This has single-handedly made me oppose all video game remakes on principle.

The original PS2 version, to this day, is stunning. The strengths and limitations of that console were utilized to create something completely unique and impossible to truly replicate (even pc emulation fails at this). The blinding bloom lighting, washed out colors, and low resolution gave the game this otherworldly sheen that I was mesmerized by. It gives the impression of a beautiful but god-forsaken no man's land enveloped by Dormin's light, a light without warmth.

The PS4 version just... Looks like a typical AAA PS4 game. It's technologically impressive, but that's the only thing there is to say about such boring, soulless visuals. And in a few years, you won't even be able to say that. The remake further disrupts the style of the original with meaningless new features for a purposefully minimalist game, like frivolous collectibles, a photo mode, and a stats page. All just to pad the game out with more time-wasting distractions, as if we didn't already have enough games packed with that.

Worse though are the subtle changes that most probably missed. The gut-wrenching wails of collosi have been replaced with generic monstrous roars (seriously, go to youtube and watch the 4th colossus fight in the original and then in the remake, it's a disgrace), and the enigmatic color changes of their eyes during battle have been removed altogether in favor of always-orange eyes to signify aggression without nuance.

The fact that this is seen by the vast majority of gamers as a faithful remake baffles me. Maybe because it lives up to how most remember it: The pretty looking game where you fight big monsters and it turns out you were the bad guy the whole time! That's pretty much what it is when you boil it down, but I always thought it had a bit more of a mystique that made it stand above most games.

There is no real appreciation in the industry for old games beyond surface level nostalgia, and I think that's one reason why video games are such a wasteland artistically.

Mesmo não tendo tido nenhum tipo de contato com Shadow of the Colossus na infância, ainda assim reconheço o quão a frente do seu tempo a obra se encontra, principalmente agora, depois de anos depois, terminando o seu remake.

O quão longe iríamos e o que seríamos capazes de fazer para salvar a quem amamos?
Essa pergunta martelava minha cabeça durante cada parte da jornada. A cada Colosso derrotado, a cada passo adiante do objetivo, eu me questionava: "Por que eu estou fazendo isso?", "É realmente o certo a se fazer?".

Entre a imensidão dos vastos campos abertos, desertos e cavernas, uma sensação é constante: A solidão. A todo momento, nos intervalos de tempo entre os Colossos, nos caminhos até eles, durante a exploração, tudo reflete uma sensação constante de que estamos sozinhos, sendo nossa única companhia, Agro, a égua que nos acompanha desde o começo da jornada.

Os embates contra os Colossos são únicos. Cada um deles possui sua mecânica, e compartilham da característica de serem imponentes perante a nós, e alinhados à trilha sonora sensacional, se tornaram ainda mais especiais.

Shadow of the Colossus se trata de uma obra atemporal, do tipo que se passarão anos e anos, décadas e décadas, e ele sempre terá seu espaço.

Shadow of the Colossus, a perfeição em forma de jogo. Lembro quando seu remake foi anunciado e inicialmente eu tinha temido, pois estava no Xbox One e não teria chance alguma de jogar na época, o medo era do jogo ter os infames colossos excluídos, conteúdo novo ou alguma mudança interessante, mas no fim só foi uma mudança de engine, quase um remaster de luxo. Talvez se eu tivesse jogado na época teria me decepcionado um pouquinho, pois o jogo é realmente o mesmo, o gameplay é idêntico, as cutscenes e até as vozes, a única coisa que mudaram foram os sons de alguns colossos. Nem ousaram mexer com a trilha sonora, pois seria um crime de guerra.

No fim o que eu tiro de tudo isso? Bom, eu zerei Shadow of the Colossus de novo, então não tem como ser ruim, continua me cativando como sempre, e agora mais lindo do que nunca. Esse remake foi ótimo pra trazer o jogo pra um novo público fazendo mais pessoas apreciarem essa obra-prima.

Pros:
+The Colossi look amazing
+Riding around on one, especially the flying ones, is cinematic and incredible-feeling
+The environment looks incredible
+The puzzle elements of the boss fights feels rewarding to figure out for the first time
+The soundtrack is epic

Cons:
-Despite the amazing looking scenery, the world itself is devoid of anything, making going through it 16 times in a row a huge slog, which is made worse by the two following cons:
-The horse controls like crap
-The camera is pretty bad, but especially so while riding the horse
-The fact you need to raise your sword and draw power before you stab makes the CONSTANT losing of grip due to the Colossi moving around unbearable
-Same with trying to climb around the Colossi, as you often manage to make zero progress because your character keeps swaying for like 30 seconds straight
-Too much of the boss fights is just playing the waiting game
-Being knocked down takes way too long to get back up. Especially annoying in fights where the enemy will knock you down, then as soon as you start getting back up they knock you down again, over and over and over.

Mixed:
~The sword acting as a homing beacon is a neat idea, but the vagueness of it just leads to dead ends.

I never finished the original game on PS2. I always got to kill 10-12 colossi and then gave up cause I was too dumb of a kid to understand what to do next. Between some longer games, I decided I was going to correct that, and started my journey with this game again.

It's crazy how this game holds up to this day. The remake is stunning, the visuals are incredible and I kept wanting to explore just to see the world.

The gameplay is kinda clunky but I don't think that's a bad thing. It works extremely well in this case and I think it adds to the experience. Wander is not a superhero. He's a regular guy who struggles to even swing a sword properly.

The fights are all amazing, some being way better than others(the tiny tiger colossus is very boring). The songs are some of the best you can find in video games, for real, they set the mood of whatever you are doing in a way that few games were able to achieve.

All in all, a fantastic game. The remake changes little things, but the gameplay in general is the same I remember. Being able to fight the giant guys with a stable framerate and stunning visuals is a hell of a plus. Can't recommend it enough.

Shadow Of The Colossus (2018) é uma obra-prima do mundo dos jogos. Desde sua versão inicial lançada no PS2 o jogo foi reconhecido como algo além de tudo que havíamos visto antes. A coisa mais surpreendente que existe no jogo é a INCRÍVEL facilidade e a ousadia IMENSA e ÓTIMA de mostrar coisas gigantes comparadas com o jogador e fazer o mesmo interagir com elas,ainda mesmo sendo isso a mecânica principal do jogo. A maioria dos jogos até aquele tempo não deixava você chegar nas grandes montanhas gigantes no fim do mapa,ou lhe impediam de interagir com os gigantes desacordados espalhados por aí. Mas Shadow Of The Colossus não tem medo de mostrar isso — e isso faz desse jogo incrível e grandioso,tal qual seus chefes. A indústria dos jogos ainda precisa de mais dessa essência,de não ter esse medo,de ultrapassar limites. Além da trilha sonora inesquecível e que encaixa como luva em todas as batalhas e ambiente,que é extremamente vazio de um jeito que não falha e te passa o sentimento desejado. A história do jogo,por mais que um pouco escondida e as vezes vista como sem sentido também é um ótimo ponto do jogo,e até seu conteúdo descartado gera interesse e curiosidade,onde em todos os momentos ele te faz perguntar — o que poderia ter aqui? como seria a batalha com esse colosso? o que havia neste lugar? quem passou por aqui? quem construiu isso?
Não é algo que saberemos e é por isso que nada será como Shadow Of The Colossus. 10/10.

I really have to hand it to Bluepoint's Shadow of the Colossus remake, it was the first game to fill me with such vitriol at its mechanics and gameplay that I started emitting a red glow from my face and steam from my nostrils and ears. I realized that there is no being capable of deserving as much hate in media, across the thousands of generations of human storytelling, as the damn horse in Shadow of the Colossus. I am 100% certain this horse was meant to be sent to a glue factory. This is the Elmer's glue horse, this is the horse that started it all. Some pooor shmuck popped in Shadow of the Colossus into his Industrial era PS4 and jumped on the horse. It was his inspiration, it was his Joker moment. He quickly realized there was no being in history, nor the future, who could be as pain-giving as this horse. If you have recently played Elden Ring, Metal Gear Solid 5, or any video game post Magnavox Odyssey, you have played a game with a horse that has controlled better. I would rather eat clay and stick my head in mud while being smacked on each side by a baseball bat, than play this game using the horse as a mode of transport.

Plotwise there is probably a story here, but the narrative is played off in the obscure, meaning that you're dripfed some form of narrative into the game that is supposed to pay off at the end. Did it? I don't really care. I stopped caring the more I had to use the horse, maybe that's the narrative intention of this game. I think the creator has some form of equine-phobia. Just play Nier, any vibes of a cool game that I got made me think of Nier Replicant, it's a better game. Now this is all my subjective opinion, and given user/critic reviews and general influence of this game I am probably wrong, but I will continue to complain anyways. I streamed this game to a small crowd, and multiple times I had to stop, get on my knees, point towards the sky and apologize for my misdoings. I now know, what it is truly like to experience a game so mind numbing, that I can no longer experience true pain. The puzzling of the boss fights felt terrible and gimmicky, the soundtrack was extremely quiet, the game runs at a poor framerate on PS4, the flimsy attack mechanic feels generally awful as the game goes on, I am full of sorrow.

Uh, cool things about this game!
-Colossi design was great, Bluepoint did a great job bringing the ancient back to life.
-The world: while there was almost nothing worthwhile in it, the environment sure looked good.

Oh blah dih, oh blah dah, la la la la life goes on.

Remake filled with small changes that kill many things that made the original feel special. Graphics look really nice and the game performs well but gone are the original color palette and some iconic visual effects of the original. New character models are more realistic but less expressive. The default control scheme is changed into a more modern one yet the physics and camera are way clunkier than the original. Voice and audio work is far inferior as well, particularly Dormin's echoing voice lacking any sort of mysticism. The saving system being changed into the current day auto save standard in AAA games just absolutely obliterates any sense of place and adventure that the shrines provided.
No additions that would have made it an objective improvement (including cut colossi for example or extra content) were added and we got time-wasting collectibles, a photo mode and filters instead.
Hope this remake isn't the way SOTC will be remembered, and it makes me think twice about taking the convenient route and playing the demon's souls remake instead of the original

Teenage me was a dumb asshole. Shadow Of The Colossus is one of the best video games that i have ever played. From the opening cutscene which firmly establishes the games narrative drive and thematic weight to the culminating gut punch of an ending that is just perfectly put together. It was abundantly clear to me that this game was something special, something truly profound, something unlike any other game i’ve played, an experience of elegiac beauty and gripping emotional power that i could only marvel at. Whether it be its simple yet effectively told story that always has something to say, to how it explores its themes with solemness and deep nuance, the incredibly varied colossus battles that are immaculate in scale and feel consistently engaging and fun, the gorgeously atmospheric visual style, or the musical genius of Kow Otani. This game is a masterpiece of interactive storytelling in the most unique of ways and I’m positive it’s going to stay with me for a long time.

Shadow of the Colossus is justifiably praised for its atmosphere and art, but I really struggled to finish it. So much of the game is tedious and frankly, boring at times. When I finally got to a Colossus, I got a rush of excitement, clinging on while a Colossus shook you was pretty fun at first, but it's certainly not enough to entertain me 16 times in a row. But what really bothered me the most were the utterly atrocious controls. The horse was just a pain to ride.

I can appreciate the spectacle. It's beautiful, ambient and sadly a chore to play.

Greater than the sum of its parts, Shadow of the Colossus delivers a cinematic experience from start to finish. It's success is rooted in the atmosphere the game cultivates - a beautiful, tranquil landscape juxtaposed against chaotic, epic battles with the colossi. The former teaches you to develop a routine. I became very comfortable with riding Agro around, searching the wilderness for my next opponent, and the pre-battle ritual of finding a shrine and catching a lizard. The boss fights themselves teach you to think differently and throw you off-guard.

It's this atmospheric thread that flows throughout the game structure itself as well, and binds the story together. In the beginning of the game, everything is presented as simple - you are to gain the power to bring back Mono by defeating evil colossi. However, as you progress towards your goal, it becomes apparent that everything is not as it seems. The treks to the boss-fights become trickier, the bosses change from relaxing puzzles to dodging things like fireballs, and things begin to take on an un-easy feeling.

If I wanted to put on my literary criticism hat, I could also tie the playfully mischievous camera into this as well. The camera, oftentimes, seems to work with its own agency against the player. It's designed to create sweeping cinematic angles, most easily seen when riding Agro, which are indeed beautiful, but they aren't practical. In the beginning, I kept trying to wrest control from the camera in order to control it myself, and while it is possible, it always took great effort and threw me off of my game. I got used to the camera while traveling pretty quickly after I learned that faithful Agro will never throw you off of an unsuspecting ledge. However, I'm a little embarrassed to say it took me until the 10th colossus, Dirge, to actually give control over to the camera. I realized that it showed me exactly what I wanted to see on its own, and I could focus on fighting the colossus instead of the controls. Another sign of the Wanderer being driven by an invisible hand, unable to act with his own agency? Maybe. But I'm no longer an English teacher, so I won't force you to take my more literary perspective on game mechanics.

The colossi battles themselves range from spectacular to frustrating, though most of the time, the frustration is with the Wanderer's limitations rather than his opponent. Lying on the ground for what seems like eons after being hit, awkward aerial controls that sometimes send you a different direction than expected, and his penchant for falling over at the slightest change in momentum by a colossus all can be fairly frustrating. Overall though, I really enjoyed the puzzle-like nature of the battles. In fact, I wish there were more multi-layered puzzles in the vein of Pelagia and Argus that took full use of the environment and multiple weak-points rather than an over-reliance on the massive enemies just shaking endlessly. I understand that they need a defense against the Wanderer's attacks, but you have so much stamina by the end, that shaking isn't a deterrent - it just makes things take longer.

I realize that my take on the colossi battles borders on nitpicking for a game that came out on the PS2. I never played the PS2 version, though I can only imagine how vast and epic the game and world must have seemed in that time. That's the true heart of the game anyways - the feelings of awe, comfort, solitude, struggle and triumph you get while playing the game, all culminating in an ending which truly brings the pieces of the largest puzzle together, and provides satisfying closure to the experience.

Shadow of the Colossus is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that seamlessly combines beauty and discovery into a spectacular tapestry. This recreated classic struck a personal chord with me as someone who enjoys the art of exploration and immersive environments, albeit with a few minor snags along the way.

The instant I set foot in this game, it felt like an intimate dance with the world presented by Team Ico. Every part of the world feels like it has its own tale and atmosphere, with plenty of new surprises around every corner. As I took in the wide landscapes, old ruins, and peaceful waterscapes, the developers' artistry shone through. The detailed environmental design is commendable, a monument to the attention to detail. In today's gaming world, I can't think of many games today that offer such a distinctively created atmosphere.

The game's music, composed by Kow Otani, is a work of art which accentuates the presence of each Colossal. There are no words, but you can sense the significance of each Colossal and the environment they inhabit. The songs are in perfect union with the world's melancholy yet enticing atmosphere. The interaction of lighting, colors, weather, and the soundtrack creates an environment that pulled me in and kept me thoroughly immersed in the experience.

I could never have foreseen the significance of the game's finale as my adventure progressed. My quest resulted in a complicated mix of emotions, a sense that persisted long after I put down the controller. I had to think about what had transpired for quite long time before writing my review. It's unusual to come across a game with a journey like this one, in which you spend the entire time slaying innocent beings and becoming into a monster. And with everything that happened to Wander, the game concludes without a single word being spoken. All that's left to do is observe Mono and Agro as they move peacefully around the world. The game has an amazing potential to create an emotional link with the player, and it reminds everyone who plays that a narrative can be delivered forcefully without relying on too many words.

The primary gameplay of defeating the Colossal is exciting and full of awe. The mix of awe and pleasure experienced while scaling these enormous and unique monsters is unparalleled and provides a sense of accomplishment. The battles themselves are breathtaking and display a creative level of grandiosity, especially when none of the battles are identical to each other. But not everything is perfect. The controls occasionally fail to hold together, especially during specific Colossus confrontations with an emphasis on specifically orchestrated actions. It's most likely due to the original game's age, and it's not necessarily a flaw to others, but it's something I struggled with and it briefly disturbed the immersive experience.

Furthermore, while the grandeur of the Colossus battles is evident, there are times when the methods to defeat them feel simple. These experiences do not completely embrace the concept's potential, leaving me yearning for more deep and multifaceted encounters. Regardless, there were times throughout the game when these battles felt great. Nothing compares to the joy of seeing a towering Colossus miss you with their assaults and developing paths with their devastation, only to offer you an advantage. And no feeling quite matches the thrill of grabbing a Colossal's tail and having it entirely submerge you underwater and swim with you before bringing you back up to the surface to wrestle with you.

In conclusion, Shadow of the Colossus exemplifies the significant impact that a wonderfully constructed environment and a compelling narrative can have on an individual. The combination of stunning landscapes, wonderful songs, and emotionally charged gameplay provides a genuinely moving experience. As someone who craves games that focus on weaving love into their landscapes and presenting deep storytelling, the game's reinvented beauty captivated and affected me. Despite small hurdles like occasional control difficulties and times of simplicity, the overall impression left is one of astonishment and admiration. This reimagining of a classic showcases the potential of video games as an art, and proves that games are capable of evoking profound emotions while leaving an indelible mark on the player long after the final battle.

I am someone who isn’t afraid to admit when I was wrong on a game. I originally played this game up to the 7th colossus and abandoned the game. It was boring for me, the horse was a drunk asshole, and I didn’t find the “fights” with the first few colossus interesting at all. However upon replaying I still have the gripes of the horse being wonky and the first few fights being underwhelming but as the game progresses I see I gave up to early my first time. The last 8 colossus are great and increasingly fun. The story is very good and you can’t help but to feel for what you’d done but also feel for Wander as well. The giraffe like colossus that you have to deceive can suck is though. The AI on that colossus is ass. Overall a great game that I initially misread

🎮 Platform: PS5
⌚ Time played - 8h
⭐Score: 4/5
🏆Trophy completion - Game requires multiple play throughs and time trials. I generally don't try to plat such games.
📚 Full Review:
I never got to play this on the ps2 and went straight to remaster in ps5. I can only imagine that when this came out on ps2 it was unlike anything at that time. i wonder if god of war got inspiration from this because the only other game i played where you are scaling gigantic beasts is GOW.

Overall it was a fun game and I really enjoyed it. The boss battles are tense not because you are getting your ass beat, but because of the mechanics of having to crawl and grab large areas of fur clinging on to dear life while the beast tries to get you off. How to defeat each boss is a puzzle. Most are pretty intuitive once you think about it which I appreciated. There are some obscure ones but the clues they give help alot.

Music is great, tense, and immersive. The world is beautiful too as you traverse it.

The controls are clunky but i didn't have too much trouble with it. The camera unnecessarily pans also didn't bother me. I know for others these were show stoppers.

Definitely experience this game. Meet the different and varied colossi that show up. Leave thinking about the touching and simple story. The game has this fine balance of telling you just enough but not everything to leave you with a sense of fulfillment yet wonderment. Its really interesting how they did that.

Magnificent atmosphere, a grandiose soundtrack that never fails to impress and great gameplay makes for a very meaningful 8 hrs spent. The minimalistic story which somehow works quite well managed to make me cry at the end. Shadow of the Colossus nails almost everything it tries to go for. My only real complaint would be a few Colossi weren't as unique as the rest and one was kinda repeated too. I can understand the pedestal which this game is put on and where people are coming from when they praise it to no ends.