It's a shame that world wasn't ready for this amazing masterpiece. The art style looks so brilliant and it's so timeless. Even today it won't feel like you're playing an old game at least in terms of visuals. Played this game as a kid, time to boot it up again!
It was one of the most beautiful games I have played.... I loved the graphics, the fluidity, the music....i would love to play the game again and even today carry a glimmer of hope that someone at UBISOFT will realise the gem that it truly is and take up a sequel or at least bring the same fluidity in their future releases.....a sequel is not impossible because after the true ending in PC where you save the Princess you can move the world to other locations to fix the choice you had taken while releasing her from the bond to the villian...I don't remember much cause I played it only once when it released but I shall never forget it ever in my lifetime. I love this game and after seeing this video I am gonna play it again..
Jacob Louis man admin it now. We both are in love with Erika and music. We just want to get teleported in the game and spend infinite amount of time jumping around and watching beautiful places with her for whole life. Isn't it?
I don't really see why this game was panned, to be honest. I liked the art and the mechanics, and even the story was good. Trying to save the world from the Zoroastrian version of Satan? Hell yes! Plus, I liked the new Prince. He was funny and witty, not unlike Ezio from AC2. I liked the chemistry he shared with Elika, and all the combo combat moves they did together. About not dying, well, who the fuck cares? It's not like dying in the previous games meant you had to start all over again. So, instead of dying here, you just get rescued instead and dropped in the last safe place you were in.
Funny how everyone who loved this game never talks about the gameplay. It always visually stunning, cool music, witty character blah blah blah. But the game played itself? You couldn't die if you had more than single brain cell and it was one scenic run from boss fight to boss fight.......oh and you couldn't die in those either. I like games that don't treat me like a special needs kid
Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world that thought 2008 PoP was a masterpiece. I would go so far as to say it is better than Sands of Time. The character development is so much stronger, the soundtrack is gorgeous, the graphics are timeless and beautiful, and in my opinion the puzzles and traversal was a strong point, not a hindrance. Like you said, it has a sense of flow that few other games have matched yet.
N'ayam Amarsh'e?? Well what are the odds? xD You don't know me but we had an argument about the Witcher 3 and prince of persia warrior within a few days back on Facebook. Nice to see you here, i guess it's a small world xD
N'ayam Amarsh'e and I completely agree on that statement. In my opinion it's the worst entry in the pop series (except for forgotten sands, it's debatable actually) and the only reason I completed the game was because I paid for it xD
N'ayam Amarsh'e the only reason first 3 entries were good was because Jordan Mechner made them. He barely worked on the last two and that's why they sucked dick xD
Thanks for making this. PoP 2008 it's one of those games that grows on you. The first segments may seems repetitive, until you gain all the main powers. Then the plot kicks in, and the ending is kind of devastating (in the same spirit as Shadow of the Colossus). Overall I like the sands of time trilogy better (all game elements taken into account), but definitely agree that PoP 2008 is definitely underrated. Elika is perhaps one of the coolest gaming sidekicks.
I finished and I still felt it repetitive until the end. There are some few cool moments here and there, but most of the time is keep collecting lums on the same places over and over again. I think a less demanding quote of lums would have improved the game a lot even when it would be shorter. I wouldn't call it "underrated", even when it has a lot of good things, still is very monotone and many people doesn't like that (if you like that, it's ok, but that doesn't mean other people should like it). The voice acting, characters and story were good, but I think it's better to watch them in a recap on TH-cam than to play it. Ironically, that's better than the real Prince of Persia movie.
Actually! In the sands of time games, if you hold the input in the direction of the next pillar and press jump the prince uses a seamless animation. Turn on Sands of Time, try it and be blown away. And most obstacles with precise timing works the same way. It is very fluid, except for figuring out navigational paths. While I absolutely love the 2008 Prince and would kill for a sequel, there are many problems with it. I understand the need for accessibility, but it should not have come at the price of every player, skilled or otherwise ending up playing the same way. We need mastery in our platformers, however minor they are.
I remember playing sands of time several times over before realizing that was an option and I was like "wow this makes the pole jumping sequences so much better, why didn't I know this the first 4 times I played this game?"
damn i i loved 2008 prince of persia. that art design instantly drew me into it and thats all i cared about besides the story progressing. i could overlook the flaws with just those 2 things alone. had so much potential for a sequel.
hahaha I actually was about to comment that when I saw that part in the video. Yes you can just hold the direction and press jump to keep it fluid in sands of time. I found it out when I just did not let go of the analog stick while jumping on those same poles in the video xD
Most definitely one of my favorite games of all time- maybe more, an "experience" rather than a game itself. The visuals that stood the test of time, the enchanting soundtrack, and the couple of main heroes with this unique chemistry between them. I hoped for a sequel for a long time, but I guess I'll just have to live the dream, and MAYBE look forward to a remaster one day. I share a good amount of memories with this little piece of art, I keep coming back to it every few years, and I'd recommend everyone to give it a chance.
On the flip side, games that favor "fluidity" quickly tend to feel like they play themselves with intricate movement playing out while the player just keeps the forward button pressed and (maybe) a jump button with generous timing windows. See also the recent Tomb Raider games that are barely interactive at times. Or some of the more "set piece" parts of the later Assassin's Creed games. It's... not satisfying. It looks cool in a video, but as a player, it's too much like cheating.
Absolutely, that's a big danger of this approach. I think the 2008 PoP manages to avoid falling into that trap by mixing up obstacles and inputs enough that you're not on autopilot, but that's also gonna depend on personal taste.
That's why games like uncharted are so overrated. I see people complain left and right about it's less-than-stellar gun play and one-button platforming segments. Cinematic games are fun to watch, but not so much to play.
My favorite game was PoP Warrior within. I just love everything about it. Music, dark theme, great boss, two endings, pretty much everything. When i saw 2008 PoP i was disapointed to be honest because it looked like different game. But then a year after i tried it. Man was 08 PoP good. Yes it was totally different game in every way, but it was a good game. They should have maybe called it differently so it wouldn't have gotten so much hate. But honestly, the game was just beautiful. It's one of those games where you just sit back and enjoy the ride. Not much to think of, just as you said, you go with the flow. Honestly the art style was fitting the game and the story. The story itself was good, and once i read it actually was based on actual religion, and not made up, it became even more interesting. The scale and view of the world was just beautiful. Honestly it was a satisfaction to the eye. Characters were great, the interaction between the two was great. So as a different PoP game it sure was good. The music in the video brought back so much memories man. Same as when hearing AC2 music. Sooo good memories. I wish the today's games were much like these and not only multiplayer lootbox shit.
This game felt HUGE. The map may not have been all that big, but it feels huge when you're running in it, because of the way the game uses space and visual storytelling.
I really don't get where this random circlejerk for Warrior Within even comes from. It's better than Sands of Time but it's not like Sands of Time had good combat.
After all these years of people hating this game, I really feel good people loving it the way it was meant to be loved at the time it came. I think simply the game came at the wrong time, it came very ahead of it's time. And people actually wanted a Prince of Persia game like the original trilogy, and this being different from that resulted the game in being hated. I think Ubisoft should start new with Prince of persia, with a game that has best of both worlds, the Parkour fluidity, graphics and beauty 2008's and story, complexity, characters, like the original and we will have a masterpiece
The problem with that game is that it felt shallow and there was no sense of danger. I really dislike games that hold your hand all the time and prevent you from venturing on your own.
Minor correction: at 6:00 you make a good point, but I just wanted to say that in the sot trilogy you can just instantly jump from a pillar if you press whatever you need to move and jump at the same time.
Exactly...the fluidity is like many games of todays time ... The beauty of the art and movements people just didn't understand that and how can I forget that music of pure goosebumps...
2 ปีที่แล้ว +1
The parkour was an instant hook for me. I wish they had kept going with it, instead of going back to more of the same with the next game.
People love games like Journey or Ori, but then hate on POP 2008..... I swear this game came out too soon, people were not ready for it yet.... Thats the only explanation, otherwise i cant understand...
I'm one of those people who doesn't likes the "automated" movements, like those seen in Tomb Raider 2013, and Uncharted. However, I think the movement streamlining actually worked for this game. This game felt like a rhythm game, where each run was satisfying to pull off, and it also gave a good amount of breathing space for newer players. While you can make an argument towards the not-so-well puzzles, and the repetition in combat, I think they completely nailed the movement system.
I remember being mad when they announced the decision the do cell art. I could not have been more wrong. Still my favorite platformer of that generation. I stand by it being a poor decision to make Borderlands with the concept. That's a big step backwards for cell shading. The colors are awful in that game. Like a puke glass window or something.
The only reason why 2008 PoP had a very low rating back then was because there was so much fans that really want a hardcore version of PoP sequel. The transition between challenge seeker gamer vs casual gamer was the debate back then. It us equal to consol vs PC masterace type of thing nowaday. The reboot of PoP series was also felt like it were a Dark Souls sequel which became Telletubies Souls for a hardplay fans. It also affected Fable series (Xbox console exclusive), the last Fable series after Fable 3 ruin the game because it simplify the game too much. AC took a right path to make the game more complex with AC: Origin. But i think they wont make it like that anymore in the next 2 AC game. Because they will seek newcomers that need more casual looking title to start off
I much preferred PoP SoT for this simple reason, it let the player be in control and you could mess up if you did things wrong. PoP 2008 felt like it played itself, it was like a game on rails, it 'looked' nice, but gameplay was made for new gamers or people who like to look at pretty games. Maybe I've played too many games, there are so many flashy games that most people adore that I can't get into.
THANK YOU, I was just about to comment that. PoP 2008 is so linear that you don't have to think about where you're going, and you barely have to time your button presses. It feels like the DMC entry of Prince of Persia. The other reason the reboot failed is simple: they didn't wait long enough to reboot the franchise.
I wish this Prince of Persia gets a sequel. Seriously, Ubisoft should go back to the series and make the next game that continues the story of the Zoroastrian Prince.
Great take on this game. Just played it for the first time this year in 2021. I share many of your sentiments on it. It came outta nowhere and somehow landed in my top 5 all-time list.
This game is pure art. I never understood why people hated it so much when it was published. And about pillars, when you hit right or left mid-air, prince swung right on that side. So if you didn't need to turn back, you really did never need to rotate around. And the camera angles were mesmerizing when you move around that landscape. And Prince not dying kinda added up. Ormazd's power lent those powers to Elika, to heal the land, and Prince happened to be in that canyon quite conveniently.
Ah, my favorite Prince of Persia games. The story, the style, voice acting. Perfect. Actually I never finished other Prince games, but this one I played through several times.
I'm playing it as I type this. This would be my 2nd time playing it again after a 3 years. I just missed how beautiful it was and smooth / seemless the gameplay was, especially the traversal... The visuals are stunning, so much so my non gamer little sister gave the game a compliment... It's beautiful, may not be a masterpiece but it certainly has a timeless unforgettable charm... Wish they did make a sequel for it...
I personally loved this reboot. The art, the parkour, the story, the music...my gosh, the music. The music is one of my favourite parts of the game alongside the parkour. I honestly didn't mind the game being easy, it made for a relaxing, non-stressing experience and I enjoyed it from start to finish.
Thanks for making such a beautiful video.This game is way too underrated and so is this video. Every single word you said is true.It feels good to know that I'm not the only one, there are more people like me out there who have the guts to appreciate the beauty of this 2008 masterpiece instead of floating straight obedient to the stream.
It's even more sad since it sold 2.2 million copies after a single year, and when the Sands of Time sold a little over half a million. I'm not entirely sure how 2008 was seen as a bad game, to me it seems it was a a success, it feels more like it was a suit decision and blamed the fans than just blaming it was a poorly game.
It was a 7th gen console game that came out post-assassins creed. It didn't sell as well as the game that it "influenced" so they definitely didn't feel the need to go further with the franchise. IIRC, AC1 sold 8 million copies in the same time frame.
My biggest problems with the 2008 reboot was the light seeds, combat, and very little flat ground. In Assassin's Creed, there are a lot of places to explore, whereas 2008 Reboot was pretty much a straight line for everything in a world that is pretty much destroyed. Also I don't like the concept of it being a reboot because that almost seems that Sands of Time is basically no longer canon. If it was part of a timeline, that would have been a lot better.
I didn't like the reboot either, but I don't agree with the argument of "reboot is bad because it despises the original" because Sands of Time itself is a reboot and the original was a very good game.
Well, look at the Legend of Zelda. The original was very simple with very little story, just like the first PoP. The second PoP is comparable to Triforce of the Gods. Every Zelda game would appear to be a reboot if it weren't for the timeline. Each PoP title could be a sequel or prequel to the previous one, without having sand be the main MacGuffin in the entire series.
Prince of Persia 2008 is an beautiful unique game with amazing Map, New combat system, Visually stunning, best parkour System ever made. I don't understand why people did not love it but it's an Master-piece game... Try it...
Sumant Ukkali Damn 2008 was a badass year in gaming. And it kept getting better until the end 2011 in my opinion. It all went downhill from there. And here we are in 2017, where micro transactions are the next "innovation" in gaming. *Sigh* Fuck me. What a time to be alive.
MGTOW Magnum i totally agree with you friend. The era of the ps3 is full of great titles which have great stories, graphics and most important gameplay. I swear that early games make me feel empty and bored, in fact there are a lot of games that i didn't finish. "Old games" were not developed on the concern of realism and photrealistic graphics.
Really loved the game and really hated when people dismissed it, this is a perfect title to totally just relax and admire the art style and beautiful soundtrack!
I just love this game, I still hope for one day to see a conclusion to it's storyline with a game that improves on the things that the original had at fault.
Everything about 2008 prince of persia was amazing! Such great artwork, great soundtrack, really good story and gameplay mechanic was brilliant An underrated gem
I LOOOVED this game. I have bought it and finished it multiple times. 100% right it is is a flawed gem, but that's kinda the same as all the PoP titles really. It seemed a shame that so many wanted to keep with the Sands of Time Prince, that story was told, and was brilliant, but there was no where further to go and it needed a fresh start. The art direction was wonderful, and holds up over a decade later, never get tired of cleansing an area. (Kena Bridge of Spirits looks to do this wonderfully too). Music top drawer. Additionally the story here on fate vs free will was excellent and the NO SPOILERS ending and credits were great and memorable to this day. The dialogue and chemistry between the 'Prince' and Elika were wonderful (carpets this thick! etc.) and genuinely felt like a fulfilling story arc, one of my favourite gaming companions. Did it have flaws? YES absolutely, but it was still a really good, memorable game. I truly wanted to see where this new Trilogy would go... but alas, it was not to be. :-(
About pillar, you dont need to stop and change direction, if you press movment button when you jump to other pillar Prince change direction what ever you need. (sor 4 my Eng)
I love this game, I played it so many time back when it came out the music, the atmosphere, the characters, the graphics were so great, minus the repetitive part in combat
The problem with this game is that you didn't feel any connection to what the Prince was doing on screen, and what inputs you pushed. He just sort of... does everything for you. For each "action" it doesn't require more than a button press in a sequence. And the "generous" timing window you were talking about, I actually despised how big the window is, because it throws me off entirely on WHEN I should be pressing buttons. I've fell off more times than I can think of because the controls felt unresponsive, when in actuality, I just couldn't pinpoint an exact timing.
pejnismiggle Then you were reacting in the wrong moments... You will jump off a swing but you didn't feel like hitting the right button... It seems like this would be everyone's first platformer or something.
I know I was reacting in the wrong moments, but I'm saying THAT'S the problem. This need for "fluidity" doesn't give you any clear indication of WHEN to react; thus making it feel sluggish and unresponsive. It wants you to press the buttons WAY before the ending of any given animation. It just makes it feel like you're pressing things far too early in comparison to the first trilogy (or most games in general) where you hold down the button for as long as you wanted the animation to play/distance you want to travel.
This game was so enchanting -- between the excellent soundtrack, the trance-inducing rhythm of the fluid platforming, and the likeable dual protagonists (with their excellent chemistry), it immersed me like few games have. There's a charming aura about it that's hard to describe. I also enjoyed how the combat rewarded deliberate, well-timed button presses while punishing button-mashing.
man you should really make more videos like this! there is plenty of great games that failed commercially, those gems need this kind of acknowledgement
Bruh you don't know fast movement with pillars? Hold W(or which ever direction you want to go) and space bar to move quickly from one end to another of a pillar while jumping.
I love this game and am still sad at how unloved it is. It has flaws to be sure but when the player taps into the flow you described, it feels amazing. I haven’t experienced it’s like in years and am sad I may never play a game like it again. Thank you for covering it.
My personal preferences on PoP games: Most relaxing, better art: PoP 2008 Better fluid yet challenging platforming: The forgotten sands, by the mid/end game freezing/unfreezing parts are quite challenging yet so enjoyable (if you don't suck at it ofc) Best story, combat, gameplay and best PoP game overall: Warrior Within
6:00 That's not entirely correct. SoT allowed to you quickly jump from one pillar to the next by pointing the joystick into the direction of the next pillar and holding the jump button. But because of the camera this often resulted in the prince jumping into the void.
I love this game N its art Fighting style of Prince N elika are cool But there was shortage of minions with whom we can fight. Warrior within was superb in fighting fighting direction
Just to point out, in all of the prince of Persia games, when you jump on one pillar to another you only had to push the analog stick or key in the desired direction and just jump
Thanks for making this video. PoP 2008 deserves more love. Honestly, it was genuinely one of my favourites. It was easy and had a lot of things that could've been improved upon but I was just as invested in this 'Prince' as the actual Prince of the previous trilogy. I was really looking forward to seeing where things went with a sequel with that awesomely bittersweet ending. It's shame it didn't perform as well as it deserved.
2:30 Consider the pacing here (trying to figure out the puzzle) and here (doing the puzzle)...yuuuup! That's how you properly compare things. The long input windows are what kept me from 100%ing (achievements) Prince of Persia because I never knew When to press buttons. Sometimes it felt like I didn't even have to press a button, others seemed like the button press came before the action, and still others felt like I had to press the button after the animation. The lack of consistency in timing ruined the "rhythm based platforming" for me and I stopped playing halfway through round 2...yeah, one and a half playthroughs and it still wasn't clear when to actually Play the game and press a button. I liked the re reboot. The ending was super satisfying.
HUGzJayGon I got almost all trophies and the one I gave up on was hitting the 10 hit combo, or 20 hit? Something like that.. Also, a couple of other trophies for the DLC, where you need to hit certain areas under a specific time frame...
I cannot appreciate you enough for talking about this game. My friends have selective amnesia about this game every time I cite it during a conversation about its art and levels(which I am a huge fan of!). Part of me still hopes that Ubi completes this story.
I fucking love youtube channels like this one, i can see you've taken inspiration from Ahoy Please never give up on youtube because i can't wait for the day when you have 1mil+ subscribers and your videos are more professional and consistent. -Sincerely, someone who appreciates what you're doing
In the sands, also, you can traverse pillars quickly just by holding the joystick into the direction you want to go, then pressing jump. No need to stop.
The game was indeed written with the intention to make a sequel. Ahriman escapes at the end, even Elika leaves the Prince at the end of the DLC. Ubisoft really wanted to make a sequel. Wonder why they forgot about this. They forgot about the entire POP series. It's so saddening.
I strongly disagree about SoT. Instead of looking at the start of the game, you should have played / take as an example the later part of the game (Caves and Tower of dawn for example). Some movement were bad like the rope (only the start of a rope) or the ledges but that's it. Even on a bar, you can just jump on the first swing and not on the second / third one like you did. IMO you're missing the point by wanting to compare 2k8 with SoT. What you said about 2k8 is correct (for the most part) but not the comparison. Also, TFS is as fluid as 2k8 for the platform part. I can only encourage you to replay SoT fully. And if you didn't play it, go play TFS. I hate the battle system in TFS but everything else is pretty good.
The7eraser7 i also really like the forgotten sands parkour, on the final climbing sections where youre constantly freezing and unfreezing water and jumping around it is super satisfying and fluid
Good analysys, you described very well what was the best thing in this game and the rare experience the platforming really offered is a thing that must be felt.
People love bashing on this game because of the instant respawn. I wouldn't say it made the game too easy, it made the game faster. The later levels in the game, especially the very end, get very challenging. I died so many times at the end but it didn't make it easier, I still had to redo large portions of the level. There were some segments that it would take me back 5 minutes because that was the last flat surface I was on.
What I like in SoT trilogy is that you are often thrown into some memorable and believable locations (Baths, Library, Jail, Garden etc.) and you have to use some crazy medieval mechanisms. In PoP 2K8 it always felt like I'm just jumping from some floating island to another (with some cool animations but without any fear of a mistake) until I jump on one with enemies on it. just to do some lame fight.
Great video, I agreed with a lot of your points. I remember it being so fun having to go across large portions of the map, not having to stop at any point, precisely because of this fluidity that you've described. This then in a way added a skill element to the game as the player is motivated to not die in order to maintain the fluidity. I can see why people were upset about the combat, but personally I also think it's a lot of fun to master. Don't get me wrong, I like the Sands Trilogy a lot, but I don't necessarily think that it's better; only different. Those games don't have the fluidity, but they don't need it. Whereas here it's definitely one of the defining qualities.
Really. This game already for the fact that it has no loading screens except to start (obviously), then the animations are something incredible, a fluidity that even today only a few games can afford. And now the most important part. Everyone said you couldn't die because Elika would pick you up and pick you up, really? Really? in this game death was masked by Elika's rescue, but if you cross a corridor and you are almost at the end but you fall, Elika will transport you to the beginning of the corridor where the checkpoint is activated. They have hidden death in this game to avoid loading.
I agree all of your points accept column pause in Sands of Time and POP FS If you jump into a column while pressing Forward / W key It will turn automatically
I loved this game when it came out, and have a very soft spot for it. It's one of the few games I went back and finished more than once because it was just that pleasant and captivating. Prince of Persia 2008 variety is an underrated gem of a game that I am sad to see no one talk about or remember.
I love channels like yours, they are the little gems that slip beneath the massive bullshitery thats around youtube. Keep taking your time to make videos, focus on quality reviews and subject that affect you in the video game industry.. You might not blow away, but you'll create a solid fan base, me included.
Great video about a very underappreciated game! It's a shame you don't seem to make video essays anymore because you are very perceptive and well spoken.
bro, u earned urself a subscriber and a fan for this video! you are to games what every frame is a painting is to movies. i hope you can make more videos like this. cheers
in sounds of time on pilars with derection held down and jumping you can rotate the pilir almost to the same effect with deriction you dieside not just 180
Forgotten Sands did this as well. But with a little more fledged out combat. The platforming stretches sometimes did feel like a gauntlet at times, where you had to be relatively precise in which button to press at which time, making it not so hard but still, it felt so good. You felt like it was hard and you were making it look easy, but in truth it was all staged in a really cool way to make you feel that way.
![Prince of Persia 2008 - Stories and Secrets [HQ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/oePU8HdsFlA/mqdefault.jpg)
Prince of Persia 2008 is an all time favorite for me.
The art style, the music, the voice acting, the atmosphere... I loved it all.
I think the combat system was so underrated, you could literally do combos on your own who looked as good as if it was from a cutscene!
Same
jup, same
It's a shame that world wasn't ready for this amazing masterpiece.
The art style looks so brilliant and it's so timeless. Even today it won't feel like you're playing an old game at least in terms of visuals.
Played this game as a kid, time to boot it up again!
Yes bro this game is a masterpiece and i like this game more than any PoP game❤️❤️❤️
It was one of the most beautiful games I have played.... I loved the graphics, the fluidity, the music....i would love to play the game again and even today carry a glimmer of hope that someone at UBISOFT will realise the gem that it truly is and take up a sequel or at least bring the same fluidity in their future releases.....a sequel is not impossible because after the true ending in PC where you save the Princess you can move the world to other locations to fix the choice you had taken while releasing her from the bond to the villian...I don't remember much cause I played it only once when it released but I shall never forget it ever in my lifetime. I love this game and after seeing this video I am gonna play it again..
Jacob Louis man admin it now.
We both are in love with Erika and music.
We just want to get teleported in the game and spend infinite amount of time jumping around and watching beautiful places with her for whole life. Isn't it?
Nityanand Saswade Yes. Its so fuckin beautiful.....Don't get me started.....
@@bullseye6969 Elika*
I don't really see why this game was panned, to be honest. I liked the art and the mechanics, and even the story was good. Trying to save the world from the Zoroastrian version of Satan? Hell yes!
Plus, I liked the new Prince. He was funny and witty, not unlike Ezio from AC2. I liked the chemistry he shared with Elika, and all the combo combat moves they did together.
About not dying, well, who the fuck cares? It's not like dying in the previous games meant you had to start all over again. So, instead of dying here, you just get rescued instead and dropped in the last safe place you were in.
Kncperseus also, that ending. It was amazing.
Funny how everyone who loved this game never talks about the gameplay. It always visually stunning, cool music, witty character blah blah blah. But the game played itself? You couldn't die if you had more than single brain cell and it was one scenic run from boss fight to boss fight.......oh and you couldn't die in those either. I like games that don't treat me like a special needs kid
Prince Blake what are you gay?
Ezio was funny and witty what are talking about.
exactly my point...I try to explain this to so many ppl but they just don't understand...u ma man boi
Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world that thought 2008 PoP was a masterpiece. I would go so far as to say it is better than Sands of Time. The character development is so much stronger, the soundtrack is gorgeous, the graphics are timeless and beautiful, and in my opinion the puzzles and traversal was a strong point, not a hindrance. Like you said, it has a sense of flow that few other games have matched yet.
I know that feel bro
It was a materpiece?? Damn you must have a horrible taste in video games
N'ayam Amarsh'e?? Well what are the odds? xD
You don't know me but we had an argument about the Witcher 3 and prince of persia warrior within a few days back on Facebook. Nice to see you here, i guess it's a small world xD
N'ayam Amarsh'e and I completely agree on that statement. In my opinion it's the worst entry in the pop series (except for forgotten sands, it's debatable actually) and the only reason I completed the game was because I paid for it xD
N'ayam Amarsh'e the only reason first 3 entries were good was because Jordan Mechner made them. He barely worked on the last two and that's why they sucked dick xD
Thanks for making this.
PoP 2008 it's one of those games that grows on you. The first segments may seems repetitive, until you gain all the main powers. Then the plot kicks in, and the ending is kind of devastating (in the same spirit as Shadow of the Colossus).
Overall I like the sands of time trilogy better (all game elements taken into account), but definitely agree that PoP 2008 is definitely underrated. Elika is perhaps one of the coolest gaming sidekicks.
I finished and I still felt it repetitive until the end. There are some few cool moments here and there, but most of the time is keep collecting lums on the same places over and over again.
I think a less demanding quote of lums would have improved the game a lot even when it would be shorter.
I wouldn't call it "underrated", even when it has a lot of good things, still is very monotone and many people doesn't like that (if you like that, it's ok, but that doesn't mean other people should like it).
The voice acting, characters and story were good, but I think it's better to watch them in a recap on TH-cam than to play it. Ironically, that's better than the real Prince of Persia movie.
@@luisoncpp that lums keep you engaged in the game bro
Actually! In the sands of time games, if you hold the input in the direction of the next pillar and press jump the prince uses a seamless animation. Turn on Sands of Time, try it and be blown away. And most obstacles with precise timing works the same way. It is very fluid, except for figuring out navigational paths.
While I absolutely love the 2008 Prince and would kill for a sequel, there are many problems with it. I understand the need for accessibility, but it should not have come at the price of every player, skilled or otherwise ending up playing the same way. We need mastery in our platformers, however minor they are.
Huh, TIL. I'll have to give that a try!
I remember playing sands of time several times over before realizing that was an option and I was like "wow this makes the pole jumping sequences so much better, why didn't I know this the first 4 times I played this game?"
damn i i loved 2008 prince of persia. that art design instantly drew me into it and thats all i cared about besides the story progressing. i could overlook the flaws with just those 2 things alone. had so much potential for a sequel.
BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAh
hahaha I actually was about to comment that when I saw that part in the video. Yes you can just hold the direction and press jump to keep it fluid in sands of time. I found it out when I just did not let go of the analog stick while jumping on those same poles in the video xD
Most definitely one of my favorite games of all time- maybe more, an "experience" rather than a game itself. The visuals that stood the test of time, the enchanting soundtrack, and the couple of main heroes with this unique chemistry between them. I hoped for a sequel for a long time, but I guess I'll just have to live the dream, and MAYBE look forward to a remaster one day. I share a good amount of memories with this little piece of art, I keep coming back to it every few years, and I'd recommend everyone to give it a chance.
On the flip side, games that favor "fluidity" quickly tend to feel like they play themselves with intricate movement playing out while the player just keeps the forward button pressed and (maybe) a jump button with generous timing windows. See also the recent Tomb Raider games that are barely interactive at times. Or some of the more "set piece" parts of the later Assassin's Creed games. It's... not satisfying. It looks cool in a video, but as a player, it's too much like cheating.
Absolutely, that's a big danger of this approach. I think the 2008 PoP manages to avoid falling into that trap by mixing up obstacles and inputs enough that you're not on autopilot, but that's also gonna depend on personal taste.
That's why games like uncharted are so overrated. I see people complain left and right about it's less-than-stellar gun play and one-button platforming segments. Cinematic games are fun to watch, but not so much to play.
I absolutely agree with you.
right on point
What about dying light?
This brilliant video essay should have gotten a lot more views just as the beautiful game it is based on should have
My favorite game was PoP Warrior within. I just love everything about it. Music, dark theme, great boss, two endings, pretty much everything. When i saw 2008 PoP i was disapointed to be honest because it looked like different game. But then a year after i tried it. Man was 08 PoP good. Yes it was totally different game in every way, but it was a good game. They should have maybe called it differently so it wouldn't have gotten so much hate. But honestly, the game was just beautiful. It's one of those games where you just sit back and enjoy the ride. Not much to think of, just as you said, you go with the flow. Honestly the art style was fitting the game and the story. The story itself was good, and once i read it actually was based on actual religion, and not made up, it became even more interesting. The scale and view of the world was just beautiful. Honestly it was a satisfaction to the eye. Characters were great, the interaction between the two was great. So as a different PoP game it sure was good. The music in the video brought back so much memories man. Same as when hearing AC2 music. Sooo good memories. I wish the today's games were much like these and not only multiplayer lootbox shit.
vasilije94 Warrior Within was the best
This game felt HUGE. The map may not have been all that big, but it feels huge when you're running in it, because of the way the game uses space and visual storytelling.
I really don't get where this random circlejerk for Warrior Within even comes from. It's better than Sands of Time but it's not like Sands of Time had good combat.
It's music is So calming you could listen all day.
After all these years of people hating this game, I really feel good people loving it the way it was meant to be loved at the time it came. I think simply the game came at the wrong time, it came very ahead of it's time. And people actually wanted a Prince of Persia game like the original trilogy, and this being different from that resulted the game in being hated. I think Ubisoft should start new with Prince of persia, with a game that has best of both worlds, the Parkour fluidity, graphics and beauty 2008's and story, complexity, characters, like the original and we will have a masterpiece
The problem with that game is that it felt shallow and there was no sense of danger. I really dislike games that hold your hand all the time and prevent you from venturing on your own.
@Matriones it's just a different way to use checkpoints
@@warrbrand6410 Every single step is a checkpoint lmao
@@sikisikiamimis true lmao
Minor correction: at 6:00 you make a good point, but I just wanted to say that in the sot trilogy you can just instantly jump from a pillar if you press whatever you need to move and jump at the same time.
Exactly...the fluidity is like many games of todays time ... The beauty of the art and movements people just didn't understand that and how can I forget that music of pure goosebumps...
The parkour was an instant hook for me. I wish they had kept going with it, instead of going back to more of the same with the next game.
People love games like Journey or Ori, but then hate on POP 2008.....
I swear this game came out too soon, people were not ready for it yet....
Thats the only explanation, otherwise i cant understand...
You have no idea how much it hurts me to know that i'll never be a sequel to this game, it sometimes keeps me up at night after completing it.
I'm one of those people who doesn't likes the "automated" movements, like those seen in Tomb Raider 2013, and Uncharted.
However, I think the movement streamlining actually worked for this game. This game felt like a rhythm game, where each run was satisfying to pull off, and it also gave a good amount of breathing space for newer players.
While you can make an argument towards the not-so-well puzzles, and the repetition in combat, I think they completely nailed the movement system.
I really cannot agree more. It flows so well. This game made me want to take up parkour
This game played itself. I felt hardly any connection between the actions on screen and my actions on the controller.
I remember being mad when they announced the decision the do cell art. I could not have been more wrong. Still my favorite platformer of that generation. I stand by it being a poor decision to make Borderlands with the concept. That's a big step backwards for cell shading. The colors are awful in that game. Like a puke glass window or something.
The only reason why 2008 PoP had a very low rating back then was because there was so much fans that really want a hardcore version of PoP sequel. The transition between challenge seeker gamer vs casual gamer was the debate back then. It us equal to consol vs PC masterace type of thing nowaday. The reboot of PoP series was also felt like it were a Dark Souls sequel which became Telletubies Souls for a hardplay fans. It also affected Fable series (Xbox console exclusive), the last Fable series after Fable 3 ruin the game because it simplify the game too much. AC took a right path to make the game more complex with AC: Origin. But i think they wont make it like that anymore in the next 2 AC game. Because they will seek newcomers that need more casual looking title to start off
Literally just finished Prince of Persia 2008. Really enjoyed it, it’s also the first Prince of Persia game I’ve played.
Great video! It's a great game for relaxation, like a simple rhytmic game inside a pretty painting. I remember having fun with it.
some people move on but not us...
- prince of persia fans
I much preferred PoP SoT for this simple reason, it let the player be in control and you could mess up if you did things wrong. PoP 2008 felt like it played itself, it was like a game on rails, it 'looked' nice, but gameplay was made for new gamers or people who like to look at pretty games. Maybe I've played too many games, there are so many flashy games that most people adore that I can't get into.
THANK YOU, I was just about to comment that. PoP 2008 is so linear that you don't have to think about where you're going, and you barely have to time your button presses. It feels like the DMC entry of Prince of Persia. The other reason the reboot failed is simple: they didn't wait long enough to reboot the franchise.
@@FreemanLegend Don't compare this to DMC, this reboot was good in its own right. The problem is it tried to be too casual.
I wish this Prince of Persia gets a sequel. Seriously, Ubisoft should go back to the series and make the next game that continues the story of the Zoroastrian Prince.
I think it would be bad. They should restart Kindered blades with a different story or Redemption as the sequel to the bad ending of Warrior Within.
Great take on this game. Just played it for the first time this year in 2021. I share many of your sentiments on it. It came outta nowhere and somehow landed in my top 5 all-time list.
This game is pure art. I never understood why people hated it so much when it was published.
And about pillars, when you hit right or left mid-air, prince swung right on that side. So if you didn't need to turn back, you really did never need to rotate around.
And the camera angles were mesmerizing when you move around that landscape.
And Prince not dying kinda added up. Ormazd's power lent those powers to Elika, to heal the land, and Prince happened to be in that canyon quite conveniently.
I remember loving this game when I was younger. You've inspired me to replay it!
I just bought this game because of you. And can one pay a greater compliment to such a video as this?
Ah, my favorite Prince of Persia games. The story, the style, voice acting. Perfect. Actually I never finished other Prince games, but this one I played through several times.
I have prince of Persia 2008 game, and i like it, so beautiful game,
I'm playing it as I type this. This would be my 2nd time playing it again after a 3 years. I just missed how beautiful it was and smooth / seemless the gameplay was, especially the traversal... The visuals are stunning, so much so my non gamer little sister gave the game a compliment... It's beautiful, may not be a masterpiece but it certainly has a timeless unforgettable charm... Wish they did make a sequel for it...
I personally loved this reboot. The art, the parkour, the story, the music...my gosh, the music. The music is one of my favourite parts of the game alongside the parkour. I honestly didn't mind the game being easy, it made for a relaxing, non-stressing experience and I enjoyed it from start to finish.
Thanks for making such a beautiful video.This game is way too underrated and so is this video. Every single word you said is true.It feels good to know that I'm not the only one, there are more people like me out there who have the guts to appreciate the beauty of this 2008 masterpiece instead of floating straight obedient to the stream.
It's even more sad since it sold 2.2 million copies after a single year, and when the Sands of Time sold a little over half a million. I'm not entirely sure how 2008 was seen as a bad game, to me it seems it was a a success, it feels more like it was a suit decision and blamed the fans than just blaming it was a poorly game.
It was a 7th gen console game that came out post-assassins creed. It didn't sell as well as the game that it "influenced" so they definitely didn't feel the need to go further with the franchise. IIRC, AC1 sold 8 million copies in the same time frame.
The 2008 Prince of Persia is not JUST a GAME its a EXPERIENCE !
My biggest problems with the 2008 reboot was the light seeds, combat, and very little flat ground. In Assassin's Creed, there are a lot of places to explore, whereas 2008 Reboot was pretty much a straight line for everything in a world that is pretty much destroyed.
Also I don't like the concept of it being a reboot because that almost seems that Sands of Time is basically no longer canon. If it was part of a timeline, that would have been a lot better.
Robert Chambers sands of time is not non canon its just part of its own canon. The reboot is its own story.
They should have made it a timeline that all fits together.
I didn't like the reboot either, but I don't agree with the argument of "reboot is bad because it despises the original" because Sands of Time itself is a reboot and the original was a very good game.
Well, look at the Legend of Zelda. The original was very simple with very little story, just like the first PoP. The second PoP is comparable to Triforce of the Gods. Every Zelda game would appear to be a reboot if it weren't for the timeline. Each PoP title could be a sequel or prequel to the previous one, without having sand be the main MacGuffin in the entire series.
If the game didn't had Prince of Persia on his name it would be a great franchise
Prince of Persia 2008 is an beautiful unique game with amazing Map, New combat system, Visually stunning, best parkour System ever made. I don't understand why people did not love it but it's an Master-piece game... Try it...
I totally agree, 2008 was awesome. I don't know it was underrated.
Sumant Ukkali
Damn 2008 was a badass year in gaming. And it kept getting better until the end 2011 in my opinion. It all went downhill from there.
And here we are in 2017, where micro transactions are the next "innovation" in gaming. *Sigh* Fuck me. What a time to be alive.
MGTOW Magnum i totally agree with you friend.
The era of the ps3 is full of great titles which have great stories, graphics and most important gameplay.
I swear that early games make me feel empty and bored, in fact there are a lot of games that i didn't finish.
"Old games" were not developed on the concern of realism and photrealistic graphics.
Decaying Veneer First world problems
Really loved the game and really hated when people dismissed it, this is a perfect title to totally just relax and admire the art style and beautiful soundtrack!
I just love this game, I still hope for one day to see a conclusion to it's storyline with a game that improves on the things that the original had at fault.
Everything about 2008 prince of persia was amazing! Such great artwork, great soundtrack, really good story and gameplay mechanic was brilliant
An underrated gem
WOW. Your channel is excellent. It's so refreshing to watch and listen to smart people talk about games.
I like this game a lot, the only flaw was the repetitiveness in the gameplay. The fights weren't very fun cause you could never actually die.
GAME OVER screen enchances gameplay so much?
Mission commenting on every pop 2008 related videos 🦋
I LOOOVED this game. I have bought it and finished it multiple times. 100% right it is is a flawed gem, but that's kinda the same as all the PoP titles really. It seemed a shame that so many wanted to keep with the Sands of Time Prince, that story was told, and was brilliant, but there was no where further to go and it needed a fresh start.
The art direction was wonderful, and holds up over a decade later, never get tired of cleansing an area. (Kena Bridge of Spirits looks to do this wonderfully too). Music top drawer. Additionally the story here on fate vs free will was excellent and the NO SPOILERS ending and credits were great and memorable to this day. The dialogue and chemistry between the 'Prince' and Elika were wonderful (carpets this thick! etc.) and genuinely felt like a fulfilling story arc, one of my favourite gaming companions.
Did it have flaws? YES absolutely, but it was still a really good, memorable game. I truly wanted to see where this new Trilogy would go... but alas, it was not to be. :-(
Wauw, I'm not alone with this opinion! This is why I keep playing this game, it inspire me when I train parkour.
About pillar, you dont need to stop and change direction, if you press movment button when you jump to other pillar Prince change direction what ever you need. (sor 4 my Eng)
I love this game, I played it so many time back when it came out
the music, the atmosphere, the characters, the graphics were so great, minus the repetitive part in combat
That game had incredible atmosphere
audio is a bit loud but WHAT A GREAT LOOK, love the analytical take thank you!
The problem with this game is that you didn't feel any connection to what the Prince was doing on screen, and what inputs you pushed. He just sort of... does everything for you.
For each "action" it doesn't require more than a button press in a sequence. And the "generous" timing window you were talking about, I actually despised how big the window is, because it throws me off entirely on WHEN I should be pressing buttons. I've fell off more times than I can think of because the controls felt unresponsive, when in actuality, I just couldn't pinpoint an exact timing.
pejnismiggle
Then you were reacting in the wrong moments... You will jump off a swing but you didn't feel like hitting the right button... It seems like this would be everyone's first platformer or something.
I know I was reacting in the wrong moments, but I'm saying THAT'S the problem. This need for "fluidity" doesn't give you any clear indication of WHEN to react; thus making it feel sluggish and unresponsive.
It wants you to press the buttons WAY before the ending of any given animation. It just makes it feel like you're pressing things far too early in comparison to the first trilogy (or most games in general) where you hold down the button for as long as you wanted the animation to play/distance you want to travel.
prince of persia the two thrones had the best story in all the series
This game was so enchanting -- between the excellent soundtrack, the trance-inducing rhythm of the fluid platforming, and the likeable dual protagonists (with their excellent chemistry), it immersed me like few games have. There's a charming aura about it that's hard to describe.
I also enjoyed how the combat rewarded deliberate, well-timed button presses while punishing button-mashing.
man you should really make more videos like this! there is plenty of great games that failed commercially, those gems need this kind of acknowledgement
Bruh you don't know fast movement with pillars? Hold W(or which ever direction you want to go) and space bar to move quickly from one end to another of a pillar while jumping.
I love this game and am still sad at how unloved it is. It has flaws to be sure but when the player taps into the flow you described, it feels amazing. I haven’t experienced it’s like in years and am sad I may never play a game like it again.
Thank you for covering it.
Being honest I have a feeling the sequel could be a hit considering they got the flow right
My personal preferences on PoP games:
Most relaxing, better art: PoP 2008
Better fluid yet challenging platforming: The forgotten sands, by the mid/end game freezing/unfreezing parts are quite challenging yet so enjoyable (if you don't suck at it ofc)
Best story, combat, gameplay and best PoP game overall: Warrior Within
6:00 That's not entirely correct. SoT allowed to you quickly jump from one pillar to the next by pointing the joystick into the direction of the next pillar and holding the jump button. But because of the camera this often resulted in the prince jumping into the void.
I love this game N its art
Fighting style of Prince N elika are cool
But there was shortage of minions with whom we can fight.
Warrior within was superb in fighting fighting direction
Just to point out, in all of the prince of Persia games, when you jump on one pillar to another you only had to push the analog stick or key in the desired direction and just jump
To this day I still remember getting my first 14 hit combo, it was such a satisfying moment
I lovedPoP 2008. It was so chill to play it.
Thanks for making this video. PoP 2008 deserves more love. Honestly, it was genuinely one of my favourites. It was easy and had a lot of things that could've been improved upon but I was just as invested in this 'Prince' as the actual Prince of the previous trilogy. I was really looking forward to seeing where things went with a sequel with that awesomely bittersweet ending. It's shame it didn't perform as well as it deserved.
2:30 Consider the pacing here (trying to figure out the puzzle) and here (doing the puzzle)...yuuuup! That's how you properly compare things.
The long input windows are what kept me from 100%ing (achievements) Prince of Persia because I never knew When to press buttons. Sometimes it felt like I didn't even have to press a button, others seemed like the button press came before the action, and still others felt like I had to press the button after the animation. The lack of consistency in timing ruined the "rhythm based platforming" for me and I stopped playing halfway through round 2...yeah, one and a half playthroughs and it still wasn't clear when to actually Play the game and press a button.
I liked the re reboot. The ending was super satisfying.
HUGzJayGon
I got almost all trophies and the one I gave up on was hitting the 10 hit combo, or 20 hit? Something like that.. Also, a couple of other trophies for the DLC, where you need to hit certain areas under a specific time frame...
I cannot appreciate you enough for talking about this game. My friends have selective amnesia about this game every time I cite it during a conversation about its art and levels(which I am a huge fan of!). Part of me still hopes that Ubi completes this story.
I fucking love youtube channels like this one, i can see you've taken inspiration from Ahoy
Please never give up on youtube because i can't wait for the day when you have 1mil+ subscribers and your videos are more professional and consistent.
-Sincerely, someone who appreciates what you're doing
In the sands, also, you can traverse pillars quickly just by holding the joystick into the direction you want to go, then pressing jump. No need to stop.
The game was indeed written with the intention to make a sequel. Ahriman escapes at the end, even Elika leaves the Prince at the end of the DLC. Ubisoft really wanted to make a sequel.
Wonder why they forgot about this. They forgot about the entire POP series. It's so saddening.
I strongly disagree about SoT.
Instead of looking at the start of the game, you should have played / take as an example the later part of the game (Caves and Tower of dawn for example). Some movement were bad like the rope (only the start of a rope) or the ledges but that's it. Even on a bar, you can just jump on the first swing and not on the second / third one like you did.
IMO you're missing the point by wanting to compare 2k8 with SoT. What you said about 2k8 is correct (for the most part) but not the comparison.
Also, TFS is as fluid as 2k8 for the platform part.
I can only encourage you to replay SoT fully. And if you didn't play it, go play TFS. I hate the battle system in TFS but everything else is pretty good.
The7eraser7 i also really like the forgotten sands parkour, on the final climbing sections where youre constantly freezing and unfreezing water and jumping around it is super satisfying and fluid
yeah d battle system in tfs feels like a chaos....it hurried a lot on dat part
I bought PS3 to play this game. And it's Master-piece.
All these years I thought I was going crazy. This games failure makes me so sad.
Thank you for this video.
Good analysys, you described very well what was the best thing in this game
and the rare experience the platforming really offered is a thing that must be felt.
"jumping on things feels good" ~Ludodrome 2016
thats what she said
People love bashing on this game because of the instant respawn. I wouldn't say it made the game too easy, it made the game faster. The later levels in the game, especially the very end, get very challenging. I died so many times at the end but it didn't make it easier, I still had to redo large portions of the level. There were some segments that it would take me back 5 minutes because that was the last flat surface I was on.
satisfaction comes from you creating the flow, not from it being given to you. that for me is the main problem with it.
What I like in SoT trilogy is that you are often thrown into some memorable and believable locations (Baths, Library, Jail, Garden etc.) and you have to use some crazy medieval mechanisms. In PoP 2K8 it always felt like I'm just jumping from some floating island to another
(with some cool animations but without any fear of a mistake) until I jump on one with enemies on it. just to do some lame fight.
POP 2008 is underrated as hell.
Great video, I agreed with a lot of your points. I remember it being so fun having to go across large portions of the map, not having to stop at any point, precisely because of this fluidity that you've described. This then in a way added a skill element to the game as the player is motivated to not die in order to maintain the fluidity. I can see why people were upset about the combat, but personally I also think it's a lot of fun to master.
Don't get me wrong, I like the Sands Trilogy a lot, but I don't necessarily think that it's better; only different. Those games don't have the fluidity, but they don't need it. Whereas here it's definitely one of the defining qualities.
Finally someone who understand this Game 👍👍👍👍👍
Let’s just say it was ahead of it’s time !!
Really. This game already for the fact that it has no loading screens except to start (obviously), then the animations are something incredible, a fluidity that even today only a few games can afford. And now the most important part. Everyone said you couldn't die because Elika would pick you up and pick you up, really? Really? in this game death was masked by Elika's rescue, but if you cross a corridor and you are almost at the end but you fall, Elika will transport you to the beginning of the corridor where the checkpoint is activated. They have hidden death in this game to avoid loading.
@@lucacontini3959 totally agree !!
I love the cell-shading effect they did on prince of Persia
I agree all of your points accept column pause in Sands of Time and POP FS
If you jump into a column while pressing Forward / W key
It will turn automatically
Finally someone noticed this game! I want a sequel to this game sooooo badddddddd
I loved this game when it came out, and have a very soft spot for it. It's one of the few games I went back and finished more than once because it was just that pleasant and captivating. Prince of Persia 2008 variety is an underrated gem of a game that I am sad to see no one talk about or remember.
Prince of Persia 2008 have awesome storyline, fluid gameplay style and mesmerising music
One of the best games I've ever played the story is amazing the soundtrack always gives me nostalgia 👍
I love channels like yours, they are the little gems that slip beneath the massive bullshitery thats around youtube. Keep taking your time to make videos, focus on quality reviews and subject that affect you in the video game industry..
You might not blow away, but you'll create a solid fan base, me included.
Great video about a very underappreciated game! It's a shame you don't seem to make video essays anymore because you are very perceptive and well spoken.
bro, u earned urself a subscriber and a fan for this video! you are to games what every frame is a painting is to movies. i hope you can make more videos like this. cheers
Listening to the music again reminds me of how much i loved this game back then. A truely unique and inspiring reboot.
I'd honestly never heard of the 2008 Prince of Persia until this video. I think I'll be picking it up thanks to you!
"Deserved more than it got" I agree. Such a beautiful underrated game.
in sounds of time on pilars with derection held down and jumping you can rotate the pilir almost to the same effect with deriction you dieside not just 180
Forgotten Sands did this as well. But with a little more fledged out combat. The platforming stretches sometimes did feel like a gauntlet at times, where you had to be relatively precise in which button to press at which time, making it not so hard but still, it felt so good. You felt like it was hard and you were making it look easy, but in truth it was all staged in a really cool way to make you feel that way.
Please continue making videos! They are great!