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.

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.

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 don't get it. This is the second time I have given this game a chance. I tried the PS3 version of the PS2 original about a decade ago, and I figured that maybe this newer version would remedy the problems I had. I feel like I'm being gaslit in to believing it's a good video game. This has got to be the biggest discrepancy in terms of critical acclaim vs. how I feel. I legitimately think it's a bad one. Without exaggeration, I'm giving it a 1/5. The only redeeming qualities are the lovely music and the sense of atmosphere/scale it provides. Outside of that, there's nothing to enjoy here.

The only feeling I felt while playing was frustration. And no, I don't think it's due to it being 'difficult'. It's just annoying. I got through the first 3 colossi without much issue. I just have no desire to continue on.

Agro is one of the worst controlling horses in all of video games. Imagine the absolute horror of using this thing after experiencing the perfection of the double-jumping horse that can turn on a dime in Elden Ring.

Jumping feels bad. Climbing feels bad. Orienting the camera is a pain. It constantly wants to shift the camera to behind you to give you a cinematic view. I want to put the camera facing behind me as I run away from the giant beast, game! Why can't I do that without it fighting with me to re-center?

This game is nothing but a lump of frustration covered in a thin layer of intriguing aspects like the world/ambience.

Yes, I know it's "intended" for things to be frustrating but that doesn't excuse it. That's a bad decision. Nothing should feel intentionally bad - this is a video game. If something is going to feel "intentionally difficult to perform" it should still be fun to try to figure out and overcome. There's no fun to be had here. That would be like someone sitting beside me as I play a Zelda game and punching me in the face every time I try to use a weapon against the boss. "It's immersive, bro!"

Like I said, this second attempt at playing this has solidified my opinion even further. This has got to be the single most overrated game of all time. It's not like other games such as Pikmin, Animal Crossing, or Microsoft Flight Simulator where I can look at it and go "you know what? That's a great game - it's just not for me." No, this is not a great game. I refuse to accept that people genuinely feel that way about this. It's bad.

Sorry for such a negative rant, but I don't know how else to put it. LOL

Jogo excepcional, talvez o único defeito que Shadow of The Colossus tenha é o fato de eu já telo jogado, toda ambientação, gameplay, história é tudo muito bom para se repetir, mas meu ponto é que a sensação, a atmosfera de experimentar este jogo pela primeira vez é ÚNICA, a sensação de solidão, medo, curiosidade, imponência daquele universo sobre aquele garoto que tu controla é algo impressionante, lembro da tensão de cada momento que sentia enquanto jogava isso com meus 10, 12 anos. A primeira vez que vi o Valus em uma demo que meu primo tinha no play dele, foi indescritível, a dúvida, tensão de não saber o que fazer, como enfrentar aquela besta e quando entende, a sensação de erro ao estar matando aquele colosso é assustadora, lembro que não matava mais de um colosso pq a carga de cada batalha era pesada demais para continuar, porra a emoção de enfrentar o Gaius a primeira vez era muito mágico...

Mas falando do jogo, Shadow of The Colossus Remake é muito bem feito, todo ambientação, gráficos lindos, melhoraram, porém não é tão necessário, o jogo de ps2 continua incrivelmente lindo, a física permanece a mesma e como eu acho foda a movimentação do Wander, toda reação dele aos colossos, ambiente é incrível, movimentos atrapalhados acrescenta muito ao personagem, a dificuldade dele para subir na Agro é muito bom, é um moleque inexperiente fazendo de tudo para salvar a pessoa que ama, acrescenta tanto ao personagem sabe.

A história é muito abstrata, deixa muito para o jogador interpreta-la, logo no início já é apresentado toda a motivação do personagem, salvar a Mono, dai pra frente esse universo vai te gerar muitas perguntas e algumas vezes sem resposta, ai vai contigo pensar e interpretar.

A gameplay infelizmente perde um pouco quando tu já conhece o game, o grande desafio é descobrir a maneira de enfrentar os colossos para min que já zerei algumas vezes se torna muito fácil, joguei no hard sem rushar e terminei em menos de 5 horas, mas ainda é irado, sabe aquelas cenas épicas, plásticas que acontecem geralmente em cutscene, nesse jogo é na gameplay, é muito emocionante toda a batalha, épico...

Fumito Ueda por favor faça alguma obra nova!
E sony vamos trazer pro PCzin as obras da Team ICO pelo amor de DEUS!

Que remake MARAVILHOSO, extremamente competente e conseguiram levar o legado de um jogo marcante pra frente, particularmente pra mim a versão de ps2 me marcou mais (provavelmente porque era a primeira vez que eu estava jogando o jogo e eu acho que a estética do ps2 por algum motivo adiciona muito na experiência) por isso ela é a minha favorita mas esse remake com certeza substitui o original sendo a experiência definitiva de Shadow.

O quanto eu fiquei maravilhado com esse remake na questão gráfica não tá escrito, literalmente um dos jogos mais lindos que eu já vi na vida, Forbidden Lands com certeza atingiu o seu ápice nesse jogo, a vegetação dessa porra é de cair o queixo, aonde no original tinha uma floresta com algumas arvores e só, nesse remake tem 10 vezes mais vegetação, com muito mais variedade, arvores caídas, pedras espalhadas, a vegetação tomando conta do ambiente e deixando aquela floresta um dos cenários mais magníficos que eu já vi num jogo, sem dúvidas nenhuma esse jogo conseguiu trazer esse sentimento de um lugar mágico e magnifico, como se fosse um paraíso proibido mesmo. Os pelos dos colossos são literalmente a pelagem mais linda e realista que eu já vi em um jogo, são poucos os casos de cabelos e pelos que eu consigo citar que chegam perto do trabalho INCRIVEL que é a pelagem desses colossos, muito lindo de ver cara meu deus.

Eu não manjo muito do conteúdo extra do ps2, sei que tinha bastante coisa pra fazer mas de certa forma na época não tinha os troféus e toda essa historia de platina que é bem valorizada hoje em dia, mas ainda sim desde o ps2 esse jogo parece que tem uma magia de te fazer querer explorar cada canto daquele mundo, não sei o que acontece mas eu não ligava nem um pouco de ficar perdido e ver um pouco mais da perfeição desse mundo, os extras do remake é extremamente divertido e eu acho que ele te incentiva demais a explorar o jogo inteiro, repetir o game, como já rolava no ps2, fiquei muito tentado a fazer a platina dele, não sei se vou mas eu acho muito legal o quão incentivado você se sente a fazer ela, fica um valor de replay muito bom.

Pra mim esse remake conseguiu muito bem mostrar o que é Shadow of the Colossus e porque esse jogo é tão importante, única coisa nele que eu achei meio esquisito é o rosto do Wander humano, não sei, não consegui me acostumar e achei meio esquisito, o de ps2 amassa esse ai kkkk, mas de resto é perfeito, não colocaram nada inédito e eu até acho certo porque não se mexe em time que ta ganhando, era um risco muito grande a correr alterar o jogo assim, só de ter uma forma de jogar o Shadow mais "acessível" e mais bonita já tá perfeito. QUE JOGO BOM

As someone completely detached from the nostalgia this game may invoke in many, I can understand how it would have blown players away during its initial release on the PS2 in 2005. In 2023, however, even with the quality of life improvements, control scheme changes, and graphical upscaling that the 2018 PS4 remake provides, Shadow of the Colossus is beginning to show its age. After playing through the entire main story and taking a look at the game holistically I’m not sure it stands the test of time and may be overrated thanks to the nostalgia tinted glasses of many.

From the start, Shadow of the Colossus looks to be an open-world adventure game. You have a horse for easy travel across a map that looks rich with ancient ruins and areas to explore. This is unfortunately not the case. The game in reality is a boss rush; the player using their horse for little more than traveling from one Colossi battle to the next with little to no detours to be had. Granted, the game is by definition an “open-world” in the most basic sense of the word, i.e. each environment in the game is linked together seamlessly without load screens and are all immediately available to the player at the start of the game, but this is where it ends. The lack of any real reason to explore makes this “open world“ less than interesting. There are, of course, glowing trinkets to collect scattered sparingly around the game world, lizards to shoot and pick up for increased stamina, and fruit to find and eat for increased health, but nothing else of note. I don’t consider these tasks to be meaningful side content whatsoever and the prospect of finding them never compelled me to venture anywhere besides directly to the next Colossi battle.

While this review is for the 2018 remaster of this game, it is important to note that an open-world the likes of which is present in Shadow of the Colossus was bare bones even during its original 2005 release on the PS2. By 2005, amazing open-world games like Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Yakuza 2 had all been released on the platform. All of these games, while of course having flaws of their own, had an interesting and rich open-world that were full of things to do. I obviously understand the in-game and artistic reasoning behind the empty landscapes of Shadow of the Colossus, but it just doesn’t sit well with me that there is so little to do in such a beautiful world.

Along with the open-world, I also had an assortment of issues with the controls and camera angles used for this game. The control scheme itself is fine - firing your bow with L1 and using Square to attack is near second nature in any video game - but the movement of the player character and especially the horse is immensely clunky. I can’t say if this is reminiscent of the controls present in the PS2 release of the game or was a conscious choice made by BluePoint Games while remaking it, but the controls are passable at best and unwieldy, cumbersome, and aggravating at worst. The control of the horse is especially worth mentioning here as it is hard to steer and incredibly slow unless you repeatedly mash and then hold down Triangle. There are times when I want to abandon the horse altogether and simply travel on foot, but the immense distance you have to travel in this game mandates you use the horse or spend several minutes traversing the empty expanse of the game world leaving you to realize how dead of an experience this game is unless you are tackling a Colossi.

The camera, on the other hand, feels like something BluePoint could have remedied in the PS4 release of the game, but decided to stay true to the atrocious camera work of the original. It is never truly behind the player, repeatedly gets stuck, and zooms in and out to an absurd degree at the worst times. To say it is the cause of several drops to near death throughout my play through would be an understatement. As a PS2 game this camera work would have been fine and forgivable, but for a game released in 2018 it’s unacceptable.

Despite these complaints, Shadow of the Colossus is at its absolute best when you are taking on the Colossi. The puzzle that each encounter presents that must be overcome to take down the behemoths is always engaging and will require some genuine riddle solving on the part of the player. The David versus Goliath scenario of each encounter is both exciting and terrifying no matter how many titans you topple as you realize how incredibly small you are in comparison to the lumbering, flying, or swimming Colossi in the game. Individually, 14 of the 16 Colossi designs in the game are absolutely breathtaking - 2 of the Colossi might as well be carbon copies of each other and their designs, armor covered quadrupeds reminiscent of a lion or large dog, are less than stellar. Regardless of which Colossi designs I like or dislike, the ability of the game developers to seamlessly merge organic materials like hair and scales with inorganic stone and metal is incredible, and is something I have not seen replicated in any other game.

Shadow of the Colossus was undoubtedly groundbreaking in 2005 and obviously had an impact on game development going forward, but it is nowhere near a perfect game and is quite mediocre by 2023 standards. It is unfortunate that the 2018 remake failed to really upgrade the dated mechanics, clunky controls, and bad camera work of the original leaving us with a graphically beautiful but mechanically underwhelming game.

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 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.

Shadow of the Colossus left me asking a myriad of questions because the game invites you to. Its worldbuilding and minimalist storytelling offer the player a narrative that intentionally lacks direction to make the player feel like an interloper. The vague plot and largely desolate world had me wondering why it was this way. What happened to this land? What was there before? Why are the colossi here? What are the colossi? The deeply layered world of questions provide meaning to the hero's plight.

"hey you know the game that had like 30 bosses cut due to technological limitations of the time?"

"yeah?"

"we should totally remake it"

"what you mean we include at least some of those cut bosses that the fans have been dying for and even modding into the original game themselves, and utilize more of the vast world without sacrificing that empty desolate feeling that the ps2 game evoked"

"what no i just mean lets keep it almost exactly the same but butcher the art style, and add like a new sword and time trials and ubisoft collectables"

"oh thats way better than what i was thinking"

Shadow of the Colossus is wonderful in everything except in game design and technique.
Artistically it's wonderful, both for the original concept and for the divine Bluepoint's work. It goes without saying that at the time the idea of the Colossi was a visionary, crazy and beautiful idea. The title manages to give emotion and suggestion, both in the long sections of horseback riding thanks to the beautiful game world, and in the actual battles. However, the experience was very frustrating: on paper, the idea that each of the 16 boss-fights should first and foremost be a puzzle and then require platforming sections is not bad at all, on the contrary. However, the times in which the fights are understandable are few: it is often very difficult to understand the right way to face the boss, or, other times, the combat mechanics are tedious and annoying. Also, the character's movements are a curse to the player (including the horse).
Another serious flaw is the camera: terrible, frustrating in its operation.

It is not the masterpiece i have heard about about in the slightest, but it remains a valid title that has made the history of the medium, and for this reason it deserves profound respect.

As a remake it is visually amazing, I know many do not agree because of how colorful it is, but please play it with the "Mono" filter gives the game the gray and desolate tone faithful to the original, although leaving aside the visuals, I was disappointed that it has some bugs but did not ruin the experience, the controls improved slightly but still "clunky" and the camera is at times annoying, highly recommended remake does not replace the original but is a great alternative if you do not want to play the original with bad framerate.