Shadow of the colossus pc remaster6/11/2023 An expected outcome, really, since much of the source code remains largely unchanged (this is according to PR information I’ve been given). You’re going to fall a lot in this game, and that’s mostly because it plays like a title from a bygone era. Holding onto a colossus and making the next crucial jump often still feels like random, lucky guesswork. I remember being extremely frustrated with the floaty controls and unpredictable camera back in 2005, and while that frustration is somewhat mitigated by the current team’s under-the-hood work, I still find myself cursing how damn unwieldy things can become, especially in the heat of battle. I know they were adjusted somewhat, and I can acknowledge those subtle changes at times, but I think I just wanted more. On the flip side, though, I’m lamenting the fact that the controls and camera weren’t scrapped completely and revamped from the ground up. In that regard, I offer huge props to Bluepoint Games for bringing this contemplative classic into the modern era with such finesse and care. That’s saying nothing of the excellent sound design, which wraps everything in haunting roars as well as the ebb and flow of dynamic, beautifully composed, emotional orchestral work. ![]() The horse companion is similarly well-rendered, and might even be the most realistic hooved animal I’ve yet seen in a game. Mountains, by the way, that spew black lifeblood when stabbed and collapse to the dusty ground with powerful, distressing depictions of defeat. The organic hair on each colossi sways and waves convincingly with every massive movement, each follicle bending realistically beneath the hero’s grip as he struggles to scale and conquer what amount to mystic, living mountains. However, I will mention that, because this remake is so damn gorgeous (I really can’t understate that fact), the story’s core messages are driven home unlike they ever could have been on PS2 hardware. ![]() That said, I won’t spoil the best of what Shadow of the Colossus has to offer, at least in terms of its creeping revelation. Shadow of the Colossus Credit: Mitch Wallace/Bluepoint Games It’s something you play quietly, a challenge completed with dexterity but also with a growing sense of self-awareness. This isn’t a hack-and-slash extravaganza. For that reason, the map can come across as desolate and lonely, but that’s part of the bleak charm. It remains an incredibly unique game, if only due to the fact that its world is mostly empty, except for the aforementioned towering adversaries, so it all plays out like a well-scripted series of boss fights. You still play as a wayward explorer seeking out and taking down lumbering colossi in an attempt resurrect an incapacitated loved one. The good news is that all of this contemplation returns in the new remake, which has been lovingly retextured, polished and tweaked, though not fundamentally altered so as to change its key thematic elements. ![]() Since then, the game tends to get brought up whenever there’s a real discussion happening around the artistic value of games and what they represent for both players and developers.
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