Anyone else disappointed?

[sillyrobo75]

I just finished the game today and I still don't know what to think, definitely mixed feelings about it. This is the 1st time I played SotC from start to finish.

I rarely felt the sense of loneliness and isolation that the game is known for. I know the camera is one of the major complains, but except the last colossus, I was never really bothered by the camera during the fights, however I did not particularly like the constant obsession of the game, even when just riding across the plains, to choose what is the best camera angle for the me.

And then there's colossus 15...sigh...I was a few seconds away  from closing the game after I found out how to proceed in that arena. For me that was by far the worst part of the game.

I do think graphically this remake looks amazing, the minimalist storytelling and dialogue is something I like too.

 

 

 

[NieSwiety]

Probably one of the worst ps+ games for me. PS2 game on PS4 - what a joke.

Camera work, movement, mechanics are so dated it's almost unplayable for me. 

[danceswithsloths]

One of my favorite games of all time. 100%ed it back on PS2, platted it on PS3 and PS4, and could still play through it dozens more times. It's not for everybody (what game is, really) but in my opinion it is a masterwork. In all my years of gaming I have never found a game that is on the level of SotC, and rarely do I find a game even comparable.

[Swarming1172]

It's a masterpiece. I'm hoping I'll be able to platinum it but I've only just finished it for the first time. Guessin I should do NG+ on Hard and do the time attacks next?

[danceswithsloths]

2 hours ago, forfrosne said:

It's a masterpiece. I'm hoping I'll be able to platinum it but I've only just finished it for the first time. Guessin I should do NG+ on Hard and do the time attacks next?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the best route iirc.

[dieselmanchild]

On 2020-03-03 at 1:42 PM, NieSwiety said:

Probably one of the worst ps+ games for me. PS2 game on PS4 - what a joke.

Camera work, movement, mechanics are so dated it's almost unplayable for me. 

Lol if you think that’s bad try the PS2 and PS3 versions with the original control schemes. ?

 

This game was still a masterpiece for its time, and still remains one of the most unique gaming experiences on the PS4 IMO. But like so many games from that era, the camera and controls are wonky as hell! (I’m looking at you DMC1 ?)

[Killbomb]

On 3/3/2020 at 3:42 PM, NieSwiety said:

Probably one of the worst ps+ games for me. PS2 game on PS4 - what a joke.

Camera work, movement, mechanics are so dated it's almost unplayable for me. 

 

Gave the game two chances: Once on PS2 and once on PS4 and I just did not find it enjoyable. Fighting most of the colossi just wasn't fun, struggling with the camera and controls just wasn't fun, trying to traverse the map with a horse with a mind of its own wasn't fun. 

 

 

Honestly, the horse not always going where you want it to was the deal breaker for me. Sure, real horses don't always go exactly where you want them to but I don't want that kind of realism in my games.

[remainpositive]

The game is absolutely beautiful and the music is spectacular. But the controls are like putting jam on toast using a sharp knife as the handle.

Edited January 3 by remainpositive

[dieselmanchild]

23 hours ago, Killbomb said:

 

Gave the game two chances: Once on PS2 and once on PS4 and I just did not find it enjoyable. Fighting most of the colossi just wasn't fun, struggling with the camera and controls just wasn't fun, trying to traverse the map with a horse with a mind of its own wasn't fun. 

 

 

Honestly, the horse not always going where you want it to was the deal breaker for me. Sure, real horses don't always go exactly where you want them to but I don't want that kind of realism in my games.

The horse in this game is the fucking worst. Literally worst horse of any game I’ve ever played. He’s so damn hard to control! Impossible to navigate tight spaces. When he fell off the cliff at the end I was so relieved.
 

It’s a shame they didn’t smoothen out the horse riding aspect with the remake, because horse riding in games has gotten very smooth over the years.

Edited March 7, 2020 by dieselmanchild

[hsn963]

40 minutes ago, dieselmanchild said:

The horse in this game is the fucking worst. Literally worst horse of any game I’ve ever played. He’s so damn hard to control! Impossible to navigate tight spaces. When he fell off the cliff at the end I was so relieved.

That is really sad, I remember when the original game was released, the horse control and dynamics were praised, by almost all, it were revolutionary for its time.

[EcoShifter]

The game just has too many precise fundamental flaws for me to ever refer to it as or cite it as a "masterpiece". There is some kind of significant issue/predicament with the camera, A.I (bosses and horse), controls (both human and horse), physics, and some mechanics. The story and openworld design are also mostly flat. The latter is without even including the foolish omission of fast traveling completely in a fairly sizable open-world.. in an era where it's a standard.. in a game that already has a part of the feature implemented (when you die, you travel to the nearest shrine). There isn't even sufficient world-building to at least make up for the very minimal story and uninteresting open-world. The game's major strong-suits are its graphics and soundtrack. Anything else remotely impressive, like the concept of only fighting bosses, is compromised by other mechanics tied to it that aren't designed well like the commonly known camera and especially A.I. issues.

 

There's already a thread where the OP goes over most things mentioned above. It's not incredibly descriptive, but what is said is accurate. The game just isn't that good behind its graphics and music.

[milanbarca82]

Played it on the PS2 and I thought it was a masterpiece as it was one of the few games that made me shed manly tears (that scene near the end), and I'm ready to relive this masterpiece again on the PS4.

Edited March 7, 2020 by milanbarca82

[dieselmanchild]

On 2020-03-06 at 6:49 PM, hsn963 said:

That is really sad, I remember when the original game was released, the horse control and dynamics were praised, by almost all, it were revolutionary for its time.

Yeah, well just about everything about this game was revolutionary for its time. I don’t remember being frustrated with the horse when I first played this on PS2 tbh. But that’s just it. this game came out 15 years ago and games have evolved massively since then.

I still think of Shadow of the Colossus as a masterpiece personally, but through the lens of the era it came from. If this game was released in 2020 I certainly wouldn’t feel that way, and I don’t think anyone else would either. But those who remember just how epic and utterly unique of an experience this game was back when it came out will always remember it as one of the greatest games from the PS2 era. ?

 

[Ghost_of_Ziggy]

I’d probably like it much more if I hadn’t played Breath Of The Wild first, which clearly ripped off and improved upon SOTC. 

Edited March 9, 2020 by ziggypop_79

[Gommes_]

On 7.3.2020 at 4:49 AM, EcoShifter said:

The game just has too many precise fundamental flaws for me to ever refer to it as or cite it as a "masterpiece". There is some kind of significant issue/predicament with the camera, A.I (bosses and horse), controls (both human and horse), physics, and some mechanics. The story and openworld design are also mostly flat. The latter is without even including the foolish omission of fast traveling completely in a fairly sizable open-world.. in an era where it's a standard.. in a game that already has a part of the feature implemented (when you die, you travel to the nearest shrine). There isn't even sufficient world-building to at least make up for the very minimal story and uninteresting open-world. The game's major strong-suits are its graphics and soundtrack. Anything else remotely impressive, like the concept of only fighting bosses, is compromised by other mechanics tied to it that aren't designed well like the commonly known camera and especially A.I. issues.

 

There's already a thread where the OP goes over most things mentioned above. It's not incredibly descriptive, but what is said is accurate. The game just isn't that good behind its graphics and music.

 

Yes there are some issues with the controls and the "floaty" physics but other than that I couldn't agree less. The story can be seen as flat if you don't want to know what is going on. Most of the things are really cryptic and live from the interpretation of the player and that's also where the open world comes into play and shines. The world is flat and empty to give you that feeling of loneliness and wonder what the hell happened to this land. Before Dark Souls this game made environmental storytelling huge and let forums explode with theories about the back story. But hey, there are also people not getting Dark Souls out there .

 

Regarding fast travelling, this game wants you to explore the world, which is not that big. Fast travelling would defeat its purpose, cause you are supposed to reckognize the smallest things in that land. Plus, besides the first meters of the temple the majority of the colossi are in completely different directions, where do you want to fast travel if you want to progress? Btw. fast travelling was not a standard in 2005 and just like in Dark Souls 1 (before the lordvessel) the designers did not intend that.

 

To sum it up, the game tells one of the best stories by not telling you everything but leave some things open to your imagination and I just cannot understand how the ending of this game can leave someone cold and not wonder what just happened or will happen to the protagonists. Even before you really have to try not to be sucked in by the atmosphere. But maybe it's also the praise the game is getting which causes some sort of unconscious defense.

 

[EcoShifter]

On 3/10/2020 at 7:09 AM, Gommes_ said:

 

Yes there are some issues with the controls and the "floaty" physics but other than that I couldn't agree less. The story can be seen as flat if you don't want to know what is going on. Most of the things are really cryptic and live from the interpretation of the player and that's also where the open world comes into play and shines. The world is flat and empty to give you that feeling of loneliness and wonder what the hell happened to this land. Before Dark Souls this game made environmental storytelling huge and let forums explode with theories about the back story. But hey, there are also people not getting Dark Souls out there .

 

Regarding fast travelling, this game wants you to explore the world, which is not that big. Fast travelling would defeat its purpose, cause you are supposed to reckognize the smallest things in that land. Plus, besides the first meters of the temple the majority of the colossi are in completely different directions, where do you want to fast travel if you want to progress? Btw. fast travelling was not a standard in 2005 and just like in Dark Souls 1 (before the lordvessel) the designers did not intend that.

 

To sum it up, the game tells one of the best stories by not telling you everything but leave some things open to your imagination and I just cannot understand how the ending of this game can leave someone cold and not wonder what just happened or will happen to the protagonists. Even before you really have to try not to be sucked in by the atmosphere. But maybe it's also the praise the game is getting which causes some sort of unconscious defense.

 

 

(And I lost everything I said because of computer restart, k.)

 

I know what's going on in the story, and I was invested in it from the beginning, thinking it'd unfold through cutscenes spread throughout, or exposition through characters, or lore told throughout the land. None of this happens. There are ways to create an openworld that produces the sense of loneliness while also keeping players engaged with fascinating things to do. Actually, the environmental storytelling is weak. The physical design of the environments are good, and there's good variation between them to not have players feel like they've been to a place before already, but the storytelling within them is weak. It's not like in a plethora of other games where you can get a good idea of what happened when you explore places, because there's a lack of content within the environments, whether that be the lack of inscribed writings and paintings on structures, left behind documentation, or other physical details like dead bodies/blood/items/etc. This is a remake, not a remaster, so a lot of points defending the game when it came out are outdated.

 

Never said the game should have fast traveling as a core option from the beginning of the game. I underlined "completely" for a reason. The game should most definitely have it as an option, even if only provided after defeating the 16 colossi the classic way. The game's world is relatively huge, and it's undoubtedly inconvenient and an apparent flaw to travel everywhere entirely just on horse, especially this actual horse. Outside the horse being the sole means of traversal across the world, it has some notable flaws, one of which includes being scripted throughout various areas of the world to the immensely slow walking action. Between that, the copious amount of coin collectibles the developers added exclusively to this remake, and the reminiscent mode, fast traveling would be more than justified. It's a terrible argument to defend having to travel everywhere on this horse in a modern recreation like this, in a fairly sizable open-world. The tediousness and repetition of having collectibles or having missed them on the complete other side of the map and knowing/going back there with only the horse—especially when one of the paths needed to get there ends up being one of those that directly affects the horse's movement/actions—is purely horrible. The game is horseback riding simulator enough as is for the majority of the actual game itself, especially for those that choose to explore for lizards and fruit in-between colossi.

 

It definitely doesn't tell one of the best stories: There's a huge lack of depth to the story; what is told is entirely through cutscenes (which there's only four main ones); and the majority of the game, which also includes the middle of the story, suffer severely because of so little happening during it. There are so many oddities in the story/game, like the main character acting like a mute character that provides no exposition or soliloquy throughout the entire game, despite having a prominent conversation with Dormin during the first cutscene taking place in the game's world. Every other dialogue by the character afterwards, outside grunts, is literally just "Agro". The character could have been mute and there would be no significant difference in the story, thanks to laziness. Because the character doesn't reflect on what he's done at all (past and present) or provides context of the world while exploring it, and because the game/developers omits delving into the backstory of what happened prior to the Forbidden Lands with him (and the others), there's no loss from him being a mute instead like Link. What else, besides the average storytelling that even an amateur story-writer could have easily created. I mean i'm getting tired of (re)writing at this point, but there are definitely way too many incredible games out there with truly fascinating storytelling for this game to be labeled as "one of the best".

                                   Shadow of the Colossus has memorable story events, even though they all come from the one-sided execution of the narrative told strictly through (the few) cutscenes, but its storytelling isn't exceptional or outstanding. Furthermore, the storytelling is always kept to a minimal, with the game never going indepth about the origins of the world or the events involving the characters beforehand. Even though it merely tackles all these subjects within the overall world, it never goes into detail of any of them and instead focuses entirely on the present, which is bad because it's neglecting world-building. The gameplay doesn't compensate for it either, so it's a fair complaint. Obviously one would want to know more about such a "Forbidden" place and how that came to be, among other things, like the maiden—which the game doesn't bother providing the name of—ending up in the state she did. ("She was sacrificed, for she had a cursed fate." That's it. Wonderful stuff.) The game has this insufficient combination of keeping things to a minimal and just flat out lacking things. Games, then and now, have usually made up for issues like this through gameplay in someway, but SoTC doesn't do that. Now, let's say all the points I mentioned related to the lack of depth in the direct storytelling kind of doesn't matter because this is the story's approach of telling it (as you said), there's still the weak world-building during (it and the) gameplay, a lack of any interesting main character moments (some already mentioned above), and the majority of the game/middle portion is dull... which funnily enough is due to little storytelling. It's like some person said on this forum, about how the game tries to force you to care and become relevant again in the end when the developers chose to impose the rest of the story, rather than spreading it out.

Edited March 13, 2020 by EcoShifter

[entonces55]

Did I enjoy it, yea a bit. Is it in my top 100 favorite games, probably not. There’s a big difference between minimalism (narrative and world building) and there just not being much there. 

Edited April 5, 2020 by entonces55

[cometowner]

It disappoints you because you are comparing it to PS2 which was released in 2006 so it was released 13 years ago. In these 13 years, a new generation of people who don't know the original so to them, the title in PS4 doesn't disappoint. 

Honestly, if I were I would stop comparing old gen with the new-gen game, please stop making nonsense. Instead, you can ask for more titles from old gen to be revived. 

 

I played PS version, the PS3 version and got the platinum in it and I am now playing on PS4 and every time I am loving it

Edited April 5, 2020 by cometowner
spelling

[Keeperly]

I got to play the original one but I haven't started Shadow yet but I will soon though 

[Lumibella]

Never played the original but heard and read lots of good things about it so decided to see what all the fuss was about. It's gotta be one of the worst games I've ever played - awful camera and atrocious controls, bland, lifeless, empty open world, boring story and MC, and last but not least, it's buggy as hell. The game is nearly unplayable yet it achieved a Metascore of 91... Unreal.

[jjemmb]

i picked it up right after I bought a ps4 and got PS+ in March. Had heard of it before but never played it myself or seen it played. Took me a while to get into my first playthrough because of the slightly odd controls but by the time I finished it I loved it. Super beautiful and atmospheric. Just got the plat today and really enjoyed my time with the game

[ChiefMichigan]

I'm playing it right now. I got the game as part of PS Plus, and never played it before. The game feels really tedious so far. I'm no gaming master or particularly skilled with any games. But this game has so much backtracking and very little guidance of how to get anywhere. And the bosses themselves are puzzles as well, but the controls are not intuitive most of the time. Since the game is relatively short, I plan on beating the story, but no way in heck am I going to try to platinum it. That would be too long, difficult, and boring.

I feel like restarting you at the temple each time and not giving you much direction to where the next colossus is feels more like padding than a solid design choice.

[Carttagos]

On 26/07/2020 at 5:42 PM, ChiefMichigan said:

I'm playing it right now. I got the game as part of PS Plus, and never played it before. The game feels really tedious so far. I'm no gaming master or particularly skilled with any games. But this game has so much backtracking and very little guidance of how to get anywhere. And the bosses themselves are puzzles as well, but the controls are not intuitive most of the time. Since the game is relatively short, I plan on beating the story, but no way in heck am I going to try to platinum it. That would be too long, difficult, and boring.

I feel like restarting you at the temple each time and not giving you much direction to where the next colossus is feels more like padding than a solid design choice.

 

This is not your kind of game then. It would be ironic if you like Demon Souls or Dark Souls but not SotC because it doesn't give you too much directions

Edited August 1, 2020 by Carttagos

[dcdfan]

I personally never found out what the fuzz was all about this game. I missed Ico and SotC back in PS2 times and first played it on PS3. There I would describe it as weird platformer with only boss rush modes, taking place in a far too big, empty and bland setting. Without any information aside what the game gave me, the story wasn't appealing to me either to keep me invested long enough to reach a point where I would finally understand what was going on there...

 

I gave it another try when the remaster was available on PS+, but wasn't expecting much. My verdict is still the same, with the modification that now it's taking place in a far too big, empty and bland setting in 4k hi-res...

Edited July 30, 2020 by dcdfan

[TheSleepyBeauty]

I'd much rather have ICO have been a remastered than SotC.