Sand of Time
A legendary reboot that rewound time and revived a classic series.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 2003 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is a reboot of the Prince of Persia series created by Jordan Mechner, who served as creative consultant, designer, and scenario writer.
Quick Facts
- Substance
- Magical golden sand from the Maharaja of India's hourglass
- Primary effect
- Grants eternal life; corrupts those who consume it
- Guardians
- The Djinns (elemental spirits with varied roles, not bound to a single master)
- First prominently featured
- Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (2003)
- Key mechanic introduced
- Time rewind (Sands of Time); Time-stop (Warrior Within)
Lore & Background
The game follows an unnamed Prince whose father sacks an ancient city at the instigation of a traitorous Vizier. The Prince obtains the Dagger of Time, while his father's army captures an hourglass containing the mysterious Sands of Time. The Vizier tricks the Prince into releasing the Sands, transforming the people of Azad into savage monsters. The Prince allies with Princess Farah to correct his mistake and foil the Vizier's plans.
Reader's Guide
The gameplay revolves around platforming and combat with sand monsters. The Prince can wall-run, climb, swing on poles, and use the Dagger of Time to rewind time by up to ten seconds. In combat, he uses a sword and the Dagger; enemies can only be killed by stabbing them with the Dagger. Sand collected from enemies and the environment powers abilities like slowing or freezing time. The Prince restores health by drinking water from pools and fountains.
Did You Know?
- Concept work began in spring 2001 after Ubisoft acquired the Prince of Persia catalog.
- The game used Ubisoft's Jade engine, originally designed for Beyond Good & Evil.
- A mobile version was developed and published in North America by Gameloft in 2004.
- As of 2014, the game has sold over 14 million copies worldwide across all platforms.
- A remake of the game was cancelled in 2026.
More in Gameplay & Mechanics
Elsewhere in Prince of Persia
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced