A remake of Shadow of the Colossus
Tales speak of an ancient land where creatures the size of mountains, roam the majestic landscape. Bound to the land, these creatures hold a key to a mystical power of revival - a power you must obtain to waken a loved one. Shadow of the Colossus is a majestic journey through ancient lands to seek out and destroy gigantic mythical beasts. With your trusty horse at your side, explore the spacious lands and unearth each Colossi. Armed with your wits, a sword and a bow, use cunning and strategy to topple each behemoth. A remake of the critically-claimed game of the same title. Also from the minds that brought you The Last Guardian & ICO
Also in series
Reviews View More
unreal
Cool graphics, but loses what made the original memorable for me.
This game is a powerful cautionary tale that deconstructs and analyzes the consequences of not shaving your legs.
horse was the toughest enemy in the game
I knew this was a classic, going in, but what I hadn't anticipated was just how elemental and minimalistic it would be. It was a pleasant surprise and welcome subversion to discover a game that I had known only to be an innovative open world adventure was in fact set in a barren desert, melancholic from its opening cinematic, and centred around a gameplay loop so simplistic that the weight of its repetitions acquire a purposefully suffocating heft, even as the colossi designs and environmental attention required to topple them remain for the most part fresh throughout the experience.
Shadow of the Colossus is a deeply lonely game. Though accompanied by a reliable steed, the experience of wandering through this world only to devastate it makes you feel more and more like a harbinger of death itself, barely receptive to the emotions and realities of the creatures you kill, just charging forward as a naive emissary, directed by a force you never dare to question.
The gameplay itself is slightly clunky; handling your horse takes some time to master, clambering up surfaces can occasionally feel glitchy if you are being thrown around, and there is a sense that the environment itself has a general antipathy towards you - some surfaces that look like they should be climbable simply aren't, and there is no fast-travel system. All of these may read as flaws but it is to the game's credit that its atmosphere, narrative, and general emotional tone render them as assets rather than liabilities. These things should not be easy. There should be no shortcuts. The world should resist you, because there is still life in it, and you are, ultimately, a threat.
This does mean that sometimes the colossi can feel a little tedious. It is, if not a necessary cost, then perhaps an understandable one, as a product of the game's philosophy. Sometimes you have to wait, sometimes the puzzles can be obtuse, and sometimes you will just feel stupid. Sometimes a jump will feel needlessly finnicky, or a gimmick poorly communicated. But only rarely did that actually take me out of the experience, and ultimately those instances were forgivable for the grandeur and scale on which the game operates, the smallness that you feel, the conflict at the heart of your purpose.
"Shadow of the Colossus is one of the great game experiences everyone should have" is the wisdom I've seen frequently extolled, and for all of my assumptions that this would reflect on innovative gameplay, world building, and narrative impact, ultimately the greatest asset of my experience was the isolation at the core of its protagonist, Wander's, world. For as noble and altruistic his motivations - the desire to save an anonymous companion - the world is resistant, and antagonistic, and content without you. And it is only in accepting that, in embracing that, that you can fully commune with it, and what seems like a chaos coalesces into a harmony. The light that draws you to a single point is not a target, it's a call. It's too late for Wander, but it's not too late for us.
Shadow of the Colossus is a deeply lonely game. Though accompanied by a reliable steed, the experience of wandering through this world only to devastate it makes you feel more and more like a harbinger of death itself, barely receptive to the emotions and realities of the creatures you kill, just charging forward as a naive emissary, directed by a force you never dare to question.
The gameplay itself is slightly clunky; handling your horse takes some time to master, clambering up surfaces can occasionally feel glitchy if you are being thrown around, and there is a sense that the environment itself has a general antipathy towards you - some surfaces that look like they should be climbable simply aren't, and there is no fast-travel system. All of these may read as flaws but it is to the game's credit that its atmosphere, narrative, and general emotional tone render them as assets rather than liabilities. These things should not be easy. There should be no shortcuts. The world should resist you, because there is still life in it, and you are, ultimately, a threat.
This does mean that sometimes the colossi can feel a little tedious. It is, if not a necessary cost, then perhaps an understandable one, as a product of the game's philosophy. Sometimes you have to wait, sometimes the puzzles can be obtuse, and sometimes you will just feel stupid. Sometimes a jump will feel needlessly finnicky, or a gimmick poorly communicated. But only rarely did that actually take me out of the experience, and ultimately those instances were forgivable for the grandeur and scale on which the game operates, the smallness that you feel, the conflict at the heart of your purpose.
"Shadow of the Colossus is one of the great game experiences everyone should have" is the wisdom I've seen frequently extolled, and for all of my assumptions that this would reflect on innovative gameplay, world building, and narrative impact, ultimately the greatest asset of my experience was the isolation at the core of its protagonist, Wander's, world. For as noble and altruistic his motivations - the desire to save an anonymous companion - the world is resistant, and antagonistic, and content without you. And it is only in accepting that, in embracing that, that you can fully commune with it, and what seems like a chaos coalesces into a harmony. The light that draws you to a single point is not a target, it's a call. It's too late for Wander, but it's not too late for us.
One of the most unique games I have played,
It feels like an epic.but also frustrating at times which I'll tackle in a later para.
The bosses are more of a big puzzle than enemies the puzzle is it figure out how to beat em which makes sense cause there's no we are winning in a fair fight.all the colossi designs are so good especially the final boss and the Ariel colossis how this game ran back in the ps2 is a god damm miracle.the grand scale of the fights is unmatched.
The world feels so gloomy and isolated that while traveling through it feels a slight sense of calmness before the next major fight.
the ost at time its calming and during few boss fights you can feel the adrenaline rush.
Now the frustrating part comes because in its skeleton its still a ps2 Era game with improved visuals and few mechanical changes Ig more like a remaster than a remake.
so it's still has few annoying mechanics which can be fixed if you know a few controls but the game dosen't tell you Like some bosses can put you in a stun lock loop because it takes your character 5-6 business days to get up that can be fixed by spamming your wepon change button. And you don't need to spam Triangle for agro to go fast just hold it down and agro avoids obstacles own its own you just gotta move it for navigational purposes.
Except these two the rest are minor complaints.
It feels like an epic.but also frustrating at times which I'll tackle in a later para.
The bosses are more of a big puzzle than enemies the puzzle is it figure out how to beat em which makes sense cause there's no we are winning in a fair fight.all the colossi designs are so good especially the final boss and the Ariel colossis how this game ran back in the ps2 is a god damm miracle.the grand scale of the fights is unmatched.
The world feels so gloomy and isolated that while traveling through it feels a slight sense of calmness before the next major fight.
the ost at time its calming and during few boss fights you can feel the adrenaline rush.
Now the frustrating part comes because in its skeleton its still a ps2 Era game with improved visuals and few mechanical changes Ig more like a remaster than a remake.
so it's still has few annoying mechanics which can be fixed if you know a few controls but the game dosen't tell you Like some bosses can put you in a stun lock loop because it takes your character 5-6 business days to get up that can be fixed by spamming your wepon change button. And you don't need to spam Triangle for agro to go fast just hold it down and agro avoids obstacles own its own you just gotta move it for navigational purposes.
Except these two the rest are minor complaints.