Scott Watson reviews Shadow of the Colossus…
It’s been over 12 years since Fumito Ueda first brought his masterpiece to life on the PS2. That’s a long time in gaming, and with it nostalgia can at times be a cruel mistress. Thankfully, and in no small part once again to the talented team at Bluepoint Games, this PS4 re-master is every bit, if not better, than the original I remember being captivated by all those years ago.
Nuanced, subtle, thought-provoking, mysterious… Shadow of the Colossus draws you in through curiosity and very little narrative. It conveys a simple story through a beautifully directed introduction to the game. It’s a quest to mend a broken heart. A quest to bring back that which was thought lost. A quest to be completed at whatever cost and whatever price.
An abandoned temple, a foreign land, a magic sword, a purpose defined and a price to be paid for it. Shadow of the Colossus provides us with a stark, beautiful and empty world, where we must hunt down and destroy sixteen huge Colossi all in the hopes of returning a lost love.
I could lose myself in this world just travelling around and taking in its lonely and desolate splendour. Seeing sprawling stone bridges or towering cliffs descending deeply to a crashing beachfront. The first time you encounter a vista of multiple sprawling waterfalls. A huge abandoned structure, hewn from the very rock it sits in, appears through a desert storm. It is all breath-taking.
All this before you even consider the task of finding and defeating each Colossus. Those moments when you do uncover these towering behemoths still take my breath away. It’s David and Goliath. It’s the thought of where and how you are expected to take down such monsters with nothing more than a horse, a bow and arrow, a magic sword, and a strong grip. Each Colossus and its surrounding area play out like a giant puzzle, each requiring a unique and different approach with no two encounters ever the same. The game does very little hand holding and expects you to think strategically and more importantly perhaps, in a logical manner, as you size up each opportunity and opening.
It should be satisfying as hell, finding these beasts weak spots, making your way up, in and around their hulking bodies before delivering the killing blows. But somehow, it isn’t. This isn’t a slight on the game either. It happens every time another is downed. I want to marvel at these creatures. I want to watch them, observe them, understand them. I don’t want to kill them but understand it’s the only way I can save my one true love. It’s an emotional connection, something that doesn’t happen anywhere near often enough in games. Another falls and all I feel is melancholy, sadness, pity. I feel sorry for having brought down something so majestic all for my own selfish ends.
This is gaming escapism of the highest quality. It sucks you into its world, it makes you think. It creates an empathy with you that I have very rarely encountered in any other game in all my years of playing.
Shadow of the Colossus is a game deserving of remastering every single generation. It deserves its place in the pantheon of gaming history, of gaming greats. Its design and delivery are a masterclass in how to tell a story and grip the imagination and the soul. Bluepoint Gaming have achieved that most rare of moments and managed to make something great even greater.
Pros:
+ Stunningly beautiful remaster
+ Refined control system
+ Enemies that require real thought and tactics to take down
Cons:
– camera focus may frustrate some
Rating: 10/10
Platform reviewed on PlayStation 4
Scott Watson
