Shadow of the Colossus
Developer(s)Bluepoint Games[a]
Publisher(s)Sony Interactive Entertainment
Composer(s)Kow Otani
Platform(s)PlayStation 4
Release
  • NA: February 6, 2018
  • PAL: February 7, 2018
  • JP: February 8, 2018
Genre(s)Action-adventure, puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Shadow of the Colossus is a 2018 action-adventure video game developed by Bluepoint Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. It is a remake of the original game developed by Team Ico and released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2, using ultra-high definition art assets. The remake's development was led by Bluepoint, who developed the earlier PlayStation 3 remaster, with assistance from Japan Studio. The developers remade the assets from the ground up, but Shadow of the Colossus retains the same gameplay from the original title aside from the introduction of a new control scheme. The game received critical acclaim.

Gameplay

The gameplay is nearly identical to the original version of the game, aside from reworked controls.[1][2][3] Progression through Shadow of the Colossus occurs in cycles. Beginning at a central point in a landscape, the player seeks out and defeats a colossus, and is returned to the central point to repeat the process.[4][5] Most colossi are located in remote areas, such as atop cliffs or within ancient structures.[4][6]

Players are able to choose from several options when playing. On a standard PlayStation 4, the game runs at a 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second. On a PlayStation 4 Pro, the game can run either at a 1440p resolution (upscaled to 4K) at 30 frames per second, or at a 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second.[7]

Development

Sony had announced a remake of Shadow of the Colossus for the PlayStation 4 during their Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 press conference.[8] The remake was led by Bluepoint, who had developed the earlier PlayStation 3 remaster.

The idea for a remake had come after a conversation Bluepoint developers had: they wanted to create a new definitive version of the original game, and after speaking with friends at Sony Japan, it was agreed upon. Bluepoint producer Randall Lowe and technical director Peter Dalton stated in an interview with Game Informer that the original Shadow of the Colossus was on many of their employees' Top 5 of all-time list.[9]

The developers remade all the game's assets from the ground up, but the game retains the same gameplay from the original title along with the introduction of a new control scheme.[9] The game uses the original codebase from the PlayStation 2 game. The art staff used the PlayStation 2 version to create parity with the PlayStation 4 version.[10]

The game was released on February 6, 2018 in North America; February 7 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand; and February 8 in Japan.[11][12][13]

Reception

Shadow of the Colossus received "universal acclaim" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[14]

Brett Makedonski's 10/10 score on Destructoid stated that "Nothing in this entire game is forgettable. For a game predicated on methodically finding and exposing these creatures' weak points, you'd be hard-pressed to find a weak point throughout the entire experience."[15]

Nick Plessas's score of 8.5/10 on EGMNow said that "Remakes can seem like the low-hanging fruit of game development, but Bluepoint does Shadow of the Colossus justice with an evolution of the classic game that improves the overall experience while maintaining its familiar spirit."[16]

Tom Hurley from GamesRadar+ gave the game a score of 4 out of 5 stars saying that "Both a great remaster and an enjoyable 'new' game in its own right that takes you on a journey in a way few things can."[21]

9.7/10 was Marty Sliva's score on IGN with the summary: "Shadow of the Colossus on PS4 is a stunning return to the classic that wowed us in 2005."[22]

The game was nominated for "PlayStation Game of the Year" at the Golden Joystick Awards,[24] and won the Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake at the New York Game Awards.[25][26] In addition, it won the award for "Game, Classic Revival" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards, whereas its other nomination was for "Art Direction, Fantasy".[27][28]

Sales

In the week of its launch, Shadow of the Colossus sold 73% higher than the original game.[29] The game also was the top selling game in the U.K for that week.[30]

It sold 21,900 copies on PlayStation 4 within its first week on sale in Japan, which placed it at number 5 on the all format sales chart.[31]

Notes

  1. ^ Japan Studio assisted with development. Original game developed by Team Ico.

References

  1. ^ Espineli, Matt (October 31, 2017). "We Played A Half Hour Of Shadow Of The Colossus PS4, And It's Still Wonderful". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  2. ^ Sliva, Marty (October 31, 2017). "Shadow of the Colossus Remake is gorgeous, kind of janky". IGN. Archived from the original on November 1, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  3. ^ Fingas, Jon (June 14, 2017). "'Shadow of the Colossus' was rebuilt from the ground up for PS4". Engadget. Archived from the original on June 14, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Shoemaker, Brad (October 17, 2005). "Shadow of the Colossus for PlayStation 2 Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 11, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  5. ^ Dunham, Jeremy (2005). "Pre-E3 2005: Shadow of the Colossus". IGN. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2006.
  6. ^ "Guides: Shadow of the Colossus Walkthrough". IGN. Archived from the original on August 13, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  7. ^ McWhertor, Michael (October 30, 2017). "Shadow of the Colossus remake has a nice perk on PS4 Pro: 60 fps". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 2, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  8. ^ Valdez, Nick (June 12, 2017). "Shadow of the Colossus is getting a remake". Destructoid. Archived from the original on June 17, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "How Bluepoint Rebuilt Shadow Of The Colossus For PS4". Game Informer. December 15, 2017. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  10. ^ Purchase, Robert (June 29, 2017). "Fumito Ueda submitted a proposal of changes for the Shadow of the Colossus PS4 remake". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  11. ^ Wales, Matt (November 1, 2017). "Sony's Shadow of the Colossus remake is out next February". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2018-02-01. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  12. ^ Wright, Steve (January 31, 2018). "February 2018 video game release dates". Stevivor. Archived from the original on 2018-02-01. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  13. ^ "Shadow of the Colossus PS4 Remake Slated for February in Japan, West". Anime News Network. November 1, 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-02-01. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Shadow of the Colossus for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Makedonski, Brett (February 6, 2018). "Review: Shadow of the Colossus (PS4)". Destructoid. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  16. ^ a b Plessas, Nick (January 30, 2018). "Shadow of the Colossus review". EGMNow. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  17. ^ Romano, Sal (February 20, 2018). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1525". Gematsu. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  18. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (January 30, 2018). "On The Shoulders Of Giants - Shadow Of The Colossus - PlayStation 4". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  19. ^ Faulkner, Jason (January 30, 2018). "Shadow of the Colossus PS4 Remake Review – Faithful, Fantastic, and Fully-Realized". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  20. ^ Tran, Edmond (January 30, 2018). "Shadow Of The Colossus Review: A Timeless Classic". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  21. ^ a b Hurley, Leon (January 30, 2018). "Shadow of the Colossus review: "Still feels as thought provoking and artful as it did all those years ago on PS2"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  22. ^ a b Sliva, Marty (January 30, 2018). "Shadow of the Colossus For PS4 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  23. ^ Plante, Chris (January 30, 2018). "Shadow of the Colossus review". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  24. ^ Hoggins, Tom (September 24, 2018). "Golden Joysticks 2018 nominees announced, voting open now". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 24, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  25. ^ Keyes, Rob (January 3, 2019). "2018 New York Game Awards Nominees Revealed". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on January 5, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  26. ^ Meitzler, Ryan (January 23, 2019). "The New York Game Awards Reveals 2019 Winners; God of War Earns the Top Prize". DualShockers. Archived from the original on January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  27. ^ "Nominee List for 2018". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 11, 2019. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  28. ^ "Winner list for 2018: God of War breaks record". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. March 13, 2019. Archived from the original on March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  29. ^ "Shadow of the Colossus PS4 launch week sales more than 70% higher than PS2 original". 12 February 2018. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  30. ^ "PS4 exclusive Shadow of the Colossus tops chart". Eurogamer. 12 February 2018. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  31. ^ Romano, Sal (February 14, 2017). "Media Create Sales: 2/5/18 – 2/11/18". Gematsu. Archived from the original on February 14, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.

External links

Team Ico
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