This is the only explanation we get throughout the game we get no information on the colossi, their origin, why we need to kill them, or of Dormin’s motive. In exchange for the revival of this woman, Wander must eliminate the 16 colossi who roam this forsaken land. He communicates with a spirit named Dormin with the hope of bringing a young woman, presumably his lover, back to life. When he arrives, his motive becomes clear. He travels for what seems to be a very long time. We’re introduced to Wander at the start of the game as he is making his way to what seems like a very remote location. The ambiguous nature of the entire game from start to finish always kept me invested and interested in what was going on, what I was doing, and why I was doing it. It’s hard to not think about their origin and purpose as you take them on and bring them down, and this brings me to my final point: the ambiguity. The last point I have on the colossi is the strange nature of them you never know exactly what it is you are fighting and each time you put one down and are enveloped by its black blood. The soundtrack for each fight is epic and dynamic and always adds to the experience, as a soundtrack should. Moreover, the colossi are all beautifully designed and Bluepoint deserves a lot of credit for remaining so true to the original while also modernizing these iconic creatures. You need to think outside the box and identify your surroundings as they play as big a role in each fight as your sword and bow do. The aim is always the same, yet each time it feels so fresh. Each fight is its own puzzle, and while you know you need to stab the colossi in its head and maybe it’s lower back, you need to figure out how the hell you’re going to get there as you fight colossi that fly, swim, dig beneath the earth, are small and chase you down, or are gigantic and seemingly too big to even try to take on. The enemies in Shadow of the Colossus, despite all sharing a common weakness that is known to the player, manage to each present unique fights that require thoughtful strategy. This brings me to the second point: the enemy. Despite the simplicity though, each colossus encounter somehow manages to feel completely unique. However, you may not find much in this “abandoned, cursed land.” The 16 boss fights are also kept simple they involve climbing, stabbing, jumping and firing arrows, and that’s pretty much it. The world really is your oyster in this game you can go where you like and nothing is going to stop you. Even the main direction of the game is kept simple: you have a sword, a bow, a horse and a map, now go find the 16 colossi and kill them. There are no side-quests, there are no NPCs outside of the main plot, there is no leveling system, there is no upgrading of weapons or crafting system, there is no skill tree with new abilities to learn, there are no weapons or armor to be found in the world (excluding aesthetic gear obtained through time trials and difficulty completions). This game is so straightforward and doesn’t try to over-complicate the experience - something that many modern games seem to do. The first of these reasons is the simplicity. I found three key reasons that I believe make up exactly why this game is as popular as it is. As I was playing, it became extremely obvious why this game has been a fan favorite for so long.
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