"Games ARE an art form."
by Joel Brink

To really appreciate Shadow of the Colossus, you have to appreciate that games are more than just shooting, driving, footballing, and Xbox live-ing. A game is an experience that you have to view as a complete piece of work. Stunning visuals, dynamic sound, and multiplayer modes are great but usually become the overwhelming focus of a majority of titles. Although that does work for a lot of titles, this is not one of them. SotC is about experiencing and feeling something.

For most of the action you are alone, aside from your horse, Agro. No one is there to help, assist, or guide you. The main “NPC” in the game is a booming voice that does not even have physical form. Every time you leave the temple you are once again alone. This fact is important because it really shows how big the world is, how small you are, and how you really are the only one who can complete your task.

(Save Point’s own angry nerd, Drew, actually hates this game for that reason. He even told me once, “I don’t need to play a game to feel alone. I just need to wake up.” If you’re laughing, that’s okay. I did as well.)



Your main quest and the overlying story are pretty basic on the surface and easy to pick up. You brought the dead maiden Mono to a sacred land in hopes of bringing her back to life. The booming voice tells you that to complete this task you need to kill 16 colossi that inhabit the land. You have in your possession a sacred sword that will lead you to all the colossi and allow you to take them down. With that basic information, your quest and main portion of the game begin.

Combat is very simple. You impale each colossus with your sacred sword to injure it, and after some repeated stabs, down goes the colossus. While this may sound incredibly boring, it’s delivered in a fantastic puzzle-like package. Each colossus has a weak spot that you need to discover, using the surrounding environment to help you. (For conquerors of this game, the flying colossus over the lake is my favorite.) Once on the colossus, you have to cling to its fur, strategically climbing and jumping on your way to its weakest point. Once there, you still have to take turns stabbing and holding on for dear life as the giant creature tries to throw you off.

In the end, the combat remains simple, but through that simplicity, the true suspense of the gameplay shines.

The visuals, even to this date remain beautiful. The game does not strive for realism and instead uses the PS2 power to almost paint this fantasy epic. Massive bridges, huge waterfalls, tall mountains, and deep ravines are created with beautiful color and scale to give the sacred land life. The colossi look fantastic as well, ranging from giant bipedal monsters to smaller bull-like animals, all with flowing patches of fur and hollow, pale eyes. There is nothing complex about this style, and it fits with the combat: simple, yet engaging.

The score is one of the best I have ever heard in a game and is also applied magnificently. In the beginning, as you learn the basis for the story, a beautiful but somber string melody is played, letting you know the story will be dramatic and may not have a happy ending. As you delve into your quest, searching the desolate land provides no music at all, just sounds of wind, water, and galloping. However, once you get to your colossal objective (Yeah. Let that one sink in.) the music starts again with a very up-tempo, dangerous sounding composition. Keeping everything orchestrated allows for fantastic music, but music that blends with the moment seamlessly. This is most obvious after you have taken down a colossus. The music that accompanies the death of these beasts is so moving, you feel bad having taken its life.

Along with the non-complex combat and visuals, the sound is not overbearing and accompanies every situation perfectly.

As you work your way through this well-crafted game, taking down enemy after enemy, the main protagonist starts to change. As his skin becomes paler with each successful kill, the deeper meaning of the story rears its head and invites questions about your true effect on the world. Any bona fide piece of art should make you ponder something and stir up some emotion. (It also provides substance to the argument that SotC is a direct prequel to ICO.)

All these simplistic game concepts come together to create something more meaningful than almost any game I’ve played. It’s a high quality production and nothing is overdone or emphasized more than it needs to be. The gameplay is basic but fun, the visuals are simple but vibrant, and the audio is all orchestrated but gripping. It provides an experience that will not be forgotten.

It IS a piece of art.

Overall Rating: 9 out of 10 stabs to the weak point