Retro Review: Shadow of the Colossus

Everyone has their favorite game series or genre. I found out after two or so decades that I like third person, goreless, melancholy adventures with great gameplay, music, and themes of life and death. Team Ico’s 2005 masterpiece, Shadow of the Colossus released originally for the PlayStation 2, is one of these games. 

During Shadow’s release I subscribed and read various video game magazines and websites. When I read reviews for the game, they had me very curious and excited to try out Shadow of the Colossus for myself. At the time of its initial release I didn't want to pay full price for the game, but when the price for a new copy hit twenty dollars, I ran to my local super outlet store and got a copy. Video game reviewers back then described how it was amazing climbing on and destroying a Colossi. In my mind it was like fighting a mountain, but once I played the game the main enemies, the Colossi, were more like large hills. Even with this caveat I had an amazing time playing it. 

The story of Shadow starts to roll out in the opening cinematic as a bird passes by a lone man riding a horse by a razor’s edge of a cliff face. The horse carries what looks like a large sack of supplies on its back. You follow the wanderer from the cliff, through a forest, across a gigantic arched bridge, which leads him to some type of temple. The music’s tone changes to ominous as the wanderer enters the edifice. The forgotten temple is made of gray and white stone; the wanderer sees a stone altar near the end of the structure. From the player's perspective we are shocked to see, as the wanderer unwraps the sack on the back of the horse, that the contents therein are not supplies, but the human body of a young woman. He holds her in his arms and places the corpse on the altar. The wanderer speaks to the air, “[p]lease, I need you to bring back her soul”. And the God of this land, Dormin, replies in voice only, “[t]hat maiden's soul? Souls that are once lost cannot be reclaimed. Is that not the law of mortals? With that sword, however, it may not be impossible.” The wanderer responds quickly, “really?” Dormin is just as quick to talk back, “That is, of course, if thou manage to accomplish what [w]e askest…[b]ut heed this: the price you pay may be heavy indeed.” The wanderer, strong in his resolve replies, “It doesn't matter”. Dormin then responds, “[v]ery well. Raise thy sword by the light, and head to the place where the sword's light gathers” (to, Contributors. 2010). 

From here the player finds their first Colossus by following the game’s compass; the light from the wanderer’s sword as it is held to the sky. The story doesn't give you all the answers in the beginning and that's something great about it. We learn that this land the wanderer has arrived at, is forbidden to enter by his people. This basic outline is all the game needs to push the player to their next destination.

Controlling the wanderer is almost as good as Shadow’s story. The wanderer can run, jump, roll, swing his sword, hold or grab onto ledges, shoot arrows with his bow, and ride on horseback to encounter the game’s only enemies, the Colossi. Colossi are giant monsters made out of stone and dry gray hair. Each Colossus has a different design and are in themselves puzzles. The goal of each Colossus is to somehow get on them, navigate to the vulnerable spot on their body, and plunge your sword into it. The vulnerable spot is shown as a glowing white insignia spouting a small fountain of black mist. Once the Colossus receives enough damage from this method of attack, the monster moans, hits the ground, and turns into rubble. Large black tendrils erupt from the Collossus’s remains and look to stab themselves into the wanderer’s body, causing him to faint and return back to the temple where he gets yet another command from the God Dormin to fight his next Colossus.

At the time of its release Shadow of the Colossus’s visuals were stunning for the PlayStation 2. And every time the game has been re-released, first with HD graphics for the Playstation 3, and then for the PlayStation 4, the same sentiment remains, it's simply gorgeous to look at. From the dark mosses, to the subtle hints of green on the grassy field you navigate, everything feels intentional to the game’s themes. 

The music is one of the strongest characters in the games. Whenever a track plays, it sets the stage for what is about to happen. There are themes for entering the Colossus’s den, the fight itself, when you are gaining an upper hand in the fight, and when the wanderer defeats each boss. And sometimes there is the absence of music, especially when you are traveling. The quiet sequences are tastefully chosen, and elevate the loneliness you feel in this abandoned land. 

The fun of the game comes from going against each Colossus as they are completely different in how you find their weak spot. One may require a simple climb up the leg, back, and get to the head strategy, while another is in the sky and needs to be shot down with arrows before it can be climbed and ridden in the sky. The two nic-picks I have with the game is the control of the wanderer himself, and some of Dormin’s advice to defeating a Colossi being too vague. Though the animation of the character is fantastic, controlling him feels a little unresponsive at times when you are trying to climb a Colossus. That said the controls are very tight, it just might be discouraging for new players to get used to them while they try to scale a giant beast quickly. Dormin’s advice is always welcome, but I found myself stuck on one or two fights because I just couldn’t understand what he was wanting me to do. But other than those two tiny gripes Shadow of the Colossus is a complete joy to play. I give it three thumbs up, and a welcome recommendation to anyone who loves third person, goreless, melancholy adventures with great gameplay, music, and themes of life and death. 

Works Cited:

to, Contributors. 2010. “2005 Video Game.” Wikiquote.org. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. March 13, 2010. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Shadow_of_the_Colossus.

‌