It’s time for another Retro Ad Replay article, this time focusing on the Shadow of the Colossus remake as it’s been four years since its release date! This is the series where we head backward in time to reminisce and celebrate the anniversary of some of the most significant moments in gaming. If you find yourself wanting more content like this, be sure to visit Mandatory.com.
In this February 6 edition of Retro Ad Replay, we’re heading back four years in time to when the Shadow of the Colossus remake first launched on PS4. That’s February 6, 2018. The Shadow of the Colossus remake brought improved visuals and performance to the giant-killing adventure game, delivering one of the best PlayStation exclusives to the next-gen platform.
GameRevolution awarded the Shadow of the Colossus remake a 9/10 in our review, celebrating the “completely remade graphics [that are] beautiful in comparison to contemporary games,” “controls [that] have been tightened from the original for a much less frustrating gameplay experience,” and the “graphics mode selection [that] lets PS4 Pro players choose between resolution and frame rate.”
Whether or not Shadow of the Colossus for the PS4 is the best remake/remaster of all time is incredibly subjective. I’ve rarely seen a game received such an extensive makeover while being so faithful to the source material. Usually, titles either get a thin coat of paint in their remaster to a new console, or are wholly remade to be almost unrecognizable, and few take the middle ground where the charm and content of the original product are maintained while fully taking advantage of the technology of a more advanced platform.
I will give Shadow of the Colossus the rare compliment that of its peers I can think of one remake that is comparable in quality. Only the remake of the original Resident Evil on GameCube so startlingly changed the visual quality of a game while still retaining all the aspects that fans love. Shadow of the Colossus for PS4 makes the original game and its PS3 remaster obsolete and is the version of the title to play from now on. For longtime fans, it retains the entirety of the original with nothing taken away, and for those who are playing for the first time, it has tight controls and smooth gameplay that makes it approachable.
Check out the Shadow of the Colossus PS4 launch trailer below:
