shadow of the colossus

Shadow of the Colossus is my favorite video game! Even two decades later, there's nothing else out there like it.

The Forbidden Land is serene and surreal in equal measure. There are some small discoveries to find around the map, but taking in the atmosphere is a reward unto itself. The soft sounds of your horse's hooves as you travel to your destination, the occasional wildlife reminding you of nature's claim over this place, the sheer scale of the ancient bridge looming over the desert...it's all incredible.

And of course, there's the fights against the colossi themselves! They play out like puzzles, where the challenge is finding a way to climb onto them in the first place before attacking their weak points. These are living creatures of stone and flesh alike—most of them will put up a fight to throw you off, so stamina management is crucial.

But something doesn't feel quite right about what you're doing. You've intruded on sacred ground riding a horse far too big for you, and you've set off to slay its denizens with a sword you don't know how to swing. The colossi don't appear to be violent until you set foot in their domain, and that's if they notice you at all.

Just how far will you go to save this woman? The story of SotC, much like the gameplay, is all about holding on...and letting go.

Anyway, that's enough gushing from me. I love SotC, that's all there is to it! If you want to know why fans excitedly wait a decade for each new work by Fumito Ueda, play this game.

If I've piqued your interest at all, I'd recommend playing the original PS2 version of the game if you can. The atmosphere and tone are so unique in a way that the PS4 remake doesn't quite match. If you can't get your hands on a PS2 or don't want to mess around with emulation, fret not—the 2018 PS4 remake is pretty great too.