This review contains spoilers
I couldn't, for the life of me, get into this game. I came into it excited to try it out after hearing such great things about it; things like it was one of the best games of all time. Then I played it, and was greatly dissapointed. The devoted fan-base of this game is fueled by nostalgia (I challenge those who disagree to find someone who enjoyed playing the 2018 version without having played the other two) and claims anyone who doesn't enjoy the game simply doesn't get it. I found it to be a rinse and repeat monster hunter game, where all the monsters are gimmick bosses. I understand how beautiful the artstyle is and how excellently crafted the music is, but know that I am ranking this based on how it plays as a game; not how it plays as art. I had tried the game previously and stopped after colossus 3, and recently I came back and tried really hard to get into it, but couldn't. I ended up beating colossi 7 then YouTubing the rest of the game, as I found I didn't have the patience to play through it myself.
Story: 7 / 10. The story is quite good, and I have no qualms with it. I enjoy the simplicity and open-endedness of it, and often found myself questioning certain story elements such as wondering "Where did the Colossi originate?". I like how Wander changes appearance over time, and also how you truly play as the Villain. It's a simple story, but it's more effective that way.
Characters: 3 / 10. Wander's only motivation for the whole game is saving Mono, and besides that he doesn't have any other significance. This makes him all but a vessel character that doesn't feel like a real person (unlike characters like Arthur Morgan and Kratos). Lord Emon is barely involved, but the saving grace for this section (that saves it from being a 1/10) is Dormin. They are a very mysterious character and I found it interesting to read up all I could on them in the lore and try to piece together their origin and what led them to their circumstance when we first meet them in the game. Finding out that the colossi were vessels for Dormin's soul was a great reveal.
Combat: 1.5 / 10. If you can even call it combat, the game has you tediously climb along the colossi (and get flung around very frequently) and stab them in their weak spots. That's it. That being said, you must understand that it wasn't a field of great importance in Team Ico's overall design for the game, as it was meant to be more of a puzzle-solving process.
Content / Gameplay: 2 / 10. There is no other content in the game (besides tedious gold coins, apples, lizards and shrines that are a collector's nightmare) than the 16 Colossi. This makes the gameplay incredibly repetitive, with no new abilities or skills being acquired over the course of the game; you are simply going from the temple to a Colossi, rinse and repeat.
World: 4 / 10. It's good looking, but empty.
Traversal: 1 / 10. Terrible controls and janky movement.
Problems: Controls were incredibly janky, and I found Colossi AI was sometimes a pain to get them to do what I wanted them to do. And to those that claim they are meant to feel janky, this is a video game. I shouldn't have to get annoyed at controls on purpose.
Favorite Part: Defeating the first Colossus.
Least Favorite Part: Getting stuck on the third Colossus due to poor AI.
Story: 7 / 10. The story is quite good, and I have no qualms with it. I enjoy the simplicity and open-endedness of it, and often found myself questioning certain story elements such as wondering "Where did the Colossi originate?". I like how Wander changes appearance over time, and also how you truly play as the Villain. It's a simple story, but it's more effective that way.
Characters: 3 / 10. Wander's only motivation for the whole game is saving Mono, and besides that he doesn't have any other significance. This makes him all but a vessel character that doesn't feel like a real person (unlike characters like Arthur Morgan and Kratos). Lord Emon is barely involved, but the saving grace for this section (that saves it from being a 1/10) is Dormin. They are a very mysterious character and I found it interesting to read up all I could on them in the lore and try to piece together their origin and what led them to their circumstance when we first meet them in the game. Finding out that the colossi were vessels for Dormin's soul was a great reveal.
Combat: 1.5 / 10. If you can even call it combat, the game has you tediously climb along the colossi (and get flung around very frequently) and stab them in their weak spots. That's it. That being said, you must understand that it wasn't a field of great importance in Team Ico's overall design for the game, as it was meant to be more of a puzzle-solving process.
Content / Gameplay: 2 / 10. There is no other content in the game (besides tedious gold coins, apples, lizards and shrines that are a collector's nightmare) than the 16 Colossi. This makes the gameplay incredibly repetitive, with no new abilities or skills being acquired over the course of the game; you are simply going from the temple to a Colossi, rinse and repeat.
World: 4 / 10. It's good looking, but empty.
Traversal: 1 / 10. Terrible controls and janky movement.
Problems: Controls were incredibly janky, and I found Colossi AI was sometimes a pain to get them to do what I wanted them to do. And to those that claim they are meant to feel janky, this is a video game. I shouldn't have to get annoyed at controls on purpose.
Favorite Part: Defeating the first Colossus.
Least Favorite Part: Getting stuck on the third Colossus due to poor AI.