By 2005, the dawning of a new era in gaming was approaching. Microsoft, who a few years earlier entered the console video gaming world, was preparing to release its second video game console hardware – the Xbox 360. Nintendo looked to shock the world with a new console system dubbed “Revolution” that would feature a remote control-like controller and ask potential players to interact with games by actually moving more parts of their bodies other than just their thumbs and fingers. And Sony, the big kahuna of video gaming, had its eyes set on changing the way high definition media was stored and played back with “Blu-ray” discs – something they hoped to utilize with their next iteration of the Playstation. But gamers were still happy to play what had carried them into the new millennium and beyond. Four years prior to the eventual big three making their intentions known about what was in store for the future of gaming, players joined together and talked about greatness systems like the Playstation 2 and Sega’s Dreamcast offered. On the Sony front, one particular game stood out from the pack of hundreds thanks to its fantastic art design, challenging puzzles and interesting story, “Ico”. Headed by Fumito Ueda, Team Ico looked to create an experience not unlike a popular independent movie that garners a ton of praise by those who have experienced it, and is eventually given the marketing and widespread availability of a “Triple A” title. I would keep hearing about “Ico’s” quality and must-play ability for the next year or two; even seeing the game on a shelf at Gamestop and being tempted to purchase it, but telling myself instead, “I’ll get it one day.” That day never came during the “PS2’s” time as my active, go-to console.
But times had changed in 2005 and my mind was ready to accept greatness. That year while everyone was looking toward the future, many gamers who had played and admired “Ico” from afar respectively were excited to hear about the North American release of the game’s spiritual successor, “Shadow of the Colossus”. Though graphically the game would be very reminiscent to its predecessor, the gameplay promised to offer a completely different experience that would still be emotionally taxing & gripping. Christmas 2005 saw me becoming the owner of Team Ico’s latest work and I was ready to see what I had been missing from this great studio for the past four years. By the game’s finale I was left astounded and considered it one of the greatest games I ever experienced. So color me excited in 2017 when it was announced an exclusive PS4 “Shadow of the Colossus” remake would be released a year later that would allow gamers both new & old to experience what I and many others thought was a masterpiece hindered technically by the hardware it was made for a decade earlier. Would this be another example of leaving well enough alone in the past, or the proof that with the right care greatness can be improved upon & rightfully exalted? I couldn’t wait to find out the answer.
Did I Complete “Shadow of the Colossus” (Remake)?
Unlike “Ico”, “Shadow of the Colossus” (or “SotC”) doesn’t feature minor enemies. As promoted time and time again before its release both in 2005 and now, the game is a series of boss battles – one intended to be more spectacular than the last. Following the opening scenes featuring a lone boy & his horse riding toward a castle standing out between the peaks of mountaintops, the player is taken into the temple. Inside, he lays down a large sheet holding the body of a deceased female. Crying to the heavens, he gets his answer as to how her life can be restored: by going throughout the land and slaughtering sixteen different colossi. From that moment on the player is given the chance to control the protagonist Wander and his trusty steed Agro as they venture forth to complete a task seemingly insurmountable. The reason one would think the duty of defeating a gigantic foe in this game is almost impossible is simply due to scale. Magnificently the beasts can be toppled through creative ways of climbing using the monsters’ fur or the environment (or both) before finding vulnerabilities to stab until each colossi finally tumbles in death. After accomplishing the feat of overcoming sixteen mythical creatures over the course of six hours or so, I witnessed the journey’s end.
Yet there is actually more to “SotC” than just the initial playthrough. After going through the game, the player is given an opportunity to test their skills through “time attack” mode where the player has to beat the clock when slaughtering adversaries in hopes of attaining prizes (both useful and odes to its predecessor, “Ico”). For yours truly, the lone experience of conquering the unconquerable was enough on the Playstation 2. But that didn’t stop me from giving it another go when I purchased this version to topple the beasts one more time while taking pictures with the new “Photo Mode” and attaining a variety of trophies for actions such as defeating the third colossi without breaking its wrist guard or performing stunts while on horseback.
Did “Shadow of the Colossus” (Remake) Live Up to the Hype?
Like “Ico” before it, “SotC” has become one of the poster boys for the “Video Games Are Art” argument that has going on for quite some time. One couldn’t talk about “Shadow” without first mentioning how gorgeous it was both visually and aurally in 2005. The PS2 version of “SotC” was mostly minimalist in nature when it came to presenting the environment with a muted color scheme and mostly foggy expanse due to draw distance limitations. That is not the case in the remake as the world, though desolate of humanity, is captivating because of its beauty; from the sand dunes north of the starting temple to the waterfalls near one of the latter beast’s lair. And when it comes to the colossi themselves, these monstrosities are not only impressive in size (appearing more grandiose than their original depiction as expected), but also in action thanks to the detailed fur covering portions of their bodies, their expressive eyes that change color when enraged, and even their movements when Wander tries to hold on by the player’s order; making for some hair-raising moments that might have a player clutching the controller a little tighter when Wander is flying through the air while hanging from the wing of a stone bird who was just resting on a ledge before its attacker showed up. There’s a great reverence in the visual presentation of “SotC” that improves upon almost every aspect of the original release. From a sound perspective, the mixing has noticeably been redone. The soundtrack, though somewhat minimal as well (the same music used for almost every battle-ending cutscene), has obvious differences relating to the colossus themselves as they are louder in their movements and groans of pain with the prior giving hints when they are about to attack or want to shake Wander off like an annoying insect that he is compared to them. Unlike the graphics & sound, the story itself is unchanged and still embraces the belief that “less is more” when it comes to player’s interpretation.
But all the pretty visuals and sounds in the world can’t make a game something incredible if the gameplay isn’t there. The singular focus of “SotC” is to figure out the living puzzle of each beast and slay it in spectacular fashion after using a sword to find the direction & riding Argo across the world that once felt huge, but has definitely shrunken in perspective thanks to such larger open-worlds becoming the norm in the generations that followed. The way to complete the task is, mostly, entirely up to the player. Thanks to this piece of gaming freedom, players are given the chance to experiment and test the boundaries of what should’ve and could’ve been a very limiting experience. Very few colossi feel insignificant and not worthy of the game (though a few come across as misplaced as they could’ve worked better earlier or later in the game depending on what monsters you’re referring to such as the dog-like beast afraid of fire).
Depending on the difficulty level, the colossi will vary in both strength and vulnerable points (the harder the difficulty, more stabbing spots on a colossi in both the regular and time attack modes). The movements of Wander, Agro and their adversaries be it climbing, running, dodging or attacking is just like it was in the original game with a few minor improvements here & there like Wander taking less time to fall when stepping off the edge of a cliff instead of the original “Looney Toons” style near-fall animation. While it still operates the same way as it did in the original, the depiction of Wander’s health & stamina (the later depleting when Wander grabs onto a colossi; only regenerating when letting go of whatever he’s holding onto) has been modified to take up less of the screen and vanishes until in use or Wander takes a bad hit. When it came to the original and even the PS3 remaster, “SotC” was hampered by frame rate drops that would leave Wander running, jumping & even falling in slow motion. Thankfully, the game is locked at 30 FPS and never drops even on an original PS4 (something that couldn’t be stated playing the original on a fat PS2 compared to the slim PS2).
But for all the improvements made, “Shadow of the Colossus” (2018) isn’t perfect. The most glaring issue is the third-person camera still doesn’t clip through solid objects. “SotC’s” camera issues can become incredibly problematic when platforming be it around the world or, most importantly, when taking on one of the colossi (such as being unable to see a jumping point when taking on the third colossi due to its arm being so close to its body). Though the camera issue varies from colossi to colossi it’s something they still haven’t figured out how to properly fix when the answer is obvious. From a control perspective, the remake allows for players to use both a modernized version of the original control scheme (such as the “X” button being jump instead of the triangle button) or the one that PS2 players experienced a decade ago. But certain aspects of the controls are still the same no matter what the player chooses such as having to hold down the grab button (R1 or R2 depending on what control scheme the player uses) when Wander is clinging to a ledge or colossi while tapping the jump button to move upward in a faster motion if Wander has the chance.
No matter the control style the player chooses expect some growing pains during the first couple of beasts (and even veterans will have problems with muscle memory kicking in when playing the modern style). Tying both problems is the platforming. There will be times when the camera hinders the viewpoint when trying to jump between ledges that inevitably ends with Wander missing the mark and plummeting. These moments can prove to be frustrating no matter how much you get used the game’s shortcomings. Like its version predecessors, “Shadow of the Colossus” (2018) is a flawed classic that mostly overcomes its original iteration’s limitations while fixing production issues that help realize the visual & aural potential of an experience that was once limited not by ingenuity, but the hardware it was made for over a decade ago.
Should You Play “Shadow of the Colossus” (Remake)
The PS2 version (and eventually the PS3 HD Remaster) of “Shadow of the Colossus” is one of the most beautiful (both aesthetically and aurally) experiences a gamer could have, but was hampered overall by hardware limitations. It would take some twelve years and two console generations for this game to finally reach its potential as issues such as frame rate drops and dips in graphical quality are no more; though there are still camera problems and a control scheme that can be a little bothersome for those who didn’t play it when it was first released or simply grew up in a time when developers tried to be as simplistic when mapping a control scheme as possible. “Shadow of the Colossus” the PS4 version is a shining example of a remake done right by maintaining the base gameplay that left players in awe over a decade ago, not tampering with the minimalist story, and trying to improve upon the flaws from two generations ago. But no matter the amount of improvements made to this classic game there’s still a chance from a gameplay perspective it might not be the type of experience someone would want to have thanks to the down time traveling across the virtual land and performing the same routine, only against a different enemy. But it’s so hard not to tell someone to try the game and attempt to slay a couple of colossi to see if it’s worth continuing because there’s a great chance you’ll get sucked into the world and the enormous duty thrust upon a nearly muted individual with a very bombastic soul. It was hard to deny just how monumental this game was in 2005. In 2018 this remake reasserts that “Shadow of the Colossus” is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that, thankfully, has now spanned multiple console generations upon reaching its potential.
