@NedStarksGhost Back in the Bioshock days, we all tried to stay in the same area but we branched out to play more games that didn’t have that same kind of linear progression. Plus not everyone can get the same amount of game time in each week. As long as everyone just checks in every so often then play at your own pace! Each game is roughly a month, give or take a week or two each way depending on the length of the game. Considering there are 16 colossi, I’d say that’s at least an easy split. So doing 4 each week would work!
@nessisonett okay that's great thanks for clarifying!
Personally think that's the better way to go about it, allows you to be flexible with the time you put in and stuff. Looking forward to joining in this month!
@NedStarksGhost To answer your question, as far as I can remember, the gameplay is very consistent with the original. It’s been a while, but I believe the Colossi are all essentially the same with the ‘puzzle-like’ elements of each battle mostly consistent; and the controls are nuanced in some ways to be slightly modernized (believe it or not) but mostly loyal to the original, jank and all.
The game is a true remake though, rather than a remaster, since the world is rebuilt from the ground up. The original had a darker vibe to the Forbidden Land, with a lot more browns and greys. The remake is beautiful, more vibrant, and colorful. The large awesome vistas and canyons weren’t present to this degree, iirc. The Colossi, although with similar art design and behavior, were not nearly as detailed, but if I’m not mistaken, are pretty much the same as to where the weak spots are and the where the fur is, etc.
Draw distance, frame rate, pixel counts, all that is obviously better. But in the true skill and genius of BluePoint, they changed just enough to make it modern and eye-catching, but kept the DNA of the original game intact. Which is great, because the game is timeless in its gameplay approach, setting, concepts, and message.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution thanks for answering that. Glad to hear it's basically like playing the original just with modernised graphics, with some small QOL improvements. BluePoint truly are excellent at what they do.
The environment, scenery, and general art style I absolutely love, so from my eyes they've done well to improve on the original style. The environments and colossi look stunning!
@NedStarksGhost I'd totally agree with what @Th3solution has said there. The controls were one of the things that I think people hoped they really would update, the camera specifically, but they left them more or less as they were.
There's this short video they made at the time which is worth a watch although might contain some mild spoilers depending on where you are in the game...
@nessisonett Thanks for the tag, but Shadow of the Colossus isn't for me, I'm afraid. Will continue to follow the discussion with interest, though! Hope everybody has fun!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@render yeah I can see why people who played the original would want that. From a newcomer perspective it's actually quite interesting to have the gameplay more or less the same.
Thanks for sharing that, I'll add it to my library and watch it when I've finished the game!
@NedStarksGhost It's extremely similar to the PS2 original. Aside from the graphics and slightly mixed up controls, it's almost identical.
And yes, the jumping, camera, and grabbing onto things are extremely sketchy at times in terms of their reliability in a tough fight. Really wish they would have updated the controls and in-game physics a bit. It still feels quite janky.
Just finished Shadow of the Colossus and I'll just come out and say it: even after playing it for a second time, I still don't like this game. Every time I find myself enjoying it, there will come a colossus that just ruins my mood completely and make me hate the game so much. I just don't get it, like in one moment I like this game and in another I just hate it completely. It actually reminds me of my experience with Jak 3, that game had lots of great moments but also a lot of bad ones and overall I didn't like it either.
The majority of the colossi are brilliant, but there are still 3-4 that are painstakingly annoying. If the developers had simply removed these ones the game would be perfect in my opinion. But they are frustrating enough that I just can't find myself liking this game. And it doesn't help either that the controls and mechanics are basically the same as the original game. That's one of the problems with creating a faithful remake: you bring along all of the flaws that the original had.
So overall, it was interesting revisiting this game to see what has changed since the original and to give it another go in hopes that I would change my mind about it. Sadly, my opinion remains the same and this will be last time I'll ever play it.
I got some final tips for people who are still playing: 1) At every shrine, there will be a silver-tailed lizard somewhere nearby that gives you a larger increase in stamina compared to regular lizards. 2) When riding the horse, if you hold down the triangle button in narrow paths, the horse will automatically navigate through them without you needing to control him with the control stick.
Also, apparently I got the trophy for completing the game without dying once, which surprised me! I didn't think it was a hard game at all, just a frustrating one from time to time. Considering only 1.7% of the players got this trophy, I'm kinda proud of myself lol!
I found Colossus 4 (the horse one) surprisingly difficult, took me ages to get to a point I could even hurt it. Didn't find it quite as intuitive, anybody else have the same issue?
@LtSarge Ah man, sorry that it didn’t quite click for you. I do recall the different Colossi having variable levels of difficulty. I didn’t ever get too pulled out of my enjoyment though. Although, to be fair, I’m not sure ‘enjoy’ is the right emotion that I have had when I played it (have played through it twice) although some of the puzzling of the different Colossi is fun, but there was a deeper emotion that seemed to resonate with me for it. Like a satisfaction maybe, or just a feeling of awe and wonder. Very few games have made me feel as awe inspired as SotC. Then the message and the ending and the interpretation of it all really struck me.
So I guess all that made the frustrating parts less annoying. It’s honestly the same way I felt with The Last Guardian, but a little closer to what you’re feeling now with — SotC. The moments of frustration with dealing with Trico’s AI and getting her to do what I needed her to was enough to pull me out of the moment and somewhat spoil the otherwise stellar experience. So of the two, I prefer SotC. Although TLG is a really deep and moving game too.
@NedStarksGhost I don’t remember struggling mightily with it, but it’s been a while. Some of the Colossi are pretty tough to suss out though. I hope you still are liking your time with the game though.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@NedStarksGhost Yep, colossus 4 was one that I didn't enjoy at all. The first time I played the game, I had zero clue on how to even get on top of it. Had to look up a guide and then I realised what to do. Surprisingly, I remembered what to do on my second run but the execution part was still difficult because it's easy to fall off and it takes so long to get back up again.
@Th3solution I was actually thinking of your experience with The Last Guardian while I was playing this game. I remember you didn't like it because you had issues with controlling Trico, while I had no issues at all and I absolutely enjoyed playing the game. Now it's the complete opposite, apparently you liked SotC but I completely dislike it! Just goes to show how divisive the Japan Studio games can be for certain people.
The thing is I experienced the same feelings of awe when I was fighting most of the colossi, especially the ones where you're riding the horse and they're chasing you, or you have to leap off the horse's back onto the wings of the colossus, or when the bird charges at you and you jump onto its wings. The battles are unlike anything I've ever experienced in games, which makes me even more upset that several of them had to ruin my overall experience. Because like I said, if those were removed, this game would be perfect! There were tons of genuinely great battles.
@LtSarge I think when one plates a Team Ico game, he or she must put aside expectations as far as how the game should feel, control, and play. The games all have unorthodox control and input schemes and strange gameplay mechanics. Such things were less glaring back in older generations, but now they can feel off-putting. And the puzzles aren’t set up the same way that most games are now. It’s a whole different era. It’s partly why I’d be fascinated to see what Ueda’s current project is like. It may never see the light of day and I don’t think we’ve heard a peep about it. I don’t know if it’s officially dead yet or just in some secretive development hell.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Have worked through 4 of the colossi so far. Bluepoint have done a fantastic job of the visuals. The lighting and the sense of space are increadible along with how each colossus is designed. That being said, while I've enjoyed what I've played thus far, it's not grabbed me yet the way I might have expected.
Beaten the 6th and 7th Colossi tonight. Still enjoy the game but the more I play the more I wish the controls were updated.
@R1spam feel similar in the fact it hasn't grabbed me. I enjoy it and will finish it, but so far it's a mixed experience. Controls and some of the battle designs can be... Frustrating.
@NedStarksGhost@LtSarge As much as I love this game, the 4th colossus just ends up being kind of annoying, since most of the battle is just waiting for the thing to lower itself down so you can jump on it. And yeah, the solution is not self-evident at all on an initial run.
I did the 5th and 6th colossi tonight. The 5th was really cool other than the irritatingly slow swim speed. The 6th was another ‘puzzle’ one/stand on specific spot and wait. It took bloody ages to get to as well.
After dying to the eel colossus, I’m very very close to just giving this one up unfortunately. I want to like it, but that’s a couple of times now I’ve tried the game. I love Ico as well.
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