June Modern Community Playthrough - Shadow of the Colossus

[singlebanana]

Congrats guys! I too finished the game. I did so a few weeks ago so that I could join the Suikoden playthrough.

[slackur]

I seriously think this has my favorite ending and overall story of any modern video game. 

[Boshamp]

Everyone seems to love this one so much, but as much trouble as I am having finding time while getting ready for vacation over the fourth...I might finish after I get back.

[techwizard]

finished! loved it, though i had to use a guide on the final colossi as i was getting way too frustrated and couldn't figure out what to do.

[Fleach]

That's OK. The final Colossus is rather frustrating, but you feel like such a champ when you defeat it.

I had loads of fun playing this and trying to interpret the story with you guys. Thanks for making this another fun playthrough.

[MaterialHandlerMike]

Not going to give anything away here, but I really didn't like that ending. Ask me in 4 days why. lol

[singlebanana]

I seriously think this has my favorite ending and overall story of any modern video game.

Not going to give anything away here, but I really didn't like that ending. Ask me in 4 days why. lol

Really eager to hear everyone's thoughts on the ending in a few days. Seems like reviews are mixed. I like it.

[techwizard]

I seriously think this has my favorite ending and overall story of any modern video game.

Not going to give anything away here, but I really didn't like that ending. Ask me in 4 days why. lol

Really eager to hear everyone's thoughts on the ending in a few days. Seems like reviews are mixed. I like it.

i won't spoil anything but i'll say that although i liked the ending, it felt very predictable and somewhat cliche. for me the plot wasn't important though, this game is really made to be interpreted.

[singlebanana]

Well, June is over. Final thoughts on this game?

[wildbil52]

I'm a pretty outspoken supporter of this game.  The solitude of the world is very sobering.  The story is very understated.  No dialogue, VERY little exposition, and absolutely beautiful in story, music and substance.  In that way it is similar to another of my favorite games on PS3, Journey.  The game is wholly unique and I believe it is the reason why so many people are lamenting the absence of any news about The Last Guardian.

[singlebanana]

Hopefully we will soon hear about how outspoken you really are.

[slackur]

I can agree with techwizard, the ending was of course predictable and cliché.  In a way, I think it needed to be; while the game was not initially developed with the same design intent as it later became, as it stands now SotC is (at least to me) a meditation on solitude, grief, determination against "the gods"/fate/circumstance, and most of all, mourning.  

The setting tells the same story that the protagonist experiences in a larger form; arrogant sacrifice that may achieve a result, but at a cost that justifies the 'outer' forces' resistance to such acts.  There are subtle clues everywhere, from the purposeful ability to reconstruct details of a lost civilization by putting together the landmarks and set-pieces (the temple, coliseum, shrines, altars, etc.) to the outright narration in interludes.  Wander's experience is a microcosmic replay of Dormin's history in the Forbidden Land, and the results of those actions.

The commonly stated clues of most Colossus' indifference or even avoidance (as opposed to aggression) culminates in the playable section near the end, where the player finally tastes both the power and the helplessness of the great beasts, is by some seen as a cheap method to hammer home the point, but given playability is the great differentiating factor of this medium, for me it came across quite natural.  The odd solace of the Secret Garden, and the ending's tether to Ico, are pleasant nods that wrap the whole back upon itself in what I found to be a holistic experience seldom found in video games.

Anecdotally, I could listen to that soundtrack all day.  (Actually, I have; it's also a wonderfully powerful tool to write alongside.)

[wildbil52]

In what way was the ending cliche?

[theGrue]

I'm glad I played it, and I get what the game means for the "games as art" cause, but would I recommend it? I don't know. The controls and camera are frustratingly clunky, and the final boss just drove it all home. Not to mention the ending... You control a big clunky monster that spends half its time turning around, then get to be yourself in a helpless struggle against wind. All in all, a weak note to go out on.

As far as the story goes, I don't know that I get what the ending was trying to say. You were working to revive a beast split into 16 parts, which then went down just as easy, if not easier than all the other colossi? I don't know.

I think the game hit it's high point for me just before the final battle. I hadn't ventured out that way yet, and just kept finding save points, fruit trees, and lizards. It had a really nice sense of serenity to it, almost as if you were supposed to linger for a bit before committing to what you knew was the end.

[techwizard]

It had an almost anakin skywalker to vader thing going on that's fairly common. Hero tries to do good for someone he loves but in a selfish way that disregards all consequenses and he turns evil because of his actions and the corrupting influence of a power figure. It was predictable because of what happened after every battle, and the fact that the voice telling you what to fight (dormin's spirit?) Never actually said anything about saving the girl, it just said "you must destroy these icons" and you're like "alright sounds good!" Because again, blinded by desire to save the girl. It was clear the voice had other motives of dubious intentions.

That doesn't mean that i don't like the game, it was great. I just think the story was cliche and predictable.