Shadow of the Colossus

amazon Shadow of the Colossus reviews

Shadow of the Colossus is a game that you will be … “deceived” from the beginning if you consider the current open-world game criteria.

If you want to find a game that goes 5 minutes and there is a quest appearing with an exclamation mark on the map, a village that neighborhood has a dozen events going on, or have to study, Food to increase energy to kill monsters, or to experience special relationships with companions. Unfortunately, Shadow of the Colossus is completely not a game for you.

Your job is just from A to B to C to D, and defeat each giant monster Colossi until the game is over.

However, why is Shadow of the Colossus still such a special, unmistakable game once it has been accepted to ignore the above popular criteria?

Shadow of the Colossus’ most profitable feature is the setting: a vast, bare-fielded world, mixed with hills, forests, and a little wild wilderness, lonely and out of place, nothing. In addition to the ancient ruins that were abandoned and empty. Sixteen species of Colossi rule it, one day visited by a young man who dared to invade the land with his companion, the horse Argo. The boy dares to do everything to save the one he loves dead through an offer to commit at a high price to Dormin. From there, the journey in Shadow of the Colossus begins.

At first glance, you might think that unique, emotional narration is the most powerful element of Shadow of the Colossus? It is not really because the game does not explain; the narration is only in a few words. The game allows players to reflect on their journey through the length of time, follow the instructions from the sword emitting light to find the Colossi. Strictly speaking, Shadow of the Colossus only uses open-world elements to steer players along the linear path of the story behind it. The very lack of side quests distract players from the linear focus structure of the game itself.

From there, the game easily guides the player through majestic scenes to describe the unspoken tale of this place, leading the player’s emotions from the wonders of the Colossi living ruins. The spatial design and the artistic direction in Shadow of the Colossus are done very well, and it’s even more impressive that the Team ICO development team can still apply advanced technologies on the PS2 system with hardware. Previous limitations such as fluttering clothes, realistic character movements with a well-specified Argo horse, the modern Bloom effect created intense sunlight, using 2D rendering techniques in the distance. When Closer to home, the object is “accreted” more details and transformed into 3D scenes….

The talented artistic director and the ability to handle the technical talent of the Team ICO created a journey to leave an unforgettable mark both technically and artistically. The elite is detailed in every detail with the PlayStation 4 version of Shadow of the Colossus and other modern and trendy enhancements at present. The hills, the immense green land, the green grass, and the sunlight effect can see small dust particles, the water surface shimmering as real, or the distant scene is no longer 2D anymore 3D rendering.

Bluepoint Games has also had careful considerations whether the re-implementation from the graphics platform’s roots. PlayStation 4 version of Shadow of the Colossus retains the original version’s spirit, atmosphere, and essence. Therefore, we can see the grandeur in Shadow of the Colossus, which was once more beautiful now and still feels so complete!

However, it is trivial if only the scenery is invested, right? Right from the first encounter with a living “landscape” named Colossi, you will shiver because of the massive, overwhelming size and especially every surface detail; the fur is shown in with fairness and beauty free of charge! There is a quite funny truth, that is that the writer has “encountered” many monsters, giant ferocious robots in countless other games, but never the writer felt … afraid. When encountering them with the mighty Colossi from Shadow of the Colossus, the scary thing that comes out protagonist only possesses a glowing sword, an ordinary bow. He can not launch dozens of combos in a row like Kratos and Dante, or even have a set of shooting tools, poison archery, and bombs like Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn. Because of creating the feeling that the player is just a tick in the eyes of the Colossi, the game has succeeded in making an interesting difference between itself and countless other games. It is not easy climbing them; their size is one thing, but their structural design and how they work and walk have big differences.

For longtime players or fans of Shadow of the Colossus, taking down the Colossi is too easy, sometimes in as little as 10 minutes to end a match. But for new players like the writer, it is true that these clashes, besides making me feel so small, the “struggling” to find the right place to climb them and find the weaknesses. It is a difficult, challenging job, but it all brings a wonderful feeling that is hard to describe once it ends. This wonderful feeling will not last long because players will be presented with a “flip” that hits their heart until the end. But, the writer would not disclose because this is also what makes Shadow of the Colossus so special, as the end of the movie La La Land makes the story much more meaningful. When players realize the initial comments about Shadow of the Colossus will be erased and an experience that not all games can bring.

And it is extremely flawed if you ignore the “top of the top” soundtrack of the game because the battles will be extremely “soulless” without them. From the first moments, players will listen to sexy, sorrowful but extremely mysterious and strange melodies like the main character riding a horse to the sacred land, creating pieces, solemn and solemn.

The symphony orchestra is rhythmically coordinated through each thrilling rhythm, creating the rhythm of feeling overflowing, sadness, or simply listening quietly to see the greatness that music brings in Shadow of the Colossus. If you own a good speaker system, congratulations, you have been immersed in the immense world of the game!

However, considering that Shadow of the Colossus is not a perfect version, the game is compared to the phrase “remake,” but the game needs more than the foundation of a remake. Graphics and gameplay core. Yes, Shadow of the Colossus for PlayStation 4 is still as attractive, as good, and memorable as ever, but apart from the only change that assigns the jump function to the X button, the rest of the game isn’t real. There are too many changes to deserve the “remake” label.

Viewing angle is still one of the things worth mentioning. Although the perspective in Shadow of the Colossus is still a lot better than ICO and The Last Guardian, if Bluepoint has tried to change the controls to make it more trendy, it should be more refined angle control reduce “old” than before. Not to mention, as the writer said above when a game bearing the label “remake” instead of “remastered” or “definitive edition,” Shadow of the Colossus should have added some new content to the game new experiences instead of just clinging to nostalgia. Or at least, it might be a good idea to work with the original author of the original version to bring back Colossi that were dropped due to hardware limitations in the old days, right?

where can you get a Shadow of the Colossus online

Shadow of the Colossus – PlayStation 4: Buy it now

Shadow of the Colossus – PlayStation 2: Buy it now

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection (PS3): Buy it now