After beating ICO, I could easily pinpoint what made the game special to me. Even with it’s fair amount of experimental elements, it was a much more straightforward experience, and describing what makes it great, even with my own amount of personal impressions about it, was not an issue.
I can’t say the same for Shadow of the Colossus, though. I can feel what I’m feeling after finishing a game and instantly putting it in my top 5 favourite games EVER, but to translate it into words is a completely different story. I believe it’s one of those instances in which you simply have to play it and experience it in order to understand the greatness of this work of art - or, better, in order to form your own set of feelings towards it.
SotC is a game that slowly grows up on you through the course of it’s - extremely minimalistic - narrative. In the beginning you may think it will be a game about crossing large and empty plains, kinda grey-ish in tone, mindlessly fighting giant after giant… but once you step in a new environment, completely different from what the game’s first impression gave beforehand, it’s hard not to stand in awe. In my case, it was Autumn Forest, at the southwestern part of the map. The amount of green, of details, everything in it was what hooked me in.
And, as you keep exploring these Forbidden Lands, you realise how much it’s been masterfully crafted. Every inch of it. A fully realised world, as much as ICO’s castle, even though being conceived within an enormously different scope. I kinda think about it (especially regarding it’s “emptiness”) as Ocarina of Time’s Hyrule Field, but done right. You may think the only thing contained in this world are the Colossi you have to fight, but the game would NEVER be as impactful if it weren’t for these environments. I lost count of how much I moved the right analog stick, just to check around my surroundings, every mountain, every green plain, every dune in a desert, every piece of broken ancient architecture… and the list goes on and on.
I think the game’s mechanics can end up being what most people would complain about. Controlling Wander can be frustrating. A LOT. Some fights can provide you enough frustration as well… But, I think it contributes to what I felt whilst playing this: it is far more an interactive experience than a proper game, so to speak. I really FELT like a tiny little man going against these gargantuan beasts. I felt how little could I do with my physical traits alone. And, in a sense, it kinda felt like a giant-killing simulator, much more than any other game I’ve ever played. This feeling is an integral part of how the game presents it’s plot, which led to one of the most unique, touching and everlasting endings in the history of this medium.
Could you, dear review reader, notice how much I mentioned FEELING in these brief paragraphs? Trying to objectively express how great Shadow of the Colossus is can be a tough task for some. And, personally, I think it’s impossible. Play it, let it grow on you, let your own feelings guide you towards your perception about this title. You’re in for something really special.
I can’t say the same for Shadow of the Colossus, though. I can feel what I’m feeling after finishing a game and instantly putting it in my top 5 favourite games EVER, but to translate it into words is a completely different story. I believe it’s one of those instances in which you simply have to play it and experience it in order to understand the greatness of this work of art - or, better, in order to form your own set of feelings towards it.
SotC is a game that slowly grows up on you through the course of it’s - extremely minimalistic - narrative. In the beginning you may think it will be a game about crossing large and empty plains, kinda grey-ish in tone, mindlessly fighting giant after giant… but once you step in a new environment, completely different from what the game’s first impression gave beforehand, it’s hard not to stand in awe. In my case, it was Autumn Forest, at the southwestern part of the map. The amount of green, of details, everything in it was what hooked me in.
And, as you keep exploring these Forbidden Lands, you realise how much it’s been masterfully crafted. Every inch of it. A fully realised world, as much as ICO’s castle, even though being conceived within an enormously different scope. I kinda think about it (especially regarding it’s “emptiness”) as Ocarina of Time’s Hyrule Field, but done right. You may think the only thing contained in this world are the Colossi you have to fight, but the game would NEVER be as impactful if it weren’t for these environments. I lost count of how much I moved the right analog stick, just to check around my surroundings, every mountain, every green plain, every dune in a desert, every piece of broken ancient architecture… and the list goes on and on.
I think the game’s mechanics can end up being what most people would complain about. Controlling Wander can be frustrating. A LOT. Some fights can provide you enough frustration as well… But, I think it contributes to what I felt whilst playing this: it is far more an interactive experience than a proper game, so to speak. I really FELT like a tiny little man going against these gargantuan beasts. I felt how little could I do with my physical traits alone. And, in a sense, it kinda felt like a giant-killing simulator, much more than any other game I’ve ever played. This feeling is an integral part of how the game presents it’s plot, which led to one of the most unique, touching and everlasting endings in the history of this medium.
Could you, dear review reader, notice how much I mentioned FEELING in these brief paragraphs? Trying to objectively express how great Shadow of the Colossus is can be a tough task for some. And, personally, I think it’s impossible. Play it, let it grow on you, let your own feelings guide you towards your perception about this title. You’re in for something really special.