Geekshow

Retro Review – Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

Often cited in “games as art” discussions, Shadow of the Colossus uses a minimalist approach to create an experience that is simultaneously gloomy and epic in proportions.

The game opens with a bird flying high over a valley with sheer cliff walls on either side. As the bird soars through the valley, it flies by a young man on a horse slowly making his way along a narrow path. The pair continues along the cliff face, through a dense forest, and along a grassy plain until they come to a large structure built inside a gap in the mountain. Passing through the opening reveals an enormous bridge that leads to some sort of temple after traveling many, many miles over a desert far below.

The two enter the temple to find a large hall at the bottom, lined with massive statues on either side. At the far end of the hall, the man dismounts and carries a large, blanket-covered bundle to an altar at the top of some steps. He whips off the blanket to reveal the body of a young woman. At that moment, a voiceover explains about a forbidden land where “it is said that if one should wish it, one can bring back the souls of the dead.”

Several dark, shadowy figures rise from the floor only to be dispelled when the man draws his sword. A disembodied voice speaks to the man, expressing surprise that he possesses the ancient sword. The voice reveals itself to be called Dormin, and the man asks if it can bring back the soul of the woman who “was sacrificed for she had a cursed fate.” Dormin declares that “it may not be impossible”, but “the price you pay may be heavy indeed”. Dormin then tasks the man with defeating sixteen Colossi represented by the idols along the walls of the temple. Raising the ancient sword into the light will gather a beam of light pointing in the direction of the first Colossus the man is to defeat.

A Horse and His Boy

Shadow of the Colossus uses a very minimal approach to storytelling. After this introduction, there are no more story details revealed until near the end of the game. You are left wondering about the exact nature of the Colossi you are sent to destroy, who or what Dormin is, and for that matter, the name of the character you are playing as. Some of these questions are answered by the end of the game, but you are never told your character’s name or the name of the woman he is trying to save.

From the moment the game begins, you feel a deep sense of loneliness and melancholy, due in large part to the haunting score. There are other games, such as those in the Metroid series, that use a sense of isolation to help set the mood, but Shadow of the Colossus takes solitude to the next level. Your only companion is your horse, Agro, and apart from the occasional bird or lizard, the only creatures that you will find in the vast landscapes of the game are the Colossi themselves. There are no other characters to interact with, and there are no regular enemies to fight along the way.

You have a bow and arrows to go along with your sword, but that is all the equipment you will have for the entire game. There are no hidden weapons or new special abilities waiting to be discovered. This helps to accentuate the feeling of being alone as you won’t be getting help from anyone. It’s just you and your wits taking on giant monsters with a little help from your horse along the way.

Colossi get very cranky when woken from a nap.

It may sound like Shadow of the Colossus is a boring, empty game, but that is not the case. There is a surprising amount of variety in the environments throughout the world, and nothing seems carbon copied. Every section of the world feels entirely unique. There are a ton of ruins and ancient structures to discover, some of which are off the beaten path and seemingly exist only to flesh out the world. There are some places that you won’t see if you just blindly track down each Colossus, never exploring anywhere else.

The game does a great job of portraying scale and distance. You will have to travel a long way to track down most of the Colossi, some of which take a little effort to discover. Once you find one, it will take some time to learn the weak points of the enormous beast in order to take it down. The game never gets stale, and once you think you’ve figured out the pattern of what these creatures are and how to defeat them, the next battle will throw you a curve ball. Each Colossus looks and acts unique, and the methods required to defeat each one are progressively more satisfying.

In general, you must find a way to climb onto a Colossus, discover its weak point(s), and hang on long enough to stab them with your sword before you are shaken off. Sometimes you will be on your own for a battle, and sometimes you will require the help of your horse to defeat the creatures. Finding the way onto a Colossus is not always obvious, and can take quite a bit of time to figure out. Once you decipher the proper way take one down, it is usually a fairly straight-forward procedure, but not necessarily an easy one to pull off. Each battle feels very epic with the score providing a lot of energy to the encounters. After a Colossus is defeated, your character absorbs the dark energy that is released, sending him back to the temple to start the search for his next foe.

Who knew? All those times watching Raiders of the Lost Ark finally came in handy.

Shadow of the Colossus is a beautiful game for the eyes and ears. The visual design of the environments, buildings, and the Colossi is unique and all but flawless. Everything has a worn look to it, like it has existed for hundreds of years. There is a staggering amount of scope and detail, especially for a PS2 game, and the moody lighting adds a little bit of magic and atmosphere to the surroundings.

Like the story, the sound design uses a minimalist approach, only providing sound when it is most needed. There are many times that you will only hear the sound of Agro’s hoof beats and a slight hint of music, but once a battle starts, the score kicks in and the rumbling footsteps of the Colossus amp up the tension. The music to each battle evolves with the action, becoming much more energetic and intense when you are hanging on for dear life.

As good as it is, Shadow of the Colossus has a couple issues that hold it back from being a perfect game. You will often find yourself wrestling with the camera just as much as the colossal creature you are fighting, and controlling your horse is a little tricky and could be a bit more responsive at times. Despite that, Shadow of the Colossus is a game well worth playing because it is a unique experience that you won’t find anywhere else.

Final Grade: A-