is insanely frustrating at times as well, it has you replay large combat and climbing sections over and over if you make a single mistake or just can't figure out where to jump or climb which is often time sensitive, there is rarely checkpoints between the save spots and failure can put you back 5-10 minutes even, that is just too much. I did not remember this game being hard but I honestly strugled with replaying it at times, its usually the opposite with older titles. The boss fights are also frustratingly hard for all the wrong reasons, some of it was probably because of technical stuff caused by how old the game is, I kept getting hit when standing behind a boss, animations bugging out and stuff, its frustrating. The combat is better than SoT in the sense that you have much more options to deal with enemies, but the way the game punished me over and over again I just found myself spamming grab and throwing enemies around to crowd control and off ledges to kill them or just completely skip fighting them when the health situation was tight. Can you call that a much better combat system? Yes, and also no.

Improved combat from the previous game. Has a cool story with a gritty tone. Parkour feels innovating.

good old game, worth replaying

i want to like this game so bad. i used to have lots of fun playing it when i was younger, but this PC port is awful i wish i could replay this game but i just cba to put myself through the glitches. i have a more than capable PC as well. the sound track and game itself i would rate positively but the fact its nigh unplayable on steam is a thumbs down for me.

Best prince of persia game in the franchise, Revelations is an extended version of this game that was released on the psp version which is even better. However, i would say this is one of the best games ubisoft ever came out with, well deserving of a remaster. Shame the franchise is dead. Pairs well with lossless scaling, its possible to use controller although its pretty janky, and sometimes requires you to restart the game to take the settings you've adjusted.

A master-class in how a free-form game must be made. I am already a fan of the Prince of Persia games, however, Warrior Within will always stay close to my heart due to its vast environment, gritty theme, compelling story and an intimidating villain in the form of the Dahaka. Has its fair share of bugs, but consistently saving using new save files (and not overwriting them) will ensure smoother gameplay.