Shadow of the Colossus Review (PS4)
NOTE: This review has 80% same content as my review in The ICO and Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection review on PS3.
Introduction
This is a remake of Shadow of the Colossus on PS2, available on PS4. Not only this game is a remake in graphics standpoint, it retains the same gameplay system from the original game as well as several gameplay additions. The control scheme is also altered slightly compared to the original version and the PS3 HD remaster version.
Story
Wander traveled to a forbidden land where it is possible to revive someone from the dead, with his trusty steed Agro and the body of Mono. Shortly after placing Mono's body on an altar of the shrine, he encountered a being called Dormin. The being can revive Mono, under the condition of that Wander must defeat 16 Colossi. Without any hesitation, he went on a quest on to defeat every colossi in this forbidden land.
The game's story is simple, but wonderfully told. Wander's quest on defeating each colossus in the game is simple epic and breath taking, despite minimal dialogue like ICO. Memorable supporting characters despite short appearances. The game also uses' it's own language, just like it's predecessor, Ico.
Gameplay
The gameplay is a bit of action adventure and open world. You need to traverse in great distances in order to fight a colossus. As you have access to a horse, use her to your advantage as it allows you to travel great distances with minimum time.
In order to fight a colossus, you need to use your sword to find the direction where the sunlight pinpoints the colossus's direction. After getting the correct location, you can travel there to fight it, or you can wander around and enjoy the beautiful environments of the game.
Most colossi in the game are extremely big. You can't beat them via conventional methods. First, you need to find their weak points using your sword. When the light directed from your sword points directly to a spot, that is your weak point. Each colossi have their own patterns of attacking, moving, and other behaviour. For example, when the colossus punches the ground, you can climb on it's hand. Moving around while grabbing on climbable surfaces of the colossus is vital in hitting their weak spots.
Wander has his own Health and Stamina gauges. If his Health is depleted, then it's Game Over. His Stamina decreases whenever you do a stamina-consuming action, such as grabbing on ledges, holding onto the colossus while it shrugs it's own body to throw you off from grabbing it, rolling, etc. Be mindful of your Stamina while grabbing on the colossus, because if you fall back from the ground, you need to repeat the process in order to make the colossus lower down it's guard for you to climb it again.
As each colossi are unique, you need to know how exactly each colossi behaves in each fights. In order to bring a colossus down, you need to use everything at your disposal. You have a sword, a bow, and a horse. The sword allows you to stab into the colossus' weak points, and the bow allows you to hit the colossus from far away. However, it is not reliable and useless in order to hit a colossus' weak points, except for a few colossi fights. You also need to use your horse, Agro to distract or escape in some colossi fights. If you take a long time in fighting a colossi, Dormin will give you a hint on how to defeat the current colossus, but not all hints are very reliable.
You can also increase Wander's HP and Stamina in the game optionally. Defeating a colossus will increase your HP and Stamina, but there are other ways to do increase them further. Firstly, you can shoot fruits from a tree and eat it to increase your HP. You can also kill lizards with shinning tails and take the shinning tail to increase your Stamina. The game's camera can be rotated to view the surrounding environments. You can also lock-on to the colossus that you are fighting with.
The game's gameplay is effectively great and awesome. Although there aren't any regular enemies in the game, fighting colossi in the game are extremely breathtaking and gives you great satisfaction after fighting them. This game is not really an action game, as fighting colossi in the game is more akin in puzzle-solving and platforming. In short, the game's gameplay is awesome. The new control scheme is pretty good as well, but you can switch to classic control scheme if you prefer it.
Graphics
The graphics are simply amazing. Impressive visuals, great looking Colossi, great looking environments, and solid framerate. This is a truly great achievement in graphics department, and I personally think this is one of the best looking games on PS4.
Sound
Like the original game and the PS3 HD remaster, this game has excellent soundtrack. Great and memorable themes while playing the game, especially the themes played while fighting different Colossi. Voice acting is good, and the voice actors spoke in a fictional language throughout the game.
Replay Value
This game have moderate to high replay value.You can play Time Attack mode in either Normal or Hard difficulties, where you need to defeat a colossus in a certain allotted time. Or, you can play the game in Hard mode. This game also features a new version of New Game Plus mode, where you can repeat the cycle without clearing the game after finishing the game once. You may also attempt to find all collectibles such as white-tailed lizards, fruits as well as the mysterious gold coins.
Conclusion
This without a doubt, an amazing remake. However, this is not a traditional action adventure game, in terms of storytelling and combat. I still however, highly recommend everyone to at least try out this amazing game.
Score
Story: 10/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Sound: 10/10
Graphics: 10/10
Final score: 38/40 or 9.5/10
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Amazing remake.
- Interesting story and lore.
- Excellent Colossus fights.
- Good new control scheme.
- Good gameplay.
- Great soundtrack.
- Amazing graphics.
Cons
- Not much new content.
- Exploration is not extremely rewarding.
- Camera can be problematic during certain Colossus fights.
**Screenshots are from official PlayStation game page.
Introduction
This is a remake of Shadow of the Colossus on PS2, available on PS4. Not only this game is a remake in graphics standpoint, it retains the same gameplay system from the original game as well as several gameplay additions. The control scheme is also altered slightly compared to the original version and the PS3 HD remaster version.
Story
Wander made a deal with an unknown being called Dormin in order to revive Mono.
Wander traveled to a forbidden land where it is possible to revive someone from the dead, with his trusty steed Agro and the body of Mono. Shortly after placing Mono's body on an altar of the shrine, he encountered a being called Dormin. The being can revive Mono, under the condition of that Wander must defeat 16 Colossi. Without any hesitation, he went on a quest on to defeat every colossi in this forbidden land.
The game's story is simple, but wonderfully told. Wander's quest on defeating each colossus in the game is simple epic and breath taking, despite minimal dialogue like ICO. Memorable supporting characters despite short appearances. The game also uses' it's own language, just like it's predecessor, Ico.
Gameplay
Explore the forbidden land and fight the colossi.
The gameplay is a bit of action adventure and open world. You need to traverse in great distances in order to fight a colossus. As you have access to a horse, use her to your advantage as it allows you to travel great distances with minimum time.
In order to fight a colossus, you need to use your sword to find the direction where the sunlight pinpoints the colossus's direction. After getting the correct location, you can travel there to fight it, or you can wander around and enjoy the beautiful environments of the game.
Most colossi in the game are extremely big. You can't beat them via conventional methods. First, you need to find their weak points using your sword. When the light directed from your sword points directly to a spot, that is your weak point. Each colossi have their own patterns of attacking, moving, and other behaviour. For example, when the colossus punches the ground, you can climb on it's hand. Moving around while grabbing on climbable surfaces of the colossus is vital in hitting their weak spots.
Wander has his own Health and Stamina gauges. If his Health is depleted, then it's Game Over. His Stamina decreases whenever you do a stamina-consuming action, such as grabbing on ledges, holding onto the colossus while it shrugs it's own body to throw you off from grabbing it, rolling, etc. Be mindful of your Stamina while grabbing on the colossus, because if you fall back from the ground, you need to repeat the process in order to make the colossus lower down it's guard for you to climb it again.
Each Colossus has unique appearance and behaviour.
As each colossi are unique, you need to know how exactly each colossi behaves in each fights. In order to bring a colossus down, you need to use everything at your disposal. You have a sword, a bow, and a horse. The sword allows you to stab into the colossus' weak points, and the bow allows you to hit the colossus from far away. However, it is not reliable and useless in order to hit a colossus' weak points, except for a few colossi fights. You also need to use your horse, Agro to distract or escape in some colossi fights. If you take a long time in fighting a colossi, Dormin will give you a hint on how to defeat the current colossus, but not all hints are very reliable.
You can also increase Wander's HP and Stamina in the game optionally. Defeating a colossus will increase your HP and Stamina, but there are other ways to do increase them further. Firstly, you can shoot fruits from a tree and eat it to increase your HP. You can also kill lizards with shinning tails and take the shinning tail to increase your Stamina. The game's camera can be rotated to view the surrounding environments. You can also lock-on to the colossus that you are fighting with.
The game's gameplay is effectively great and awesome. Although there aren't any regular enemies in the game, fighting colossi in the game are extremely breathtaking and gives you great satisfaction after fighting them. This game is not really an action game, as fighting colossi in the game is more akin in puzzle-solving and platforming. In short, the game's gameplay is awesome. The new control scheme is pretty good as well, but you can switch to classic control scheme if you prefer it.
Graphics
Excellent graphics.
The graphics are simply amazing. Impressive visuals, great looking Colossi, great looking environments, and solid framerate. This is a truly great achievement in graphics department, and I personally think this is one of the best looking games on PS4.
Sound
Has one of the best soundtrack in video games ever.
Like the original game and the PS3 HD remaster, this game has excellent soundtrack. Great and memorable themes while playing the game, especially the themes played while fighting different Colossi. Voice acting is good, and the voice actors spoke in a fictional language throughout the game.
Replay Value
Moderate to high replay value.
This game have moderate to high replay value.You can play Time Attack mode in either Normal or Hard difficulties, where you need to defeat a colossus in a certain allotted time. Or, you can play the game in Hard mode. This game also features a new version of New Game Plus mode, where you can repeat the cycle without clearing the game after finishing the game once. You may also attempt to find all collectibles such as white-tailed lizards, fruits as well as the mysterious gold coins.
Conclusion
Amazing game.
This without a doubt, an amazing remake. However, this is not a traditional action adventure game, in terms of storytelling and combat. I still however, highly recommend everyone to at least try out this amazing game.
Score
Story: 10/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Sound: 10/10
Graphics: 10/10
Final score: 38/40 or 9.5/10
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Amazing remake.
- Interesting story and lore.
- Excellent Colossus fights.
- Good new control scheme.
- Good gameplay.
- Great soundtrack.
- Amazing graphics.
Cons
- Not much new content.
- Exploration is not extremely rewarding.
- Camera can be problematic during certain Colossus fights.
**Screenshots are from official PlayStation game page.
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