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

maybe it's because my expectations were too high, or because i came into this game with an idea of how it was 'supposed' to make me feel, but sadly, my thoughts on this title are a lot more mixed than i expected them to be. first and foremost, i need to say that this game is stunning. the environments you ride through - the untouched forests, the arid deserts, the abandoned buildings - are absolutely breathtaking. the colossi, covered in moss with age, stoic and massive, are all majestic. the way music swells in the heat of battle, chimes in softly as you reach new environments, or even disappears entirely during more tense portions of the game is beautiful. for these reasons alone, i genuinely think that everyone should play this game. and it's for that reason that it sucks to say - this game is so incredibly not fun to play. and some of that is intentional. without giving away the plot, it's definitely meant to make you feel insignificant and malicious. killing these colossi isn't supposed to feel good. it's supposed to feel cruel, destroying ancient and peaceful beings, most of which won't even pay you any mind until you physically harm them. and yet, so many aspects of this game are entirely immersion breaking. the camera moves on its own sometimes, and you have to actively fight against it to do things like, say, appreciate those gorgeous environments, or even look the colossi in the eyes. your horse, agro, controls awfully, and there were several points early game where i decided to run the whole way to a colossus because i felt it would cause less frustration. at the emotional cruxes of this game, killing each of the colossi, an achievement pops, which i found hilariously misleading - am i supposed to feel bad about this or not, bluepoint games??? all of this and more created an environment where i wanted to finish as soon as possible, not stopping to appreciate the serene beauty of this game and instead rushing past it. to wrap up, i do think i'll play this game a second time, maybe a year or so from now, hopefully with fresh eyes. there are a lot of great things going for it, and i don't think anyone would genuinely regret playing it. i just wish there weren't so many superficial elements getting in the way of the things in this game that actually matter: the simplistic yet ever-poignant story, and the beautifully vast world.