Even without considering the technical feats achieved by Jordan Mechner in Prince of Persia (please watch the Ars Technica video if you are interested) this is still a masterpiece by design alone.

I love how you are left alone to figure out what to do - there's so many mechanics and how you interact with your environment/enemies is a lot more than "walk here" or "slash this enemy". The 60 minute time limit is perfect to give you a sense of urgency - it fits the narrative considering your hot Persian girlfriend is in danger.

To be able to beat this not only your puzzle-solving skills have to be on point but also your execution which is the perfect harmony for me. A very dangerous place, you need to tread lightly as death is always around the corner but at the same time you only have so much time so you need to have a sense of balance when it comes to how much time you have left and how likely you are to die if you rush into something. In any case you will die a lot - the 60-minute timer will finish a lot of times before you are able to beat this but to do so is incredibly rewarding.

Then you also have the fluid animations and beautiful minimalistic aesthetic of the Apple II version or DOS/Amiga ports.

Incredibly surprised by Prince of Persia - it has everything I love in video games.