The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection (2011)

I realised that I didn't rate nor reviewed this game! 😱

It lives up to the hype. Absolutely gorgeous... sublime. Fighting the colossi is exciting, tense, but also extremely depressing. Those gigantic living buildings are just minding their own business, being huge and cute, and then here comes this dumb kid, whom they did nothing wrong to, to bother and murder them. Some of the colossi don't even defend themselves, such as the 13th colossus (Phalanx) who is the sad victim of arguably the most thrilling fight in the game.

The riding controls are, some would say, clunky. The mapping between input and output is not perfect as the horse will sometimes deviate from the path. This extra layer is intended, I think, since it fits with the main narrative of the protagonist subjugating the world to fit his needs.

That said, the fight with the 11th colossus is a waste of time and should be jettisoned into the sun.

ICO: Twenty years later, and with a nice remaster that makes it more palatable to the contemporary eyes, Ico is still a fascinating and lovely ride. Sure, the visual impact of those huge structures is not the same, the clunkyness of the controls is even more annoying, the fighting can be extremely boring/annoying and the whole "Let's rescue the princess" vibe feels dated. But at the same time, the princess is stronger than she looks and manages to subvert that cliché at least a bit and the game still has such a great, distinctive style and overall feel. Also, it's shorter than I remembered it, which is a good thing: I'd actually say that the length is perfect, it stops just short of starting to overstay its welcome. Which is something I'm not sure I could say about sooo many contemporary games.

Also, I played it in co-op with my (almost) six years old daughter: she used Ico in the more relaxed parts while I was running around as Yorda and we switched places when the action became too hard for her. She loved it, she was mesmerized and she actually started crying when she thought it was going towards a really bad ending. And then, a huge smile appeared on her face.

Lovely.

SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS: Back then I was a fan of Ico and I tried this for a couple of hour just to see how it was. After three colossus I bounced on the horrible frame rate and the clunky camera but I still was convinced that it was gonna be good and I would play it sooner or later. Then life happened and I ended up plyaing it last year with the PS3 remaster. Which do run better, so that’s a win. Also, the tech issues I read about didn’t bother me (I’m really not a pro player) so it was a smooth experience. And I loved it. It still is a masterpiece, incredibly immersive, it pulls you into its sense of solitude and through this amazing adventure centered on morally ambiguous situations and great level/boss design.

But anybody can say Shadow of the Colossus is amazing so I want to point out something I didn’t love: the ending is cool with its role reversal but I thought there was some fence-sitting going on. All that grey area and sense of guilt was kind of deflated by the revelation that I was actually fighting some sort of demon and those innocent creatures weren’t actually that innocent. And sure, its not that simple, but still, it had that effect on me. Anyway, its' nitpicking. Amazing game. Oh, since I recently had (re)played Ico in co-op with my daughter, I played this one with her by my side. She was fascinated, she played herself with horse-riding for a little bit (but wanted no part of the fights) and she loved the general vibe. The colossus battles were hit & miss: fun and exciting to watch at first, but she was a bit bored when they went on too long. Of course she cried when “that thing” happened and she was really happy whan it was flipped back by the end (speaking of narrative choices that take the impact away).

Just finished both of these. It's hard to judge them as they're both really quite old games, and they have suffered as a result in various ways. I think ICO is really charming and I really enjoyed it, feels very "old-school". Originally, I couldn't see what all the fuss was about with Shadow of the Colossus, but it has stuck in my mind since and looking back on it, it was epic in more ways than one. The loneliness of the vast barren landscape, the huge Colossi being taken down by such a tiny individual, the mixed feelings and sadness when one finally defeats each Colossus, and an ending that is an epic in it's own right.

It's not without it's flaws, the controls are a real pain (although you get used to then), the camera is often all over the place, and ultimately each fight is just a bit more of the same.

I can't say these are amongst the best games I've ever played, as a lot of people have, as I've met them for the first time in 2017, not 2001 / 2005, but they are still an absolute joy to play (once you give in to the controls) and both feel like a breath of fresh air, despite the fact they are so old.

...oh, I think my advice would be wait for the Remastered - Shadow of the Colossus, soon to be released (Feb'2018). The reason I played it now is because I bought a PS3 especially to play these before the remaster was announced, and I wanted to play ICO.

Those two games are pure gold, especially SotC. A reminder of the power of this medium.

Pacing, touching stories, just enough exposition to move the plot and lots of open points for reflection, no or minimum HUD, attention to details, Disney class hand made animation, orchestrated music, string notes and surprises, no high scores, no coins, no collectibles, no side quests, just the thrill of exploration per itself.

Leaps and bounds ahead of the others and a reminder of why I love videogames. On top of my all time favorites.

6 stars out of 5.