Review: Art-ertainment in Ico & Shadow of Colossus HD

In this age of mindless first-person shooters and endless chasing down of health packs, it’s refreshing to see a game like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus come around… again. They may be remastered, but they hold an important kind of currency in today’s gaming market: originality.

Go ahead and look at other reviews for Ico and Shadow of the Colossus (SOTC), they’ll all focus on the same thing – how the PS2 versions have been improved from Team Ico’s original releases. You really only need one line to sum up the obvious changes… so here it is: improved frame rates, updated graphics, trophies and 3D support.

Read no further. Unless, of course, you want to know what the Ico & SOTC HD Collection offers as a modern release. Because compared to other big-budget titles, they do offer something different. Playing these games will test your patience rather than your reactions, they’ll test your imagination rather than your ability to bash triangle repeatedly.

The Journey
You grab Yorda’s hand as she’s about to fall to her death for the umpteenth time. You swish away evil shadows with a stick as they try to grab her, sucking her into a black hole. You do this all as Ico, a boy with horns. Yes, horns. The stick is quite fun but why not use his rather Darwinian genetic gifts like an enraged bull instead? Well then there wouldn’t be any poetry, now would there.

Ico – a puzzle platformer at heart – throws us into a giant castle and its surrounding grounds, and introduces us to Yorda, a ghostly-pale girl who has been kidnapped. Playing as Ico, and uncertain as to why he is in the castle as well, you must escape with Yorda in hand (literally in most cases) while being chased from what could be her shadows; her nightmares taking physical form. A young boy protects a young girl, like a brother would a sister; the theme of a difficult childhood takes centre stage. This is a fairytale: it is a child’s journey into adulthood, rebelling against the rules and standing up for the little guy.

Ico can jump, climb, hang and push/pull his way through the environment. The unique aspect is that you have to guide Yorda through the environment too. You can’t control her, aside from calling her to your location. You can however, hold her hand to make her go places faster. She’ll almost fall to her death often and you will have to do a quick grab to save her many times. As you shepherd her through the game, you’ll have a personal journey; one screaming of nostalgia for your early years.

Colossal adventure
You then climb up the arm hair of a giant monster. Your mission: to slay the beast. To succeed you must drive your sword into its vitals. Welcome to Shadow of the Colossus (SOTC). This time you play as Wander, a more adolescent Ico.

In what is called Ico’s spiritual successor, you are armed to the teeth with both a sword and bow & arrow, with your mission being to wake a sleeping beauty, Mono. She has fallen into a deep sleep and the only way to wake her is to slay 16 colossi in the not so nearby surroundings. Simple enough. The fairytale continues, this time touching on love, along with the power of the individual.

Wander plays a lot like Ico. His jump is more powerful though, and his grip is stronger. A shrinking circle times your strength, hold on too long and you lose your grip. Rest is imperative to battle strategy. Your trusty steed helps you navigate the huge world quickly while a beam of light directs you to your next challenger. Once a colossus is found, and you’ll know it, you embark on the test of epic battle. Stirring music erupts to full crescendo.

You won’t feel small, even though you’ll look it, because once a colossus is slain, you won’t be able to wait until the next one. It’s an exhilarating experience, and quite satisfying (and it should be after all that work). This fairytale is bolder, less fragile, so large in scale, yet so intimate in feel.

Technical prowess
At first you may see jaggy rocks and dated rendering effects, but remastered lighting and textures bring these worlds to life. Ico looks more dated than SOTC, but then again it is a decade old. The look is that of old tech with fresh style, for the art design is original, and the concept art breathtaking. You’ll have a hard time finding another game like SOTC.
What you hear is minimalist yet poignant. The sounds in Ico and SOTC are spot-on.

It’s amazing to hear audio used in such a cinematic way. The PS2’s limitations meant that graphically Team Ico couldn’t portray scale solely using visuals. It is the echoes, the wind blowing and the power of water that will remind you that you are alone – a lone boy in these giant worlds. When alone there is no music – all reminders that you are destined to walk your journey is solitary. Once in battle, though, and the drums beat fast and the pace quickens. These soundtrack is akin to the concept art, original and grand in scale.

Easy to stumble
There are drawbacks though. Ico’s controls are rather clunky. To direct his jumps exactly can be trying and you’ll be frustrated by frequent falling deaths. With a save system that screams ’90s’ (sitting on strategically placed couches), checkpoints are infrequent which inevitably leads to more frustration. The beam of light that directs Wander to the colossi can be misleading, and oftentimes finding a colossus can take longer than slaying it.

Destiny awaits
As it seems to be Ico’s destiny to save Yorda, and Wander’s destiny to wake Mono, so is it your destiny to play these games. Put any of the technical drawbacks aside and enjoy a genuinely original offering, as only once before.

Like a fine epic novel, Lord of the Rings maybe, you won’t want to indulge in it all the time, but once in a while you’ll want to pick it up and get lost in this world. Remastered or not, these games offer originality and that’s something special. If anyone tells you that games cannot exist as art, simply hand them a copy of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus in HD.

Who it’s for:

• Japanese game fans
• Fans of challenges

What we like:

• Probing themes
• Challenging gameplay
• Original art design

What we don’t like:

• Archaic save system
• Frustrating deaths

Available on PS3