Shadow of the Colossus – Video Game Review

Thanks to Sony’s marvelous PSN Plus service, I recently got the chance to play Shadow of the Colossus, one of the great classics of the Playstation 2 era that, in my humble opinion, stands marvelously to the test of time.

Everything in the game is extremely minimalistic. The opening scene shows us the hero riding a horse through a deserted landscape, carrying a large bundle. After a while, he gets to a large temple, whose main features are sixteen enormous statues. There he uncovers the bundle, which turns out to be the perfectly preserved corpse of a beautiful young girl, whom he wants to return to life. A voice is heard then, telling him that it might be possible to do so, but only in exchange for the life of the sixteen colossi represented by the temple’s statues.

So it is that our mysterious hero goes forth in his quest, armed only with a bow and a magic sword: the only weapon that is capable of destroying the colossi, which is also used to show the way to their location.

It is at this point that we realize how simple the game truly is: there is nothing in this world besides the hero, his horse, the colossi and the landscape. Nothing bars our way as we ride from one foe to the next, but the landscape is so well done so well that, for once, getting from one point to another feels more like an exciting prelude to the action than a tedious chore that must be completed in order to get something done. The colossi might be waiting for us in swamps, lakes, plains or a myriad other places, all of them evoking the strong sense of solitude and melancholy that permeates the whole game.

This feeling get deeper as we slay colossus after colossus: once the deed is done, the energy from the creature infuses our characters, who passes out only to awaken in the temple, where the statue representing the creature breaks. Then, he catches a glimpse of several humanoid figures made of shadows, the ghosts of those he has slain. The sensation we get is that the hero is destroying impossibly ancient creatures for the selfish purpose of bringing the maiden back to life, irretrievably turning the world into something less than it was.

Obviously, the colossi themselves are the most important element of the game. Despite sharing a somewhat similar aesthetic, their forms vary wildly: some have a humanoid shape, while others resemble eagles, insects or even cows, including a few that defy description. One thing they share in common however, is that they are truly deserving of the name “colossus”. One of the many things that the game gets right is the scale, which in turns shows that we are fighting enemies that are far beyond our capabilities. Thus, in order to defeat them we need to develop a strategy, see how they react and act in consequence, for otherwise we will be killed. This can be more than a bit frustrating at times, but the satisfaction of seeing one of the creatures fall after many tries is a very satisfying experience. I would recommend not to Google the solutions to the riddles that each colossus poses unless you really feel you can’t get to the solution on your own.

This is a game that I think would be enjoyed specially by those who doubt the possibility of video games being a form of art that can convey a message beyond senseless destruction, and for everyone who is looking for a short game that, while challenging, needs more brains that lightning-quick reflexes or twitchy fingers to be overcome.

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