Prince of Persia Warrior Within

🎮 PlayStation 2 ⏳ 15 hours ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

Darker Gothic Direction #

This PS2 PoP is a darker, more mature follow-up to The Sands of Time, it trades the original’s whimsical tone for a gritty, gothic atmosphere, with a brooding Prince, heavier metal soundtrack, and bloodier combat, which surprised a lot of people at the time since the first entry was a totally different beast in comparison. Particularly I think this was due to the God of War’s success at the time, which pushed a lot of games to become way more brutal and violent than all the things we had seen up until that point.

Evolved Combat Focus #

The gameplay builds on its predecessor with deeper combat mechanics (dual wielding, combos), more nonlinear exploration, and time-manipulation abilities. While the shift in tone was divisive, the platforming and puzzles remained strong, some players loved the edgier direction, while others missed the charm of the first game, still, it’s a solid action-adventure experience with a more intense vibe. Particularly I like all PS2 PoP the same, they have their good and bad sides, and if you understand this then you can truly enjoy the experience.

Exploration Over Platforming #

This one for example is heavy on exploration and combat, so much so that it nullifies these aspects in the other two titles. While at the same time, platforming is the weakest aspect of this one, but if I had to choose a must-play through all of them, I would say this is the one. There are also some breath taking chase sequences since this one has the “Nemesis system” where you need to escape an enemy that is constantly chasing you, which no other PoP title has. Though these sequences are scripted, they are not a walk in the park and you will face some challenges when you reach them.