Can You Enjoy The Tale of Bistun If You Don't Know The Story of Khosrow and Shirin?

I want to mention that this article is based on the demo available for The Tale of Bistun, which is a Next Fest version that only shows a fragment of what is to come in the full title. In it, I could see numerous cinematic sequences, along with a lot of dialogue between the All-Seeds and Farhad, the protagonist of the game. These conversation sequences manage to set a dynamic between Farhad and the world, as Farhad is entirely devoid of any memories of his past.

After playing through the demo, I understood the story quite well because of how it's all presented. Each cinematic sequence in which Farhad remembers things feels abstract but is concisely explained the scene after as he carves through the mountain. What? Did I forget to mention this world is set in a mythological setting?

Once I'd finished the demo and read up a bit on Khosrow and Shirin, I came to realise that perhaps you're better off experiencing The Tale of Bistun without knowing anything about the poem. Though I'm not saying that you'll be missing out if you know how the story unravels — it's the opposite; you'll be gratified with hints of the story — you can most definitely enjoy the game without any prior knowledge of the poem. In fact, I'd argue that The Tale of Bistun was built expecting none of its players to know much about the story. The narrative connection you have with Farhad through not knowing and having the story unravel is something you'll miss out on if you know how Khosrow and Shirin goes. 

If you were considering reading Khosrow and Shirin before playing The Tale of Bistun, I recommend you don't; the way the narrative has unravelled thus far works beautifully for newcomers to the poem. Knowing more about it would break the connection that you as the clueless player and Farhad share through obliviousness.