Pros & Cons:
Pertaining to My short list below.

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(Xbox 360 version was used for this review)

The graphics are gorgeous, with a unique, stylized cel-shading that creates an almost pastel-like quality to the beautifully designed environments and intricately rendered character models—from the Prince, with his headband trails flowing in the wind, to the enemy's slimy sheen. Every nitty-gritty detail is visible in each texture; and transition from bleak, Corruption filled sectors, to their vivid, purified form is a sight to behold. There is great attention to detail, from the dust that kicks up underfoot to tiny flowers that line purified areas as fluffy seeds fill the air; the particle effects are vibrant, like the bright, clean glow emanating from Elika's magic; the framerate rarely drops, even with giant landscapes to render; the draw distance is virtually endless, with negligible pop-in, allowing you to spot every collectable Light Seed in that sector; and there are no load times. Negatively, because of the overly sharp cel-shading, the environments' edges can look a little jaggy, and there is some infrequent screen-tearing. But beyond these tiny issues, the art style is, needless to say, breathtaking, and the screenshots speak for themselves—and it even looks better in motion.

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The unique art style and environments' design provides vast, gorgeous views.

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The controls are very simplistic but intuitive, and the platforming basically consists of using a single button to jump, run on and jump from wall to wall, scale and then grab ledges, swing from pole to pole and jump from post to post—it does become slightly more complex however, when you come across the wall-run extending rings or Elika's power plates, at which point, you'll have to press their respective buttons in time. The animations and smooth transitions add a fluid believability to feats the Prince pulls off throughout, and adds convenience to the already streamlined platforming, as he pulls himself up on walls with his clawed gauntlet to give you more leeway, and swings into position for the next post as you cling onto each. Combat is just as simplistic, with a single button to use his sword, clawed gauntlet or Elika's magic; his acrobatics, along with a side-stepping strafe to jump over or fling the enemy; and one button to block and counter. You'll also use his clawed gauntlet with the R-trigger to safely slide down walls as you steer, and you can use Elika's magic to summon orbs of light while you explore, which act as a useful pointer to the next sector.

After you cleanse a sector with Elika's magic—seeing their transitions from Corrupt to purified never gets old—you'll collect enough Light Seeds to receive a new power and move onto the next sector. Each temple area takes two of the four powers (two of the most notable being Breath of Ormadz, where you continuously run up the walls as you strafe from obstacles, and Wings of Ormadz, where you fly on a set path as you steer past obstacles) to complete, allowing you to get further into that sector and closer to unlocking a temple to face its guardian. And although there are a handful of Ahriman's Corrupted soldiers that materialize in front of you while you explore, and a few light puzzles, which involve turning cranks and pulling levers, the majority of gameplay is focused on platforming and fighting Ahriman's four Corrupted—somewhat mild puzzles in themselves—that act as the game's bosses throughout. You'll fight each of them a total of five times (the last time in their respective temples), and each encounter will get a little more complex—all have their own challenge, and there is a good variety in the four types and the strategies it takes to defeat them.

Combat takes place on arena-like platforms, and fights are always in a unique, almost fighter format; one-on-one. It's a simple branching system, meaning you can create chains by first starting with, say, a sword attack, then a grapple to fling them into the air, Elika's magic to let them hang, and finish it with another sword attack—the longer they're up, the more the damage, and since the combos are so organic, it takes little mastering. And even though you can't die during combat, you'll want to curb the times Elika saves you from it; each time she does, the enemy gains back health, which does add some strategy. You really can pick a direction and go with it, and despite the fact the power you pick first dictates what temple you finish first, it's entirely non-linear; a nice feat, since the story and difficulty's consistency flows correctly regardless—your first area could be my last. The platforming portions reflect this and are designed in a way that they can be completed in either direction, back or forth—and although you'll be backtracking often, because of its flowing design, or the fact that Elika can teleport you to any visited sector, it'll never feel too tedious.

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The new one-on-one fighting format feels well-suited to the game.

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You virtually cannot die in combat, platforming or otherwise, and while this idea of no deaths is a tad deceiving—it's just a different style, you still have checkpoints—if you fall, Elika will still save you with her magic every time; and this is where the iffy stuff begins....Since you cannot die, it lacks a sense of urgency in platforming and stake in combat. In platforming portions, I rarely fell, but when I did, it was no big deal; you'll usually just appear on the platform you fell from. And not only are the obstacles often easy to get past, the basic navigation feels automatic, and there's no improvising; it's along a set path—you stray, you die. This spreads to combat, where you can kill the enemy in seconds (instantly if you catch them first before they form), and even many of the bosses can be thrust off the platforms without breaking a sweat—most of what frustrates is light repetition, and with both elements, it's not a matter of major skill to complete them, just time. And even when you are "stuck," it's because of the tedious task of collecting the dozens of game-padding Light Seeds for the next power—which only succeeds in messing up the main quest's pacing.

The combat system feels too simplistic, and while there are combos, basic moves will get you everywhere; the advanced, like counters aren't needed; instead, you will find yourself using the longest combo there is over and over, and while combat does flow well, it gets repetitive—a simple fix would've been to make the enemy behavior cause you to rely on more advance techniques. Single button-mashing is overused in more important fighting moments, and they should've been replaced with full QTEs; at least that would have taken some skill—this is just unintuitive and tiring—and Elika can only attack from a certain range; if you're off in the slightest, she'll refuse and you'll have to wait several seconds to try again, resulting in you repeatedly being knocked down by the enemy. Lastly, there are no optional moves, like sprint, to use as you explore; he'll always run at a median speed, and even in dire situations, you'll be forced to flee at this almost leisurely pace, which ends up feeling silly. And while it is still adequate enough, it's (again) too simplistic—they should've taken a page from Assassin's Creed on this one and implemented more complex, dynamic control.

The story is told through cutscenes using the in-game engine, real-time conversations between the Prince and Elika, and the ability to talk with Elika at any time in order to learn more backstory (in-game story telling; plus). Ahriman's faceless nature is given definition by his four servants, each with a personal drive; duty, lust for immortality, the hunt, power, (etc.), and the core story is intriguing, with a relatively unexpected twist nearer the end. The Prince and Elika develop a great chemistry throughout, and the Prince is a likable rogue, giving his much needed sense of humor to the otherwise melancholy narrative, as he makes witty remarks while fighting ("Hey I'm a legend, I'll live forever anyway!", "Wow...that sounded better in my head than outloud.") and takes every situation lightly (Elika: "We're trapped!" Prince: "What did you expect?!"). And while the non-linear narrative lessens dramatic build somewhat, and could have been more impacting if it followed a more linear path—the ending's counter-intuitive quality also isn't the most satisfying—the story's execution is an overall success, and it's definitely interesting enough to warrant a sequel.

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You really can't die; Elika's magic saves you in every (potentially) fatal instance.

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There's only one difficulty and as challenge goes, platforming portions will get longer, more complex (with tentacle traps, which shoot from walls and move in patterns) and timed-based the further you get into each area. In power plate portions you'll have to string together moves along with Elika's magic more often; later boss encounters take more strategy, and in their Charged States, you'll have to attack with a specific move or else temporarily lose Elika's support; there's a couple of mind-bending puzzles; and the last boss is difficult—if you're off a little in timing, you're dead. But since standing on any sort of platform is usually a checkpoint, difficulty is very forgiving. As for the replay value, it takes 10-12 hours to complete, and after this, you can collect all 1001 Light Seeds (just as a warning: you can not continue to explore after entering to fight the last boss) to unlock the Prototype Prince and Elika skins, and you can also unlock an Altaïr (Assassin's Creed), Prince/Farah (The Sands of Time) and Jade skin (Beyond Good & Evil) through various means. But beyond this, unless you wish to play it over in an aforementioned skin, there's not a whole lot to come back for.

Closing comment:
So overall, with the lack of consequential death, this is often too simplistic for its own good. But, compared to its spiritual predecessor (The Sands of Time), this features an improved one-on-one fighting format which better suits this specific genre's feel, and the core story is more character-driven this time around, with likable characters and plenty of entertaining (including some optional, often hilarious) dialog. Using the fluid controls to navigate the entirely non-linear, platform-filled open-world is a blast, and not only are boss fights varied and well-made, but they have a light flavor of those in the Shadow of the Colossus. However, if you're expecting a thrilling experience, you'll be disappointed, as it does tend to be a more adventurous, atmospheric one—it is an aquired taste—but fans of this genre will probably enjoy it just for that.

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