To scale the cliff, I’m given a crash course on how to climb mossy vines, roll under obstacles, pull myself up ledges, and jump from one handhold to another. The camera tilts up to the top of the cliffs, as panpipes chirp a mysterious, searching little tune that tells me I’m in the right place. This discovery may not happen during your first playthrough if you’re not curious enough to stop or figure out the bow, but finding these fruits is one of the very few activities outside of fighting the colossi.īack on track, l soon hit a shadowed basin below a cliff (roughly where the light directed me to), where a short cutscene kicks in. The bow feels good, responsive, and once I’ve shot down a piece of fruit I can pick it up and consume it, slightly extending my health bar. I equip it with a quick flick of the D-pad, and hold down the Square button to nock an arrow and aim. It’s a bit unfair since I’ve played the game many times, but I know that the alluring fruit hanging from the highest branches can be retrieved with a single shot from my as-yet-unrevealed bow. Along the way, I pass a small oasis along the edge of a hill, a verdant outcropping surrounding a large tree. The first colossus lies directly south, a relatively quick journey from the shrine straight across the plains to the cliff walls in the distance. It’s an elegant replacement for a traditional waypoint marker that avoids the visual busyness of so many modern games. This works on foot or while mounted, as long as I have access to sunlight (which adds a challenge in some shaded spots later on). Dormin has given the first hint - “Raise thy sword by the light” - and holding the Circle button does just that, reflecting the sunlight off of my sword to create a simple 3D radar that focuses from a wide net down to a tight beam as I point towards the location of my next foe. While I can charge off in any direction and explore for hours, I won’t be able to progress without finding and defeating the first colossus. ***Īn old companion returns in the howling wind from Ico, making the Forbidden Lands feel just a bit more lonely and desolate. Even while casually exploring, there’s a sense of cinematography to the framing, some distant director playing up the drama of each shot while maintaining a visual balance. The camera stays low, following behind and keeping Wander off-center, maintaining focus on the landscape. Rolling wind-swept hills and crags flow off into the distance ahead of me, overcast skies above burning with sunlight just behind the clouds. She’s unpredictable, as animals are, but a fierce friend and really my only one in this world.Īs we leave the confines of the shrine, the true breadth of this place - the Forbidden Lands, as they’re known - becomes evident, and with it a mounting sense of adventure. And when I’m not riding her, she’ll wander off on her own, or rein up dramatically alongside me without prompting, or stay close when staying close is called for. Agro is a star in her own right - a living, breathing companion and partner in crime for Wander, not simply a vehicle for speed or safety. And many of his basic movements are contextual - he’ll leap from a running horse, or simply dismount with a step down from a stilled one. If his sword is unsheathed, he’ll run with it ninja-like, pointing it down and back along his side. His jumps are fearless lunges forward that can cover a lot of ground. Wander’s gait is more mature than Ico’s, the earned confidence of an adventurer rather than that of a resilient child. This is an excerpt from the book’s chapter “Raise thy sword by the light”. Nick Suttner is a former games writer and current indie games champion at PlayStation, who has gone and written a book on Shadow of the Colossus. The shrine is empty, save for Mono lying still, and my horse Agro, quietly exploring nearby while I come to grips with the controls. Moving Wander around is a joy, both in execution and for the fact that there’s no particular rush or threat as I prepare myself for this world and its as-yet unseen battles. The opening cinematic ends as the camera transitions into live gameplay, and I’m given control for the first time.
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