Colossus is another unique game from Team Ico, you take on the role of a boy who, with his horse, is trying to save the life of his girlfriend. Once again it is a simple and minimalistic story but with a game like this it works. Later on it does get a bit confusing as a few other characters appear with little explanation as to who they are but overall it is a simple and solid story.
The gameplay is where this game really hits the mark. You are tasked with taking out 16 different colossi, each are presented as a gigantic boss fight and have their own weak spots that require unique ways to get to them. Colossus could be considered a puzzle game as it is off difficult to figure out how to get to these weak spots.
And that’s about it. The only draw back I found with Colossus was that although the boss battles are strong and feel special, there is no other enemies throughout the entire game. The world is huge and can be difficult to traverse, especially when your only navigation tool is the light from your sword which I found very difficult to direct me accurately. The main problem with the world being so large is that there is nothing there. The graphics are pretty good (especially the hair on the colossi) and the scenery fantastic but with the world being so abandoned I didn’t feel the need to stop and smell the roses when I was struggling to find my next fight.
Verdict
Shadow of the Colossus is a fantastic game and I can see why people raved about it at the time, the boss battles are some of the best I have ever seen in video games with each being unique and challenging but the difficulty in navigation and lack of other enemies made my experience much less enjoyable.
+ Unique and challenging boss battles
+ Solid and minimalistic story
– Navigation difficulties
– Lack of other enemies
8/10
