Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame Critic Reviews

A gorgeous and athletic blend of platforming and exploration only occasionally hobbled by its controls.

Ubisoft dared to leave the rose-tinted glasses at home and made bold changes that prove the Prince of Persia license has lots of life left in it yet.

The Prince of Persia series gets yet another modernized port, and the App Store is all the better for it.

This game will both entertain and frustrate you in equal parts, just as the first titles in the long-running series.

It's not the 1993 original, but dodging traps and cutting down monsters as the re-imagined Prince is still a fun way to dive back into its universe.

2D puzzle solving tension. Worth a PoP.

A classic 2D adventure highlighted by the amusing platform sections and refreshing looking. Not the best entry in the series, but a decent one.

This Prince of Persia isn’t a remake but is inspired by the prince’s second adventure in 1993. The prince’s old adventure was narrative focused and had beautiful hand drawn backgrounds, whereas The Shadow and the Flame is mostly centered around action suitable for mobile devices. In less than two hours you’ll swipe your way through a game with enjoyable puzzles and battles. However, it doesn’t ever get difficult or magical.

Torn between the two princes, Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame can never quite find its own identity. It's fun, but it's flawed too.

It's still not an easy game overall. The levels are filled with flying blades and spikes that pop out of every angle, but the retooled combat makes for a notably more accessible experience. New players won't quite get to experience the classic sequel as it was intended, but they will get to do something the average player in 1993 couldn't do: finish the game.

Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame's handsome visuals and exploration-friendly levels can't quite make up for the game's control issues and bland fighting sections.

Prince of Persia The Shadow and the Flame is a poor platform game, with an inaccurate control system that has nothing to do with the original game.

A game with no clear objectives, no edge, and is downright boring.

In-app purchases, however, are handled with more nuance and kept pleasingly out of sight.

Prince of Persia: The Shadow and The Flame leaves too much to be desired, both as a remake of the original 1993 game and as a modern mobile game.

Given that the game fundamentally relies on fast reactions and impeccable timing, The Shadow and The Flame is a nightmare to try and enjoy because it's the equivalent of driving a forklift truck after downing a packet of medication despite the 'Warning: Causes Drowsiness' precaution.

There are so many things you could buy for $2.99 – a candy bar, a couple of lottery tickets, or most of a bottle of Charles Shaw wine. Any of those would be a more sound investment than Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame. For a company like Ubisoft—one that usually releases fantastic games on multiple platforms—to drop the ball like this can only mean they’re cashing in on a fairly renowned series as quick as they can, leaving Prince of Persia fans feeling burned hotter than the Persian sands.