3.5/5 ★ – Hootus900's review of Shadow of the Colossus.

This is certainly the most beautiful and cinematic game I’ve ever experienced. The cinematography engrained into the camera ensures each shot no matter what you’re doing is a picture perfect screenshot worthy moment. The way the music starts off gentle and mysterious when you first encounter a colossus, only to swell when either party becomes hostile never failed to keep me engaged. The graphical facelift from Bluepoint emphasized both of these and just overall secured this as the most beautiful game I’ve played. With that being said, I fear more often than not this game is form over function. Starting off with the controls, it unfortunately can’t escape the ps2 era clunk. I loved the ambition for the realistic physics effects and they did a great job utilizing it in some of the colossus’s puzzles, but it didn’t always work. I also found Agro’s controls to be extremely frustrating and inconsistent, and by the end I still didn’t know how exactly to control her. There are a few boss fights that require her, so it was disappointing to not feel in tune with her. My other main gripe is the camera. As beautiful as it is, it unfortunately was a struggle many times during combat. Sitting here after finishing it, I don’t have a definitive stance on it, as I both loved and hated it. I think this is a must play for anyone who is into the artistic side of gaming like I am. For a game with very little dialogue, it has an engaging and emotional story with an ending that isn’t the biggest surprise, but feels very fitting.