Shadow of the Colossus

Part of Shadow of the Colossus’ enduring legacy is in its relatively simplistic design. You explore the vast, gorgeous world in search of 16 unique, terrifying beasts. These range from humanoid giants to airborne birds and massive underwater hydras. Though it’s never actually explained, your motivation is clear: slay them in order to restore life to a comatose woman who is clearly important to you. But while this premise is simple, the act of embarking on this six to eight-hour quest is remarkable.

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Riding out of the central shrine and using the beam of sunlight reflecting off your sword as a dowsing rod to find your next target is a continually satisfying way to kick off a hunt. And every time I started making my way toward a beast’s literal stomping grounds I was left stunned by just how gorgeous Shadow of The Colossus has become. From the way light drips through a forest to the swaying clumps of matted hair on a colossus to the textures on your character’s cloak, it’s leaps and bounds past most other contemporary games, to say nothing of its source material. It looks great even on a launch PS4, and even better on a Pro.

“ I kept forgetting that I was playing a 13-year-old game.

handful of new Easter eggs and this remaster made me forget that I was playing a 13-year-old game.

There are still a handful of minor nagging issues that exist: for instance, the scope of some of the battles and your close proximity to a giant, hairy colossus means that the camera will occasionally get lost in tufts of fur and obscure your view at a crucial moment. Likewise, success in a few of the encounters relies on getting the colossus to stand in a very specific position, which can sometimes be a bit like trying to get a dog to stay in a bathtub.

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“ This illusion that they’re living creatures creates an internal conflict.

Likewise, having a minimal set of tools at your disposal – only a sword, a bow, and your awesome horse Agro – means that you need to master each one in order to take down the beasts. There are some cool upgrades that can be gained by completing the optional Time Attack modes, such as stronger weapons, different colored horses, and even a parachute that aids exploration. And while none of these are necessary to defeat any of the beasts, they provide some solid incentives to replay the fantastic encounters.

Shadow of the Colossus on PS4 -- Every Filter 16 IMAGES

Once you actually hop aboard a Colossus, the entire experience feeds into a fantastic sense of tension. The wonderful and evocative score swells, the creatures try to shake you off, and your grip meter ticks down as you try to find a weak point. This impending sense of dread is heightened by that last point — stamina management leads to awesome cinematic moments where I’d make it to a safe ledge just as my grip fades away. This mechanic brought to mind some of the most incredible moments of last year’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which in retrospect was clearly inspired by the original Shadow of the Colossus.