The terrible controls are a huge turn off

[Gray-Fox-44]

That horse was scripted by the devil itself... Still, I really enjoyed the game. Especially the last part of the story...

Spoiler

Now stay dead, you stupid stud!

[JRammos29]

The hardest colossus are the controls, mainly for the horse. They should give a trophy just by controlling the horse.

[Sillshez15]

After reading all the replies, I feel like I played a completely different game because I had almost no problems with the controls. Sure, I did struggle with them at the beginning, but once I got used to them, they felt very intuitive to me. I enjoyed riding on Agro and simply exploring everything(the only exception being riding through forests. In that case I just dismounted her and walked through them myself because it was faster... Sorry Agro, nothing personal :-$). There were some points where she didn't jump over short cliffs when she should have been able to, but most of the time I had no problems riding her. It's also weird that my favorite colossi to fight are Dirge (10th colossus) and Phalanx (13th colossus) because

Spoiler

you have to shoot at them with your arrows while riding Agro which is quite tricky if you're not used to it.

But then again, I like a good challenge, so maybe that's why I had so much fun fighting them.

On 17.4.2020 at 2:28 AM, RogerFH said:

But, anyway, about Agro: you control her reins, not her directly. Just saying, because some people tend to ovelook that.

This is what helped me steer her. When you keep that in mind, steering her becomes much easier.

Edited October 7, 2020 by Sillshez15

[Sikutai]

The Controls when I am at my Feets are okay, but the Controls at the horse back are terrible and mostly i walked the long ways at my own feet.. So I wouldn't feel bad if my horse has a bad ending.

[greyestfox]

Completely agree. I beat it for the trophies but the horse controls like absolute garbage. I think you have to have a soft spot for the original to enjoy this. On the PS2 these controls would've been more acceptable at the time. 

[alexandra-jane09]

Agro is hell to control, I tried to get Dirge today and Agro just reared all the time and I got a game over.  Tbh, The Last Guardian wasn't as bad as this and these games have some nice scenery.

[Deadly_Ha_Ha]

I can't believe people had trouble with this game

[Lord_Selrahc]

I came back to this just recently to do a bit of cleanup, went to the 3rd colossus for the Resist the Wrist trophy, and god damn, what a rude wake-up call. I don't know how I beat even a single colossus. You'd think that for a game that ends up being "jump here, climb here, manage stamina, time your sword strikes right", that "jump here" wouldn't be as much of an issue as it is. Then again, I might just be a whiny bitch, dunno. Glad that I'm not the only one who feels the controls are a huge barrier.

[hibari_larrea]

I see that you have not played since the PS2 version if you have played and you have already had talk, it is super easy and I say it from my own experience

[scoreaddict]

Reading all the negative comments makes me sad. Because the game is brilliant. It is by far not easy, I agree. The question is: Do you find a way or do you give up?

 

I learned that patience is the key. Getting used to the controls is part of the challenge. Yes, they are more indirect than direct. That is part of this game.

 

I spent enough time with the game and the colossi and they have certain trigger points that causes a certain behaviour (for example less shaking).

 

I earned the Platinum for PS3 version and I am about to get the Platinum for the PS4 version. I fly through the game, 

The game is a masterpiece. I wouldn’t change a bit. And the PS4 version is already much easier. In my opinion it is the best version to start if you haven’t played SotC yet.

[Dying-_-Light_1]

Sorry guys but this is a bull s? game for me. Everthing is bad in this game for me.

[Ozetkiller]

On 21.1.2022 at 2:34 PM, scoreaddict said:

Reading all the negative comments makes me sad. Because the game is brilliant. It is by far not easy, I agree. The question is: Do you find a way or do you give up?

 

I learned that patience is the key. Getting used to the controls is part of the challenge. Yes, they are more indirect than direct. That is part of this game.

 

I spent enough time with the game and the colossi and they have certain trigger points that causes a certain behaviour (for example less shaking).

 

I earned the Platinum for PS3 version and I am about to get the Platinum for the PS4 version. I fly through the game, 

The game is a masterpiece. I wouldn’t change a bit. And the PS4 version is already much easier. In my opinion it is the best version to start if you haven’t played SotC yet.

i agree! this game is amazing. something not being easy is classed as being bad nowadays

[de-jame-solo]

I almost rage quit the game in the first colossus ? All the grab system was annoying in the beginning, but at the end I got used to it and keep playing until finished it.

Edited February 6, 2022 by LastRideII

[FellOmen]

I get that this is a fan favourite. But remaking the game and deliberately leaving the awkward controls in is just dumb. I tried several times to play this for all the praise it gets and it’s just awful.

[its_ArchroniX]

I just started the game for the first time and I can agree that the controls are terrible. Controlling your horse feels incredibly clumsy, shining your sword to your next waypoint is so silly (especially on horseback) and the camera is definitely not my best friend in this game.

 

Despite this, I was surprised by this game and I think I will enjoy playing it out. I love these types of 'little guy fights big monsters' games and this one is great! Never played the game before so I'm in for a show!

[Zephrese]

The controls being precise and demanding of the player =/= the controls being bad, at least not inherently or objectively.

If anything for me it made the battles feels more immersive by making Wander's desperation to climb these gargantuan beasts feel like my own desperation as well.

 

I'm a person with very little patience, and who is quickly prone to anger when playing video games, and it took me no time at all to understand the controls and adjust.

The PS3 remaster on the other hand... 

Edited August 5, 2022 by Zephrese

[DrBloodmoney]

1 minute ago, Zephrese said:

Controls aren't terrible at all and are perfectly responsible., you're all just whiney bitches who're bad at the game because you're trying to play it like other games it has nothing to do with. lmao

 

This is one of my favourite games of all time - played every incarnation of it to completion, and consider it to be an experience like no other, and a genuine landmark in gaming history that every gamer owes it to themselves and their hobby to experience...

 

...and even I think the controls are obtuse and unintuitive.

[Zephrese]

31 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said:

...and even I think the controls are obtuse and unintuitive.

 

I don't really agree personally, or at the very least not to the extent that some people in this thread have claimed.

It just isn't everyone's cup of tea, which is perfectly fine, but that doesn't mean it's objectively bad either.

 

On that note I'm not saying there's necessarily a problem with people not liking the controls, but a lot of what I've seen here does come off as whiney more than anything.

Edited August 5, 2022 by Zephrese

[its_ArchroniX]

Quote

Controls aren't terrible at all and are perfectly responsible., you're all just whiney bitches who're bad at the game because you're trying to play it like other games it has nothing to do with. lmao

 

Funny that you insulted everyone on this thread that didn't share your own opinion on things and then edit the comment.

 

But I still want to react to it; So basically what you're saying is that people that complain about the controls only complain because they're bad at the game? And the reason that they're bad at the game is because they prefer the controls of other games? That's a very weird statement to make in my opinion.

 

So let's say I hate the controls of Shadow of the Colossus. That makes me bad at the game because, accroding to you, I'm trying to play Shadow of the Colossus like I would play Skyrim or Red Dead Redemption 2? That's ridiculous.

 

 

Quote

On that note I'm not saying there's necessarily a problem with people not liking the controls, but a lot of what I've seen here does come off as whiney more than anything.

 

So not sharing your opinion is whining? Got it.

 

People here are just discussing the bad controls in Shadow of the Colossus in this thread and you come in here and call all of the people that have a different opinion than you 'whiney bitches' for that. You would be hilarious as a politician.....

[You]

I have not played this on PS4, but yeah, back in ye old days of 2004 (or whenever it was)

A friend lent me the game, raving about how good it was, and wow I died on the first boss and never touched it again. I don't care how good a game is, but if it controls like arse and runs at about 15-20fps. Trying to play that after 60fps Metal Gear Solid, 60fps and split screen Dynasty Warriors 3/4 where the controls are silky smooth.

 

Back in the day I was the only person I knew who hated this game. It has honestly put me off the game ever since even stopping me from playing the remake (which is obviously going to be an improvement) Reading this thread gives me a bit of reassurance that it wasn't just me lol.

[Zephrese]

8 hours ago, its_ArchroniX said:

People here are just discussing the bad controls in Shadow of the Colossus in this thread and you come in here and call all of the people that have a different opinion than you 'whiney bitches' for that.

 

If thinking that helps you sleep better at night, be my guest. ???

 

Edited August 8, 2022 by Zephrese

[Virtua_Vince]

I found the controls pretty poor too, like controlling the horse, control the bow, and the response issues.  I still played through it as wanted to experience the game given its high standing with a lot of people, and aside the controls and camera it's pretty good.

[MatThaRiPP3R84]

looking forward to playing it at some point, I played it in the past at a friends house. You just learn to adapt, keep at it and you'll not only get better, but feel a deeper satisfaction that you did this game and the time trials etc. 

[Fox-Hand-89]

Totally desagree with bad controls. I got plat all Team ICO games (including both SotC) and my opinion is that controls is one of the things that was made intentionally "not simple". For me the controls in these games are one of the things that make them special, because you feel every move on tips of your fingers and you have to get use to it in order to succeed. I can't imagine SotC with simple controls, it would make this game pointless if fights with Colossi would be too easy and responsive. In my opinion, most players just got spoiled by too simple, almost not immersive way of controls and designs in modern games.

Edited September 11, 2022 by Fox-Hand-89

[Virtua_Vince]

17 hours ago, Fox-Hand-89 said:

Totally desagree with bad controls. I got plat all Team ICO games (including both SotC) and my opinion is that controls is one of the things that was made intentionally "not simple". 

 

I think the controls were pretty simple, that's not why I think they were bad.  I felt controls were really clunky, often unresponsive, often annoying to the extreme. The horse would sometimes not budge and wouldn't vault over obvious things you'd expect to the point you have to kind of 'reverse' yourself out of a stupid angle.  The aiming of the weapon was bad and jittery.