A timeless masterpiece, Shadow of the Colossus is a journey worth living again

Now is the best time to experience one of the most iconic videogames ever

The announcement of Shadow of the Colossus’s remake at E3 2017 caught everyone off guard. Whether it’s the fact that Fumito Ueda’s sophomore masterpiece still looks great to this day (the PS3 remaster too helped in keeping its fashion intact) or its god-like status in the history of gaming despite its relatively young age, no one was expecting a remake of Shadow of the Colossus. It just came out of the blue.

But there’s an even bigger reason why everyone — especially long-time Team ICO fans — didn’t expect this remake: it wasn’t needed. At least, that’s how most people felt the day of the announcement.

Despite being someone who rarely finishes the same game twice, I can say without a shade of doubt that Shadow of the Colossus is one of the games that I’ve played the most in my life, both when it came out on PlayStation 2 twelve years ago and on PS3 in its ICO and Shadow of the Colossus HD remaster. Just like its predecessor, I kept revisiting the Forbidden Land on a regular basis throughout the years, and the last time I lived the tragic story of Wander on my PS3 was only a few years ago; I could have easily sticked to this remastered version for another ten years, and I’m sure most of the fans would think the same. Therefore, at first I couldn’t wrap my head around the reason behind this remake.

Let’s make it clear: BluePoint Games took an enormous risk with this project. As a developer, you don’t wanna touch such a beloved masterpiece. It’s risky. Sure, the Texas-based software house is a veteran in making older games look better than ever, yet I would have never thought that any studio could have possibly took the risk to put its hands on a game - or better, a work of art - holding such an important artistic and historical value in videogame history. Long-time Shadow of the Colossus fans know what I’m talking about: this is a game that truly speaks to the player, conveying a myriad of feelings throughout its story and world, creating and giving space to the player to reflect not only about Wander’s desperate endeavour, but also on everything surrounding him. It’s a sort of spiritual journey, that takes the art and the beauty reflected in the pilgrimage of the Forbidden Land as a mean to look inside of you, prompting to ask yourself if everything you’re doing is the right thing, or even on which side of the spectrum you are: am I the good one here, or the bad one? Is love really an excuse to do something like this, or am I just being selfish?

This is why it’s incredibly hard to remake a videogame like this: the risk to scratch, or to even minimally alterate such a strong message and emotional bond is extremely high. That’s why I was initially pretty indifferent about this remake. I just didn’t feel the need for it: the game was and still is perfect as it is.

Being my second favorite videogame of all times though, I still felt the obligation to get this remake as soon as it got released. I started playing it right away, and after three colossi’s shadows inside my soul and barely more than an hour of gameplay, I literally forgot I was playing a remake: it felt exactly the same as the original, but with the addition of jaw-dropping visuals. I was sold: one of my favorite videogames of all times looking more beautiful than ever… something that I thought I didn’t need but that I actually needed, even from a mere fan-service standpoint.

The first thing that absolutely blew me away — immediately noticeable since the first cutscene — is the respect towards the original game that Bluepoint clearly put in front of everything in their remaking process. Sure, there are a few touches here and there, like several different control schemes (including the original mapping and a modern one for new players), a few sound tweaks that occasionally can help a lot (you lizard hunters know what I’m talking about), a series of collectible coins that will give you access to an exclusive item, a slightly modified UI, and a The Last Guardian easter egg. For the rest though, they didn’t twist anything at all… they just made it more beautiful and detailed. Many of the initial concerns following the announcement were particularly aimed at the atmosphere of the original, due to the fear of seeing it compromised in some way, but after beating the game I feel more than confident in saying that the unique aura surrounding this game, and the tragic yet subtly serene mood is still intact. Same goes for the epic battles, that now more than ever shine in all their absolute greatness and pathos.

The last thing that cemented my admiration towards this remake — and the real trial by fire for BluePoint Games — was the ending (no spoilers, you can go on).

Still to this day, I’m absolutely convinced that Shadow of the Colossus has the best ending in videogame history. Period. Everything is in the right place: the music, the visuals, the photography, the direction, the timing of each scene, the instruments of the orchestra kicking in at the right moment… everything is absolutely perfect. BluePoint Games knew this, so they pulled it off perfectly by not touching a single thing: they just made it even more beautiful to see, therefore making a perfect ending even more stunning. And that is the greatest goal, the detail that more than anything made me understand the respect and the love this team of developers treated this remake with. They couldn’t have done it any better.

Making a timeless masterpiece even more beautiful is only half of BluePoint’s achievement though: the other half is heritage.

As I said earlier, the game is still greatly enjoyable in its PlayStation 3 HD remaster. Yet, with this remake, BluePoint and Fumito Ueda (who suggested some of the small changes to the team) opened their doors to the newer generation of players, the ones who were coming to this world while we were playing ICO on PlayStation 2 seventeen years ago. This leads to an achievement of vital importance: keeping the heritage of Fumito Ueda’s artistry and vision alive in the years, as well as its vital influence in videogames as part of our culture.

In the end, however you look at it, Shadow of the Colossus actually needed a remake. We just didn’t know it. Partly because we always want things dear to us to remain the same forever, partly because sometimes we older gamers tend to be a little bit skeptical towards the newer generation of players, fearing they can’t “understand” the concept of a game like this in an industry that is now saturated and full of commercial stunts like yearly series of games that put quantity in front of quality. But now more than ever, it’s clear that a game like this deserves to be played by anyone who loves videogames at heart and value this medium as one of the greatest art forms of our times, no matter the age or generation. And considering how this remake already topped the UK chart and outsold the sales of the original game in 2006, it’s clear how much the videogame culture and the knowledge the world has towards it has grown over the last decade.

The legend of Wander and the Colossus will live on for generations to come, and I can feel nostalgia and gratefulness growing inside of me as I think about it. And as I type these words, the desire to live this unique journey once again is stronger than ever.