I've always respected Roger Ebert, as a critic and as a writer, regardless of the given disagreements but this respect was challenged when I came across his article on videogames where he arrogantly stated how they can never be considered as art. Ironically, he himself says in said article that never is a long time but the firmness of his belief confounded me. Confounded because him, like too many members of the older generation (to be as polite as possible) fundamentally misunderstand the medium and its (lack of) limitations.
Let's look at what art is for a bit, shall we? There are a lot of definitions of course but in its essence, art is a way of expression that takes numerous forms, primarily the visual and auditory one. Games use both but Ebert tries disputing that by stating how in games you have a predetermined outcome, set of rules and goals as if that is not applicable to others. Moreover, in the case a game does not have rules and points he says "it becomes a representation of a story, novel, play, dance, a film" which by itself is a silly argument but he cements his lack of knowledge by saying the other art forms are things you cannot win but only experience.
I do not need to tell you how there are hundreds of games without clear goals or points, stuff like Dear Esther or Everybody's Gone To The Rapture and alike have proved enough, even during his life time but even with a clear narrative, there is still a thing called "interpretation" that in itself, proves games are similar to let's say a painting or a music piece. The biggest difference is that in games you directly interact with what has been created by the developers AND experience multiple senses simultaneously and requires much more attention than looking at a Bruegel painting or headbanging to Gojira.
And as for his representation argument, it's extremely obvious but I'll say it anyway, every game carries certain ideas and parts of personalities from the people who made it, it's a highly collaborative effort, even the "shooting galleries" as he called them.
Hell, we can even remove the collaborative part because games can be created by one individual and I don't need to point out how difficult that is, from a designing, composing, logistical, mechanical and creative standpoint. The irony is even stronger when we see his definition of art. He says it's "usually the creation of one artist".
Not to say everything he stated was nonsense, on the contrary, him pointing out the obsession that games should be validated and considered as art is right on the money, to this day even, but unfortunately, he forgot the whole witch hunt of the 90's where games like Doom, Wolfenstein and Mortal Kombat were held as the main cause of violence in society.
Not the media nor increasingly bloody films, like Pulp Fiction which Ebert himself gave the highest possible ranking. Even my mother used that card on me one multiple times, despite showing me videogames in the first place.
What's the point of this rather dramatic intro, you may wonder? Well, this discussion is far from the first and absolutely not the last you'll see online but I can say with confidence that in almost all of them, a certain game has been mentioned that defends the statement that videogames are indeed art - Shadow Of The Colossus.
For 15 years now it captivated millions of people around the globe and created a cult following but most importantly it turned the industry on its head. Until that point in the mainstream, most games had a straightforward narrative filled with tropes. You're a good guy, likely and adventurer of sorts existing in a high fantasy setting and there is this big baddie that's ruining things and you of course take action and fight your way through his goons and eventually, you defeat him and occasionally get the girl, everyone is happy, good job you.
Shadow Of The Colossus however, was not like other games. In it you take the role of Wanderer who rides his trusty steed Agro into The Forbidden Lands carrying a pale girl, Mono. Standard fare so far but here is where it gets interesting.
No background is given to you, only your goal which is to bring her back to life and here is where the mysterious entity named Dormin. According to legend, Dormin is the only one that has the power to bring back the dead which as it turns out, is the reason you entered this vast, isolated peninsula.
Despite its intimidating voice and presence, Dormin agrees to your pleas but warns of the consequences before providing you with instructions - destroy the 16 idols that are found in the temple you brought Mono to.
The catch is that each idol has its physical manifestation in shape of a colossus and it's up to you to hunt them down in the world. Interestingly enough, this 16 are the only enemies you encounter through out the whole game.
The mystery and lack of context are enticing and the way it's framed leaves you with only one option that can resolve said mystery - go with the mission.
And so you traverse the stunningly beautiful yet eerily empty world and follow the light emanating from your magical sword and eventually reach the secluded colossi.
Sometimes you'll be able to reach them with Agro and other times you'll be forced to leave her behind and move on your own.
At this point you have no idea how each colossi looks and behaves but that soon changes with your first encounter and only then do you realize the scope of these creatures. Most of them are truly massive and because of your inherent disadvantages, you have to be clever in how you engage them. First you have to locate the areas you can climb on which are indicated by furry patches. Logically, because the colossi are basically sentient puzzles, this isn't as easy as it may sound, especially given their variety and locations you fight them in.
Some lay hidden in abandoned ruins, some wander the plains, some fly around the deserts and some move beneath the waves. It's fun but I would be lying if it wasn't frustrating which bring us to actual gameplay.
Because this remake is essentially a 2005 game with a fresh coat of paint, the controls are inherently clunky but the developers at Team Ico went a step further and made it even clunkier in order to more accurately portray the struggle Wander goes through. He is after all a teenager who is only proficient at the bow so the fact you need to use your sword to kill them is a clever touch but one that ultimately adds unneeded frustration.
The game's difficulty does not stem from the encounters, although some are very unintuitive, instead it stems from the poor camera, you tripping over air and aforementioned stiff controls, to the point that some jumps end up being more challenging than the actual fight like this cursed thing that leads to the third colossus. If you fail recognizing the easily missable edge you need to hold onto, you fall into the lake below and then you need to swim very slowly to the beginning of the platform before climbing it and then trying the jump again. The second jump wasn't an issue but damn was this one frustrating, especially if you don't know that you need to hold R2 before hitting the edge which most don't due to the game's minimalistic approach.
Still, that clunkiness has its appeal but do you know what doesn't? Agro's handling and her being a dick which she does, often, so much in fact that you have a counter for how many times she disobeys you which, again, sounds cool in theory but the end result is just extra time you spend on menial actions like trying to turn or simply moving faster because in some sections, Agro refuses to move faster than a tractor from the 70's. Things like these is what deterred my enjoyment the most but make no mistake, the rest of the package is very strong.
The stunning visuals have become a staple in the AAA industry and while Bluepoint's remake chases that photorealism big studios are all about, it managed to keep the original's identity and expand its world even further. I am sure some will mind the lack of saturation the original had but that was not entirely a creative decision, rather it was mostly a practical one due to the many clever lighting tricks that were utilized to mask the PS2's memory capacity. Sure it's a darker game but its atmosphere translated very well to the remake in my opinion. The lush forests, abandoned ruins, vast deserts, isolated lakes, all these biomes look and feel alive despite not having that much life in them which in turn makes the whole experience that more memorable.
The crushing silence that permeates through most of the game is one of the many superb details you'll come across and in my eyes, this silence is here to make you ponder your actions because you are actively destroying the last larger forms of life on this peninsula due to your ego and selflishness. However, this silence is broken during the fights and unlike most of your older adventure games that utilized cheesy, light-hearted music after defeating your adversary, Shadow Of The Colossus has this melancholic grandiosity that really, really tugs at your heartstrings.
Honestly, the whole soundtrack is sensational and easily one of the best aspects of the game for me. No matter what emotion Kow Otani chose to portray, I always ended up having goosebumps, despite hearing some of these tracks multiple times. The superbly layered orchestration, sinister choir, the amazing atmosphere, diverse instrumentation, all these things come together in such a magical way and I have no issue stating how this game has one of the best soundtracks I ever heard. Allow me to demonstrate as best I can on the example of Malus.
Instead of opting for an epic finale worthy of your final boss encounter (look above), Otani and his team decided for something much more sombre and slower paced. Not only did it subvert yet another trope but the song acts as premonition for the amazing finale.
If you have any plans of playing this game, skip this whole section because I'll reveal some massive spoilers before tying everything together and offering my final opinion. You have been warned.
Now, I myself haven't noticed this but with each life I took, Wander started looking less human. Makes sense due to the darkness that the colossi expel when stabbed in their weak spots, the darkness you yourself consume after slaying them. However, I did not think of the implications.
Dormin, the androgynously-voiced entity that promised to give another chance for Mono is the reason why these lands were sealed off. At one point in your journey, you witness a cutscene where you see your tribespeople chasing after you. They are led by a shaman called Lord Emon and he is not happy. Turns out, the sword you took is the only thing capable of slaying colossi and Mono was a part of a sacrificial ritual because of her alleged cursed destiny. Little did they know that destiny was about to be revealed.
Let's look at the name Dormin for a second here. For example, what happens if we reverse the word order? We get... Nimrod who was, according to the Bible, a powerful king operating in Mespotamia and one who is responsible for the construction of the Tower of Babel. Because he rebelled against his creator, he was ultimately killed and his body was cut into multiple pieces and scattered across the land which, as it turns out, is what happened to Dormin. You could also look at the Latin word "dormire" which means to sleep which is what he did until you came along.
In any case, the reason behind all the darkness and your physical deterioration is him and guess what, you have been deceived!
He is also the likely reason behind all the numerous remnants of a civilization that existed here prior to your arrival. The game never clarifies on that but it's for the better, seeing as any individual can interpret the story and lore of this world differently.
Anyhow, after killing that Malus fella from above you find yourself once again before the shrine in front of the eternally still Mono but your tribespeople have arrived and you do not look well. You're adorned with two Oni-like horns, your eyes are milky and your skin is as pale as the moon. The transition is done for you are no longer a human. Sadly, your own people are forced to kill you but it's too late for Dormin has returned. The female part of his voice immediately disappears and after your death, he uses your body as a vessel and each soul fragment you released is combined into one mass of darkness which features parts of all the colossi you killed. An amazing twist and one I never anticipated despite being hinted at, like all the other twists that preceded it. We're not done yet though.
After a short struggle, Lord Emon and the others escape but before they exit the shrine, Emon takes the sword you stole and casts it into the well causing it to destroy Dormin and in turn you.
However, before you're sucked into the well, the remnants of your spirit emerge and you're given one last chance to reach Mono. Unfortunately, no matter how hard you try, the well always takes you.
Your selfish actions led to a release of a malevolent spirit after being trapped for god knows how long and it turns out YOU were the antagonist all along.
But wait for there is one final twist in this sad saga. Mono comes back to life, proving that Dormin, while a deceiver, kept his end of the bargain and his warnings were justified because you lost everything and for what?
Your people escaped but due to Emon's actions, the only way into the region, a huge aqueduct-like bridge collapses thus severing the only tie this region had with the rest of the world.
Well it turns out this epic journey for something after all because Mono survives, albeit alone until she finds a baby in the well, the only problem is that the baby has those Oni-like horns Wander had before Dormin was unleashed.
What this means is never explained seeing as the game ends but you can always come up with your own conclusions. There are many theories, some of them seeming like they could be what Fumito Ueda envisioned due to the hints he left in Ico and stating how this is a prequel to that story but you can never be sure and that's the beauty of this particular story.
Its minimalistic, contemplative but unlike so many films and, this lacks all the pretention and symbolism for the sake of it so it's no wonder why so many people are citing it as an influence. Guilermo Del Toro, Cory Balrog of God Of War fame and Hidemaro Fujibayashi who is responsible for newer Zelda games are just some of the many names that expressed their love for this wonderful game.
For me, the biggest strength of Shadow Of The Colossus is how universal of a story it contains but because it forces you to directly influence the world with your actions, the ending impact ends up being much more potent. This dynamic is solely unique to videogames and this whole journey should be, in my opinion, experienced by every gamer.
As much as all this is true, I don't plan revisiting The Forbidden Lands any time soon, even with all the additional content because the catharsis was reached and going through the same motions would lessen that impact. The only difference is that you can do these fights timed and the pay offs, like the parachute or hidden Dormin sword Bluepoint added just aren't worth my time but I am still so glad they are in because
Shadow Of The Colossus fans are some of the most dedicated fans you'll come across.
Even after 15 years, people are still not even close to done exploring The Forbidden Lands and they'll gladly take any sliver of content they can get. Not because they're desperate, although that was the case more than once but because they'll go to great lengths in trying to piece the whole puzzle together and trust me there is a lot to unpack.
This mindset, in many ways, reminds me of the "Souls" series which I plan on tackling in written format in the future so keep an eye for that and more.
Oh and if you are thinking I am overstating that whole unpacking thing, check this out! Originally the game was planned to have as much as 48 colossi but most of them ended up on the cutting board due to budget and technological limitations.
Among the lost 32, 8 of them came very close to making the final cut. To an extent that there were models hidden amongst the cut content as well as their respective quadrants.
So imagine my surprise when I found out a team of 15 people are making those fights a reality! That commitment, even 15 years after its original release speaks volumes.
As for Ebert and other naysayers I based my intro upon, I am just sad they missed out on this and many other amazing experiences as I have no doubts that they would be just as engrossed as I ended up to be.
In the end those people do not matter because I finally experienced this game for myself after so many years of hesitation and this whole journey, combined with the spectacular soundtrack, Ueda's unyielding vision and insane attention to detail will remain me for a very, very long time.