[notes: I played the first four Colossi on the PS3 version of the game, and then switched to the ps4 remake, comparing what I'm seeing and playing with videos of the original game. Also, heavy spoilers for the whole review.]
I am beated, I am destroyed, what a wonderful and impactful experience. So many games try to make you feel like a hero but as this game progresses it becomes clearer and clearer that you are the villain, only to have it confirmed at the very end.
I'll start with the negatives because that will take less time;
I experienced a few bugs in this game, such as clipping inside a couple of the colossi, which took me out of the experience to say the least.
The climbing also doesn't feel massively improved but if they changed it too much then each colossus would be a cakewalk, the physics are changed but I'll mention that in positives.
A big one, the biggest challenge in this game is actually finding the Colossi, but the colossi themselves never actually felt like a challenge. The puzzles and ways to expose their weaknesses were all really interesting but all felt pretty simple, it never took me longer than ten minutes to figure out how to get on top of each beast.
Finally, the girl. It was when Agro falls off the cliff that I realised that I had a greater bond with that horse than with her, and she's meant to be the driving force and motivation for the story. I don't quite know what they could have done that wouldn't have taken away from this tight experience in some way, but it did stick out to me.
Now that's done, Let's get on to why this got such a great score;
First on the physics, they feel so much better here. In the PS3 version of the game it feels like when the game wants you to reach a specific thing you basically float through the air, but every other time you plummet to the ground like a rock, as though you weigh a tonne. This remake strikes a perfect median that keeps the challenge of the climbing and movement but isn't as noticable when it tries to help you out.
This game feels like the proto-PlayStation exclusive, the sweeping cinematic scope of not only the environments but the encounters with the colossi feel like a precursor to God of War (despite this releasing the same year as that game, in fact, the remake also released the same year as the God of War reboot) or uncharted.
Each Colossus feels unique and well-planned, like episodes of a TV show with perfect pacing for each fight. And speaking of pacing, the story for this game is perfectly executed, telling perfectly the story of a wanderer fighting these creatures in this abandoned environment where, in the desert, things have crumbled to dust and, in the forest, things have become overgrown and reclaimed by nature. At first you feel like the hero, bravely taking on these monsters to save the girl, but as each fight is introduced it becomes clear that these monsters aren't fighting until you enter their home, they're just defending themselves and, as it is revealed by the end, a piece of a dark spirit's soul.
the lack of dialogue and clear character or connections is a perfect canvas for the player to project their own story onto, as a lot of the best art is. I really can't overstate how well the story, setting and fights are executed in this game.
Comparing this to the original, as always bluepoint is on point, creating an experience that sacrifices none of the atmosphere, fun or challenge of the original and sullies none of the art design. I've never in my life seen a better or more faithful remake, and this will be the gold standard for every remake I play from now on. I never played the original as a child but I feel like seeing this would be like seeing the game how I remember it being as a young'un.
There's nothing I can say about this game that hasn't been said before, so I won't bore anyone with the intricacies of each colossi's design both artistically and in gameplay, but I implore anyone and everyone to give this a go. With this PS4 remake being absolutely the difinitive way to play. This is definitely a game I'll come back to in future but I don't know if anything will match this first playthrough.
P.S. I would recommend turning Dormin hints off when playing the game, so many times I'd be trying to figure out the puzzle and it'd tell me the solution before I even had the chance to think.
I am beated, I am destroyed, what a wonderful and impactful experience. So many games try to make you feel like a hero but as this game progresses it becomes clearer and clearer that you are the villain, only to have it confirmed at the very end.
I'll start with the negatives because that will take less time;
I experienced a few bugs in this game, such as clipping inside a couple of the colossi, which took me out of the experience to say the least.
The climbing also doesn't feel massively improved but if they changed it too much then each colossus would be a cakewalk, the physics are changed but I'll mention that in positives.
A big one, the biggest challenge in this game is actually finding the Colossi, but the colossi themselves never actually felt like a challenge. The puzzles and ways to expose their weaknesses were all really interesting but all felt pretty simple, it never took me longer than ten minutes to figure out how to get on top of each beast.
Finally, the girl. It was when Agro falls off the cliff that I realised that I had a greater bond with that horse than with her, and she's meant to be the driving force and motivation for the story. I don't quite know what they could have done that wouldn't have taken away from this tight experience in some way, but it did stick out to me.
Now that's done, Let's get on to why this got such a great score;
First on the physics, they feel so much better here. In the PS3 version of the game it feels like when the game wants you to reach a specific thing you basically float through the air, but every other time you plummet to the ground like a rock, as though you weigh a tonne. This remake strikes a perfect median that keeps the challenge of the climbing and movement but isn't as noticable when it tries to help you out.
This game feels like the proto-PlayStation exclusive, the sweeping cinematic scope of not only the environments but the encounters with the colossi feel like a precursor to God of War (despite this releasing the same year as that game, in fact, the remake also released the same year as the God of War reboot) or uncharted.
Each Colossus feels unique and well-planned, like episodes of a TV show with perfect pacing for each fight. And speaking of pacing, the story for this game is perfectly executed, telling perfectly the story of a wanderer fighting these creatures in this abandoned environment where, in the desert, things have crumbled to dust and, in the forest, things have become overgrown and reclaimed by nature. At first you feel like the hero, bravely taking on these monsters to save the girl, but as each fight is introduced it becomes clear that these monsters aren't fighting until you enter their home, they're just defending themselves and, as it is revealed by the end, a piece of a dark spirit's soul.
the lack of dialogue and clear character or connections is a perfect canvas for the player to project their own story onto, as a lot of the best art is. I really can't overstate how well the story, setting and fights are executed in this game.
Comparing this to the original, as always bluepoint is on point, creating an experience that sacrifices none of the atmosphere, fun or challenge of the original and sullies none of the art design. I've never in my life seen a better or more faithful remake, and this will be the gold standard for every remake I play from now on. I never played the original as a child but I feel like seeing this would be like seeing the game how I remember it being as a young'un.
There's nothing I can say about this game that hasn't been said before, so I won't bore anyone with the intricacies of each colossi's design both artistically and in gameplay, but I implore anyone and everyone to give this a go. With this PS4 remake being absolutely the difinitive way to play. This is definitely a game I'll come back to in future but I don't know if anything will match this first playthrough.
P.S. I would recommend turning Dormin hints off when playing the game, so many times I'd be trying to figure out the puzzle and it'd tell me the solution before I even had the chance to think.