Don't be fooled into thinking this is anything like stardew valley or similar games. This is a very shallow life simulation that while pretty is skin deep. All the mechanics are pretty unsatisfying (other than crafting, strangely enough). It really feels wide as an ocean, deep as a puddle when npcs are generic and you have no real goal.
For me, this was a cathartic experience. You start out so weak, so helpless. You dodge and try to block the enemies attacks. But once you get to that second, so beautifully constructed map, it all flows so incredibly well. You dance around the enemies, leap right into their attacks to parry them and slash their heads off with the counter attack. You rip the heads of your enemies to use as ranged weapons, you return projectiles to their sender. Its a short, but very very good game. I was surprised that it only took me 4 hours to finish, I felt so deep in that game, that I thought I had lost more time.
PoP: Sands of Time might have been great once upon a time, but now it is a mediocre game. Camera issues, repetitive combat and a disaster of an end, it does not deserve the praise it recieves now. Dear god, just for that last chapter alone, where the dagger is taken from you is horrible. The only thing that saves this game from a lower score is that (up until said chapter) you can rewind time to revert mistakes. Mistakes that most often stem from the perspective, and the game arbitrarily deciding when you can reach something and not. The final boss battle is ... Such a dissapointment. Such a waste. So.... easy? There is no challenge at all. No platforming (which is the good part of this game), nor puzzling. Just hack away. The 4 characters in the game are so forgettable, so stereotypical (but not in a good, fun way) I would not have been able to remember Farahs name had there not been a section where the Prince shouts it every few seconds. The Prince sounds so bored, and does not grow into a character until the very end. Farah is... just a stereotypical scared woman who can't defend herself and needs constant attention. (And is very sexualized, like the harem enemies) Then we have 1 guard who shouts at you one time. And the final bad guy, the sorcerer, the Jafar look-a-like. Who doesn't have much of a plan, nor lines to say. Just "GIVE ME THE DAGGER". Positives: + Rewind mechanic + Platforming + The first hour of combat Negatives: - The rest of the combat - The puzzles (Except the one audio puzzle, that one I liked) - Ending - Characters Compatibility: * Works fine on Windows 7, 10 - Max resolution is 1280x1024, but can be hacked - FOV is very low and made me feel nautious. There is a hack to change it, but it heavily distorts forced camera sweeps
