The second remaster of Shadow of The Colossus — the 2005 game that came the closest to getting the late Roger Ebert to reconsider his legendary hot take that videogames aren’t art — is remarkable both for what it updates and what it leaves untouched.
The splashy and total graphic overhaul’s the obvious headline, particularly when you remember how blocky everything looked 13 years ago, way back when George W. Bush was our president and Million Dollar Baby was winning Best Picture. (Yes, it really has been that long.) Here in 2018, the lonely and deserted kingdom into which our young hero journeys on his trusty steed in an attempt to revive his beloved, cursed princess is detailed and jaw-droppingly gorgeous.
And that’s hugely welcome news, given how much of the game you spend riding across and scouting the grassy-knolled countryside to track down the 16 enormous colossi — giants and hydras and birds, oh my — you must kill to complete your task. Just like in the original, your magical Sword o’ Light can point you in the general direction you need to go — no new-age HUDs here, kids — but it’s still a far cry from Google Maps. If there’s a mountain or a chasm between you and point A, it’s still on you to figure out how to solve that. (In other words, you may not still be on the quickest route.)
Perhaps surprisingly, chunks of the game’s control scheme remain stuck in their mid-aughts wonky state, preserving the essence of the original experience without becoming a barrier to modern gamers raised on responsive jump-roll combos. Jumping and clinging to ledges (and, naturally, various Colossi appendages) is a lot more intuitive now, but it’s still a massive pain to navigate and control Agro, your trusty and selfless steed. And the camera still glitches and hangs a little when you’re frantically darting around the base of whatever massive beast you’re attempting to scale/bring to earth. Maybe just standing still and admiring the way the individual strands of hair-like fur on the colossi sway in the breeze is a better bet — as long as you can remember to dodge the massive club and/or fist that’s headed your way.
Fortunately, the game’s emotional impact never needed a graphical boost or a control overhaul. It’s still as gut-punching as ever to gradually realize that, despite whatever honorable intentions began this epic quest, you and your magical sword are the villains in this epic tale, and there’s a very personal cost to be paid for this lonely crusade. After basking in the XP bonuses from slaughtering a bazillion other boss monsters in a bazillion other games, to have to pause in utter silence and actually reckon with the growing consequences of your murderous actions is a big part of what makes this game an absolute all-timer. Gamers shouldn’t have to track down/dust off a legacy console to experience something this amazing and revolutionary; thanks to this shiny new version, they don’t.
(Shadow of the Colossus, Rated T, is exclusive to the PlayStation 4 and retails for $40.)
