Shadow of the Colossus (Gaming)

by marmot 1333 @, Wednesday, February 07, 2018, 11:05 (2269 days ago)

Is anyone getting the remake for PS4?

I never owned a PS2, so I never beat it, but I played a decent amount of it many years ago.

Last night I watched some random guy play it on Twitch for a little while. He was at the first boss and he kept falling off and he almost started crying after the third time. It makes me laugh just thinking about it now.

I know where he's coming from, though. There was one section where you climb across a really high bridge, and then have to climb/jump over some gap, and I fell. I realized it would take me literally 10 minutes to get back to where I was and I started to question my life choices.

Anyways, the remake looks pretty good, graphically. What do people here think?

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Shadow of the Colossus

by cheapLEY @, Wednesday, February 07, 2018, 11:32 (2269 days ago) @ marmot 1333

I never played the original. I’ll probabky pick up this remake sometime relatively soonish.

Anyways, the remake looks pretty good, graphically. What do people here think?

It does look beautiful, but I’m honestly surprised by how absolutely terrible the grass pop in is. It’s distractingly bad, and that stuff generally doesn’t bother me.

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Shadow of the Colossus

by Korny @, Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Wednesday, February 07, 2018, 12:09 (2269 days ago) @ marmot 1333

Is anyone getting the remake for PS4?

I will at some point. have some other obligations at the moment, but it's on the list for sure...


I never owned a PS2, so I never beat it, but I played a decent amount of it many years ago.

I had the PS2 version on PS3, then got the HD version when that came out, since I loved it so much. Should tell you something that I'm getting it yet again. :P
I've wanted to make a post about it, though, especially when talking about Destiny bosses. As Kotaku put it, "Fumito Ueda’s ethos is “design by subtraction,” and this is the ultimate expression of it so far." The gameplay and tools at your disposal are inherently very simple, but the application of those tools gets more and more complex, especially as you learn how to apply them in new-but-familiar ways to progress. It's the ultimate example of "mastery", and while the bosses are always straightforward in their encounters, figuring out how to apply what you've learned is the true challenge. Even the first Colossus is only encountered after the game leads you to figure out how to climb and manage your grip, and by the end of the game, you know what you will need to do with every tool in your arsenal, even as the game throws everything at you at once.


Last night I watched some random guy play it on Twitch for a little while. He was at the first boss and he kept falling off and he almost started crying after the third time. It makes me laugh just thinking about it now.

I don't remember what got me to play the game originally. I think I had just heard great things, and it was one of the PS2's final games, so I got it on sale. I didn't know what to expect other than an article that pointed out that you only fought bosses, and nothing else, so I was curious.

Anyways, the remake looks pretty good, graphically. What do people here think?

I think it looks gorgeous, but really, I was worried that the graphical update would damage some of the wonder that the game always made me feel. On the PS2, the Colossi were a moving part of the scenery, often stomping through the haze and fog, their movements somewhat unnatural, but alive, with dust and debris slowly falling off them, as if their bodies weren't meant to move as much as they did.

Now, they look like large character models, moving smoothly, and the dust and such looks like an effect rather than a detail, since everything is at a high framerate. Just a tiny, pointless thing that nags at me, since I've still been super hyped about it.

Also, there's a Photo Mode. 'Nuff said.

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Shadow of the Colossus

by Cody Miller @, Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Wednesday, February 07, 2018, 12:37 (2269 days ago) @ marmot 1333

Anyways, the remake looks pretty good, graphically. What do people here think?

Lol. I had the PS2 version, and I gave up before I got to a single colossus. I am willing to give it another go because it is apparently very good when you fight them, but I was completely bored before seeing one.

Shadow of the Colossus

by marmot 1333 @, Wednesday, February 07, 2018, 13:17 (2269 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Anyways, the remake looks pretty good, graphically. What do people here think?


Lol. I had the PS2 version, and I gave up before I got to a single colossus. I am willing to give it another go because it is apparently very good when you fight them, but I was completely bored before seeing one.

I was curious what you thought, because the game reminds me of Journey somewhat--lots of the game is just wandering around, without much actually happening. So knowing you're not a big Journey fan, I'm not entirely surprised :)

That being said, I found that the actual gameplay of figuring out what you need to do and then executing that strategy to take down the colossi was very rewarding.

Note that it can also be incredibly demoralizing if you fall off a bunch like this rando twitch guy I watched last night.

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I picked it up last night, going to try it this weekend.

by CyberKN ⌂ @, Oh no, Destiny 2 is bad, Wednesday, February 07, 2018, 15:15 (2269 days ago) @ marmot 1333

- No text -

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Shadow of the Colossus

by Vortech @, A Fourth Wheel, Wednesday, February 07, 2018, 17:07 (2269 days ago) @ marmot 1333

I'm sure I will. It is one of my favorite games ever, but I still need to play last guardian, and ICO PS3, (and actually I never played the SotC PS3 I bought…)

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Shadow of the Colossus

by cheapLEY @, Saturday, February 10, 2018, 20:46 (2266 days ago) @ marmot 1333

I've been playing for a bit (beat the first two colossi), and it's neat. It's definitely gorgeous, so expect a collection of photos in the future.

The controls are . . . odd. I like the climbing and jumping. That stuff is cool and feels good. By why does the horse suck so much? And the camera swings way too wildly.

I can see why this game gets all the praise it does. In a hypothetical history where this version of the game was the first time anyone ever played it, it still feels like a game that would bet the same acclaim it did in the past (judging on a pretty short amount of time in the game, obviously). Nostalgia might not be as big a factor in all the good reviews of this remake as I thought--it really does seem like a fantastic game.

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Shadow of the Colossus

by Korny @, Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Saturday, February 10, 2018, 21:34 (2266 days ago) @ cheapLEY

I've been playing for a bit (beat the first two colossi), and it's neat. It's definitely gorgeous, so expect a collection of photos in the future.

The controls are . . . odd. I like the climbing and jumping. That stuff is cool and feels good. By why does the horse suck so much?

You take that back! Agro is awesome!
Her not-quite-what-you're-going-for controls are intentional. They added that partly to make sure that you're aware of her as more than just a transport from point A to B, and because she is supposed to be her own character, and your only companion in this lonely land. You don't control her, you control Wander riding her. I can't remember where I read it, but you're more supposed to let her do her own thing more than you struggle to pilot her, and if you do that, things go a lot smoother. She'll lean around paths, and ride up to Colossi and such without you needing to do 100% of the inputs. Is it frustrating from a gameplay standpoint? It can be if you demand precision. But do you recognize her as a thing that has a mind of its own? Hopefully.

And the camera swings way too wildly.

Keep in mind that this has been twice improved, but is also somewhat deliberate (and was less annoying when the framerate chugged and the camera didn't jerk as quickly). But yeh, you're maneuvering on walking mountains, get your head in the game!


I can see why this game gets all the praise it does. In a hypothetical history where this version of the game was the first time anyone ever played it, it still feels like a game that would bet the same acclaim it did in the past (judging on a pretty short amount of time in the game, obviously). Nostalgia might not be as big a factor in all the good reviews of this remake as I thought--it really does seem like a fantastic game.

Right. I played it when the controls, framerate, graphics, etc. were all at their worst, and we were already in a gaming generation where I expected far better from the average game, and it still sucked me in, and I couldn't put it down, and I felt something as I played and once I finished it. Games like that really are special.

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Shadow of the Colossus

by cheapLEY @, Sunday, February 11, 2018, 07:15 (2266 days ago) @ Korny

I've been playing for a bit (beat the first two colossi), and it's neat. It's definitely gorgeous, so expect a collection of photos in the future.

The controls are . . . odd. I like the climbing and jumping. That stuff is cool and feels good. By why does the horse suck so much?


You take that back! Agro is awesome!
Her not-quite-what-you're-going-for controls are intentional. They added that partly to make sure that you're aware of her as more than just a transport from point A to B, and because she is supposed to be her own character, and your only companion in this lonely land. You don't control her, you control Wander riding her. I can't remember where I read it, but you're more supposed to let her do her own thing more than you struggle to pilot her, and if you do that, things go a lot smoother. She'll lean around paths, and ride up to Colossi and such without you needing to do 100% of the inputs. Is it frustrating from a gameplay standpoint? It can be if you demand precision. But do you recognize her as a thing that has a mind of its own? Hopefully.

I get it, I just don’t know if I really buy it. It’s the same argument folks make fir the big bird dog thing in The Last Guardian. If that’s his intended vision, fine, but his intended vision is bad and not fun.

The horse isn’t anywhere near that bad though. Riding him is mostly fine, except for the speed. Sometimes he’ll run for days, other times he runs for literally ten steps then slows back down.

And the camera swings way too wildly.


Keep in mind that this has been twice improved, but is also somewhat deliberate (and was less annoying when the framerate chugged and the camera didn't jerk as quickly). But yeh, you're maneuvering on walking mountains, get your head in the game!

I’m getting used to it, and it’s ultimately fine, but it was terrible at first. I actually felt the same way with Horizon, initially.

I can see why this game gets all the praise it does. In a hypothetical history where this version of the game was the first time anyone ever played it, it still feels like a game that would bet the same acclaim it did in the past (judging on a pretty short amount of time in the game, obviously). Nostalgia might not be as big a factor in all the good reviews of this remake as I thought--it really does seem like a fantastic game.


Right. I played it when the controls, framerate, graphics, etc. were all at their worst, and we were already in a gaming generation where I expected far better from the average game, and it still sucked me in, and I couldn't put it down, and I felt something as I played and once I finished it. Games like that really are special.

Agreed. I’m reminded a bit of Journey, honestly, which is one of my favorite games.

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by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 12:19 (2262 days ago) @ cheapLEY

I’m reminded a bit of Journey, honestly, which is one of my favorite games.

Okay, now I'm interested.

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Shadow of the Colossus

by Speedracer513 @, Dallas, Texas, Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 12:33 (2262 days ago) @ Kermit

I’m reminded a bit of Journey, honestly, which is one of my favorite games.


Okay, now I'm interested.

To be clear -- gameplay wise, they're not very similar, but emotion wise, they are... So if that's what piques your interest, then yeah, you should play it sooner rather than later.

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Shadow of the Colossus

by cheapLEY @, Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 12:33 (2262 days ago) @ Kermit

It’s not really very similar to Journey at all, it’s just a feeling. A feeling of melancholy and loniless. Journey has the opposite of that if you ran into people, but it was extremely lonely if I found myself without a partner.

Shadow of the Colossus is (or can be, I guess) lots of wandering around these huge, beautiful, sort of sparse environments on the way to the next colossus. That’s the part that feels like Journey.

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Shadow of the Colossus

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 12:39 (2262 days ago) @ cheapLEY

It’s not really very similar to Journey at all, it’s just a feeling. A feeling of melancholy and loniless. Journey has the opposite of that if you ran into people, but it was extremely lonely if I found myself without a partner.

Shadow of the Colossus is (or can be, I guess) lots of wandering around these huge, beautiful, sort of sparse environments on the way to the next colossus. That’s the part that feels like Journey.

For the record, I've seen enough of the game to know that you weren't talking about gameplay mechanics.

Journey doesn't work if it doesn't speak to you on an emotional or metaphorical level. Based on my friends' comments in the past, this game had an emotional impact on them. Your comment just pushed me over an edge I was already standing on. :)

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Shadow of the Colossus

by cheapLEY @, Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 15:10 (2262 days ago) @ Kermit

I can only give one bit of advice: give it a bit of time. I played through the first two colossi and sort of just thought “This is it?”

That sort of is it, I think, but it’s only after playing more that it really started to hit for me. I stopped bitching about the bad horse controls and started appreciating the journey I was on, and it stopped being just a game I was playing through.

I didn’t doubt that you understood what I meant by the Journey connection—I just didn’t want to oversell it.

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Shadow of the Colossus

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Thursday, February 15, 2018, 06:43 (2262 days ago) @ cheapLEY

I can only give one bit of advice: give it a bit of time. I played through the first two colossi and sort of just thought “This is it?”

That sort of is it, I think, but it’s only after playing more that it really started to hit for me. I stopped bitching about the bad horse controls and started appreciating the journey I was on, and it stopped being just a game I was playing through.

I didn’t doubt that you understood what I meant by the Journey connection—I just didn’t want to oversell it.

Thanks. I hope my expectations are properly set. I think I'll have the patience to give it time. I mean, one of the most impactful moments of Journey is at the end of the credit sequence.

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