Review
Played on: PlayStation 4 Pro
Released: 2018
Back in the day I was pleasantly surprised when I found Ico for my PS2 and ended up playing it intensely to completion within a day or two. I absolutely loved the atmosphere, visual aesthetic and minimalist approach to gameplay.
Later during my studies, the spiritual sequel released; Shadow of the Colossus. While it shares commonalities in the aesthetic and visual style with Ico, it's much less of a platform puzzler, and more an exploration and combat focused sequel. Yet, it approaches puzzles somewhat; through the route of which you can climb to find each colossus' weak spot.
Together with a friend we began playing it in our dorm room; taking turns in killing each colossus and enjoying it immensely. We’d reached somewhere past the halfway point of the sixteen colossi before becoming stuck. I believe it was the underwater one, but it's difficult to pinpoint exactly. As other games stole our interest, we ended up never returning to it. Becoming a title in my backlog that never was completed.
Time went by and I've always thought that I should complete it, but the rather rough visual aesthetic on the aged PlayStation 2 hardware never really appealed much, nor did I own a PS3 for the resolution boosted version that released there.
Moving on to this year, and requiring a PS4 Pro, I looked up titles that had 60fps modes on the system and I was reminded that a remake of SotC was released in 2018. Although I'd heard of it back then, I'd completely forgotten about its existence. Finally, a chance to properly complete it!
Let's take a closer look at this giant killing remake!
For those unaware, SotC features a silent protagonist who wishes to revive a female character he has laid out on a stone altar in a castle. This place works as the central hub set in the very middle of the map. Unique for its time, SotC features no loading screens as you set on you way to kill sixteen colossi, spread across the vast map. Each one must be beat in a linear fashion, with a vague hint as to where the next one roams when another is defeated.
Upon walking out of the main castle, you can jump onto your horse and use your sword to light the way to the next colossus. Part of the fun is to seek out where each colossus is located and at the same time enjoy a ride through massive rolling hills to get there. It's about the journey and the feeling of emptiness that makes the atmosphere stand out. There are no smaller enemies or side missions here; just go in the direction of the next colossus, kill it, and you're teleported back to the main castle. Rinse and repeat sixteen times.
It sounds simplistic and, in many ways, it is, but the challenge is to take down the colossi. Think of each one as a boss fight with unique weak points, where you brutally stab them and black stuff sprays out. They attack differently and represent colossus versions of either trolls or animals. At your disposal are just a sword or bow. Basically, a short- and long-range attack option, and there's a jump and grab button. That's about all there is to the gameplay.
The controls are simple, but the game becomes a challenge, nevertheless. Climbing a colossus is not only an incredibly thrilling experience, but a tricky one. After wounding a one, you usually get an opportunity, in almost Tomb Raider style, to climb and grab on to either bones or fur for dear life. Desperately trying to scurry around its body in search of that weak point to stab with your sword. Working out how to kill each one.
Although they share commonalities, each colossus feels as if they have their own personality and way of attacking. Requiring the player to work out a method to kill each one; sometimes relying on the environment surrounding them. Although they all impressively move and attack in various manners, seemingly giving the impression of some intelligence lying behind their movement, I found it heavily scripted.
There'll be these moments where a colossus is stuck in a movement loop, only waiting for me to walk or climb on the right spot to change that loop. It can be frustrating finding out what triggers the next scripted event. Don't get me wrong; awesome scripting can work amazing, just look at F.E.A.R., but here it feels aged. Then again, it's a PS2 title beneath the shiny new surface.
However, character movement is where SotC trips up the most. I really enjoy the thrill of climbing a massive colossus or riding though the vast landscapes of green fields with looming mountains in the distance but, my goodness, is it floaty. It's something that could’ve been tightened up in this remake. Jumps feel like moon gravity and the extremely unprecise movement gives me flashbacks to Little Big Planet.
There's this overhanging unprecise and slow response to the control inputs. Worse yet, every time you trip or get knocked to the ground, which happens a lot as your character is physics-based in his animation, it takes what feels like a century to get up on your feet. Only to see a colossus knock you straight back to the ground again.
It pulls the enjoyment down a notch and Ico probably had a similar feel, but it’s just more prominent here as its about battling the physics when you're on top of a colossus, trying your best to keep on your feet and grabbing some fur to cling on to.
Originally developed by the Sony's in-house developer; Japan Studio, this remake is done by Bluepoint Games. Reworking the graphics engine completely with new assets, it keeps the core gameplay engine to the PS2 original. Thus, gameplay between them is extremely similar, with mostly the control layout being altered for a modern setup. Perhaps a little too similar when it comes to the gameplay.
The massive rework of visuals has resulted in an aesthetic that retains the vast and empty sensation of the original, but adds much more detail in foliage, scenery, texture work, overall geometry and more colour. The original is not exactly a visually appealing title these days, considerably pushing the PS2 hardware to its limits with its massive size. Resulting in blurry textures, flat grounds with no grass, extremely sparse detail and an unstable framerate dropping far below 30fps.
Luckily, Bluepoint have really nailed the look of the original. Not going overboard with detail but adding green fields of grass, lush trees, incredible lighting and neat geometry to mountains and buildings. It's an appealing game that balances the act of pleasant and gloomy environments. With the remade visuals it nails that "this is how I remember it looking" sensation, but side-by-side its vastly improved.
On a stock PS4 you're locked to 1080p@30fps, a typical setting for the system, while on the PS4 Pro I could choose between; cinematic which is 1440p@30fps or performance which is 1080p@60fps. The latter being the mode I played; allowing the floaty controls to be a little more responsive and the camera movement more fluid. For clarity in the distance the 1080p blurs some of the beauty, so it's a toss-up between responsiveness and visuals.
Performance mode doesn't quite lock the 60fps, as there are clear v-sync issues when things busy on screen. Sadly, the PS4 Pro doesn't have VRR support, like the Xbox One X had, which would’ve fixed the issue. Nevertheless, it does a fair job at keeping such a visually impressive title running at a higher framerate! If you're on a PS5 this mode will be rock solid framerate.
Apart from the floaty controls and the scripted movements of the colossus getting stuck at times, I found the story atmospheric but bland. It's a little too minimalist and doesn't really go anywhere sensible at the end. I get that it's supposed to a dreamy and sensation to it all, but what even happened at the very end?!
That said, SotC stand out as memorable experience. While I still feel Ico is the more interesting of the two, SotC is without doubt a unique experience and a completely different spiritual sequel.
This remake is a fantastic opportunity to play SotC with visuals that hold up well, although sadly PS5 players don't get any visual upgrade beyond the ones offered on the PS4 Pro, apart from a locked 60fps mode.
Those seeking a unique gaming experience should check it out, just be prepared that the underlying gameplay is a PS2 title; nothing worrying and you'll get used to it. It's a 10-to-12-hour experience and the difficulty was fair, with the most trouble being the last colossus.
