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SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS |PS4 OT| The things we (re)do for love

BANGS

Banned
Not 4k, but I am playing in HDR on a standard PS4, which I've never done before. However, I thought of this, and tried recording a video with HDR shut off and got the same problem.
Ok I just tried to upload a video to youtube and it worked, but uploading to facebook did not...

Seems there is an issue here...
 

BANGS

Banned
Having killed a few more colossi i can say controls are still ass and the camera is the 17th colossus.
lol I've always loved the controls, although button placement makes zero sense to me. Camera issues you kinda have to learn to overcome as you go along, so comparing them as another boss is actually very accurate...
 
I grabbed my copy last night, the game looks gorgeous but as its been said the camera and argo's controls are still the same as they were. Still having a blast replaying this game, it still feels epic to take down a Colossi.
 

BANGS

Banned
the camera and argo's controls are still the same as they were.
Part of me wonders what all the "improvements" that were mentioned even were. Besides Wander stumbling a bit less, it doesn't seem like they improved much at all...

Does someone have a good rundown list of what they actually improved besides graphics and sound?
 

Disker

Member
What is wrong with shareplay on this game?

Tried it yesterday, didn't work ("this game has not been released in your country")

Tried it today and it worked, did it again a hour later and I get the same message again.

I live in the Netherlands and my girlfriend in the uk. Wth?
 

isucamper1

Neo Member
Ok I just tried to upload a video to youtube and it worked, but uploading to facebook did not...

Seems there is an issue here...

I knew it! Thanks for checking.

I eventually got around this by downloading the ShareFactory app. You can upload to facebook from there just fine.

Also, to the people struggling with the controls. Stick with it. Get some practice. I know that by today's standards, it doesn't feel even remotely standard, but once you get used to it the game controls very fluidly.
 

BANGS

Banned
I knew it! Thanks for checking.

I eventually got around this by downloading the ShareFactory app. You can upload to facebook from there just fine.

Also, to the people struggling with the controls. Stick with it. Get some practice. I know that by today's standards, it doesn't feel even remotely standard, but once you get used to it the game controls very fluidly.
Yeah I agree. The controls in that game feel great in the sense that I really feel in full control in even the most crazy of times. It's just button placement that's a bit out of whack...
 

Entroyp

Member
What’s with this coin talk? Were those in the original?

Anyways, enjoying the game as much as I did on my PS2..
 
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breadtruck

Member
I never played the original, couldn't stand the controls when I tried the PS3 remaster.

I had high hopes and was hyped for this remake.

The controls are still a little wonky, but its fully serviceable compared to how it felt in the previous version. I finally can experience this game that so many cherish! So far, Im loving it :)
 
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Woodchipper

Member
I never played the original, couldn't stand the controls when I tried the PS3 remaster.

I had high hopes and was hyped for this remake.

The controls are still a little wonky, but its fully serviceable compared to how it felt in the previous version. I finally can experience this game that so many cherish! So far, Im loving it :)
Pretty much exactly how I feel. I also didn’t like the controls when I tried the PS3 remaster, but this PS4 version is one of my favorite games this gen. It’s just so atmospheric, and epic, and... AWESOME!

Bluepoint Games ftmfw!
 

Fbh

Member
Was going to wait since I just bought a bunch of games on a sale ....but that 20% off email got me to buy it.

Looking forward to playing it later today. It's one of my favourite games ever after all and it has been years since I played it
 

Swizzle

Gold Member
Was going to wait since I just bought a bunch of games on a sale ....but that 20% off email got me to buy it.

Looking forward to playing it later today. It's one of my favourite games ever after all and it has been years since I played it

Great t it physically thanks to a nice Amazon deal. Nice box art indeed and for like £20 new... well it’s is a good price.
 

MrMorningMan

Neo Member
Finally got around to playing it yesterday evening, and having reached the fifth boss, I can safely say it's probably not for me. For some reason I'm just not enjoying my time with the game.
 
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BANGS

Banned
Am I the only one who likes the original graphics more
Well, this brings up a few points I'd like to make. While the new graphics are just downright stunning, the graphics for their time are just... normal. Nothing special about them compared to modern day AAA games...

Whereas the graphics of the PS2 version were amazing for their time, blowing away alot of the competition. It also had a bit more... soul to it if that makes sense. It had a bit more pastelish color and the motion blur worked in a way that made it very unique and felt more like an "interactive painting" if I were to use the cliche...

But for an HD remaster, I think the new graphics make a hell of alot more sense, and I certainly can't complain about them at all other than some strange pop in issues and blatant mipmapping type effects that I've noticed...
 
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Bogroll

Likes moldy games
I'm only up to 3rd Collosi and its a 7 so far and i'm not like wow at the graphics so far but iv'e only played 60fps mode so far. I will give it another try tho.
 

pawel86ck

Banned
Well, this brings up a few points I'd like to make. While the new graphics are just downright stunning, the graphics for their time are just... normal. Nothing special about them compared to modern day AAA games...

Whereas the graphics of the PS2 version were amazing for their time, blowing away alot of the competition. It also had a bit more... soul to it if that makes sense. It had a bit more pastelish color and the motion blur worked in a way that made it very unique and felt more like an "interactive painting" if I were to use the cliche...

But for an HD remaster, I think the new graphics make a hell of alot more sense, and I certainly can't complain about them at all other than some strange pop in issues and blatant mipmapping type effects that I've noticed...
What was so stunning about PS2 graphics? Game was flat compared god of war 1-2, and empty compared to GTA3/VC/SA. They had to use excessive bloom to distract from that fact. The only impressive thing was colossus scale
 
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pawel86ck

Banned
You have to take scale into account for both comparisons... There's really no game that compares to SotC and it was very impressive at the time...
god of war 2 had battle with titans, their scale was also impressive
god-of-war-ii-20070222023929233.jpg
 

maskrider

Member
Do we really have to care on how others react to a game we like ? I don't and I won't. If it clicks me, and it doesn't click you, it is not my problem. It should be the publisher's problem.

I like this game and I treasure every moment I play this game (on PS2, PS3 and PS4), I am happy that I can revisit the landscapes that I love in higher fidelity, exploring around makes me happy.
 

mcz117chief

Member
What was so stunning about PS2 graphics? Game was flat compared god of war 1-2, and empty compared to GTA3/VC/SA. They had to use excessive bloom to distract from that fact. The only impressive thing was colossus scale
The game feels like you are in a dream on PS2. It did feel different from other games. Quite a bit like playing Silent Hill on PS1. The game is empty because that is how the real world is mostly. Having 600 animals on each square mile feels artificial in most games, here they are very sparse and add to the game making it feel a bit more believable. Also you have all the amazing architecture both in style and scale.
 
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BANGS

Banned
god of war 2 had battle with titans, their scale was also impressive
god-of-war-ii-20070222023929233.jpg
lol I didn't mean scale as in actual size of the enemies. That screenshot is the perfect example of what I'm talking about actually. Look how beautiful that background environment is...
 

manneyney

Neo Member
Is it just me, or wouldn't adding a 17th colossi have been what could have made this release something extra special?
 

ph33rknot

Banned
What was so stunning about PS2 graphics? Game was flat compared god of war 1-2, and empty compared to GTA3/VC/SA. They had to use excessive bloom to distract from that fact. The only impressive thing was colossus scale
sotc had an almost animated look to it
 

toker818

Banned
Shadow of the Colossus only has a 92 metacritic score is a crime, this game is a master piece and should be sitting right next to zelda botw and the last of us in metacritic scores
 

Swizzle

Gold Member
What was so stunning about PS2 graphics? Game was flat compared god of war 1-2, and empty compared to GTA3/VC/SA. They had to use excessive bloom to distract from that fact. The only impressive thing was colossus scale

Not just the scale of the colossi, but also their animation (which was complex and very wel realised for the time... and that does take time away... a game has just so many man days you can dedicate to its various systems and integrating and testing them) and rendering (fur/surface shading was quite effective).

The game did not use HDR approximation and bloom to hide issues, but invested in pushing PS2 to achieve it because it was a look they deeply wanted (their previous game ICO was one of the first PS2 titles to allow for dynamic self shadowing on characters). The environment are massive, it is a free roaming game with little visible loading, and it gives the feel it is moving a massive amount of polygons around between colossi and the environment itself.

The main character and especially his horse received a lot of attention from the animators (and the engine had to allow for them to design the IK for horse and colossi and allow artists to design it... slower iteration due to lack of engine features would make the development a lot slower).
 

BANGS

Banned
Shadow of the Colossus only has a 92 metacritic score is a crime, this game is a master piece and should be sitting right next to zelda botw and the last of us in metacritic scores
Metacritic in no way is a list of the best games, just the best reviewed games. Usually the best games in history aren't reviewed as the flawless masterpieces they are, because most of those don't appeal to the masses. SotC is the perfect example of that...
 

vpance

Member
The screen brightness setting in this makes a big difference in how it looks, at least in HDR. Not sure how low I should be changing it to but I settled on like 25%.
 

ultrazilla

Gold Member
Been playing strictly in HDR "cinematic" mode. But will get around to doing the 1080/60fps option. Does anyone know if the game has an issue with Shareplay? I tried to watch my brother playing it
and wasn't getting his game screen. Thanks!
 
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Mentaur

Neo Member
This is my third attempt to play the game. I have always found the controls exceptionally frustrating and glitchy, and this remake is not really any different. No doubt that's part of the experience, but in 2017/2018 the animation glitching, especially playing in 60fps, would be laughed out of the park with any other release. Perhaps experts can make it look seamless, but at times I feel as if I am controlling a version of Woody from Toy Story with my limbs flailing stupidly. On the second colossus I got stuck with what I think is some sort of bug where his limbs jerked constantly, and then whilst trying to climb the thing the directions got all switched so I had to push left to climb up, down to go left-ish etc urgh it was hell. In the end I accepted it must be a bug so gave up, quit out and re-launched in cinematic mode. This time it worked as expected, but boy that was frustrating. Check it out at

And the camera - it doesn't care about you playing the game, it just wants to frame the shot nicely. I feel as if I am constantly fighting it, and having to take my thumb away to push the right stick to correct it, only for it to swing back the other way immediately. Why isn't there a mode just to turn off the auto-camera so I can do it myself. Would that really have 'broken' the experience? How these things get through QA escapes me.

Other people's reverence for this game will keep me at it as already I am at a loss to reconcile why I am bringing down these awesome creatures, so I recognise the emotional resonance of the story and I want to experience that fully (finally - after triple-dipping). I would love to see a mode that you could unlock that had a modern control system that made your character move more realistically and less like an animated character - and something that just let me control the camera myself.
 

Hostile_18

Banned
The screen brightness setting in this makes a big difference in how it looks, at least in HDR. Not sure how low I should be changing it to but I settled on like 25%.

This is the secret best post I've ever seen haha. I've struggled to notice a difference with HDR for so long and I tried this and OMG!

Not sure why it made such a difference as my tv settings were largely the same as everyone else's with the ks8000 range.(i left tv on the default 45 brightness, 20 backlight).
 

scydrex

Member
The controls are from PS2 era and the camera too. I haven't encounter any bug yet. I agree with you there should have been a modern control system. Still i'm enjoying the game and haven't encounter any bugs yet. Playing on 60fps all the way. Tried the 30fps and is a big difference.
 

Social

Member
Finished the game last night, that was one frustrating end boss but all in all, a solid 7.5/10 game!

I had a bug where my screen would turn black during a quick menu transition and didn't turn back, so I had to restart the game.
I also had a bug where I fell through the world out of bounds, dying :(.
There is also
this jump you have to do with the horse before the end and if you dare to touch the controls during it
, it will bug out and you have to restart.
 

Fbh

Member
What was so stunning about PS2 graphics? Game was flat compared god of war 1-2, and empty compared to GTA3/VC/SA. They had to use excessive bloom to distract from that fact. The only impressive thing was colossus scale
You talk about the scale as if it was just a minor thing.

In the Ps2 era it was really impressive and IMO even to this date there is no game that does giant enemies as well as SOTC did 2 console gens ago. The way you interact with these giant enemies, how you are actually climbing on top of them and interacting with them directly has yet to be matched.
Games like GOW3 have a bigger scale, yeah, but for the most part it feels like there is something massive happening in the background while the elements you are actually interacting with aren't as impressive
 

vpance

Member
This is the secret best post I've ever seen haha. I've struggled to notice a difference with HDR for so long and I tried this and OMG!

Not sure why it made such a difference as my tv settings were largely the same as everyone else's with the ks8000 range.(i left tv on the default 45 brightness, 20 backlight).

Yeah I think in HDR it's basically calibrating your proper black levels. Too high and the game looks washed out which was bothering me before I lowered it.

About the camera.. I haven't played the original in ages so I don't remember how much it bothered me but it just feels so weird to play a 3rd person game now where it's constantly trying to set a cinematic cam angle independent of your control.
 

Hostile_18

Banned
Yeah I think in HDR it's basically calibrating your proper black levels. Too high and the game looks washed out which was bothering me before I lowered it.

About the camera.. I haven't played the original in ages so I don't remember how much it bothered me but it just feels so weird to play a 3rd person game now where it's constantly trying to set a cinematic cam angle independent of your control.

The blacks just never looked that black to me which is why I never noticed a difference. Lowering the brightness in game makes the blacks blacker while keeping the light areas light. I tried setting it via the tv and lowering the brightness but it just made the whole picture dim rather than just the blacks.

Went back to some older games and lowered their brightness as well and they looked miles better (Horizon, Final Fantasy) only Uncharted 4 didn't look much different and that was with the brightness slider all the way to 0.

Not sure why the default or around the default settings in game are so off as I don't think I have any extreme setting on my tv that would cause this.
 
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faisalasif

Member
I was testing out Shadow of the Colossus Performance vs Cinematic Modes on my 4k LG OELD TV with HDR ON . I would say there was not a big difference on both mode especially when you have HDR ON . Performance is just my way to play you get 60FPS and HDR makes this game beautiful . I made a little comparison between both of the modes .

 

BANGS

Banned
After finally beating it, I have to say I am pretty dissapointed in this remaster. Don't get me wrong, the game is amazing as was the original. But there seems to be alot of environmental graphics very noticeably popping in and there's quite a few glitches when moving the character around where he flops around like a fish and stuff.

If you've never played a previous version of this game then this is the one to get, but I can't recommend it for those that have played before...
 

pawel86ck

Banned
You talk about the scale as if it was just a minor thing.

In the Ps2 era it was really impressive and IMO even to this date there is no game that does giant enemies as well as SOTC did 2 console gens ago. The way you interact with these giant enemies, how you are actually climbing on top of them and interacting with them directly has yet to be matched.
Games like GOW3 have a bigger scale, yeah, but for the most part it feels like there is something massive happening in the background while the elements you are actually interacting with aren't as impressive
For me scale is important, but I was far more impressed seeing huge populated and detailed map with cities and basically everything in my view (GTA games), than extremely flat world without details with only huge colossus in the centre. Remastered version has detailed world, I can see grass, trees, and detailed colossus at the same time, so probably I will be impressed this time around.
 
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ajim

Member
First time playing the game. It's definitely beautiful. I've taken down 3 colosi so far and still feel confused with the game.

The world is large, the land and scenery is beautiful, but there's nothing to do. It also feels like a chore traveling so far just to fight a colosi and then be teleported back to travel for ages again.

The battles are nice tho.
 
First time playing the game. It's definitely beautiful. I've taken down 3 colosi so far and still feel confused with the game.

The world is large, the land and scenery is beautiful, but there's nothing to do. It also feels like a chore traveling so far just to fight a colosi and then be teleported back to travel for ages again.

The battles are nice tho.
There's "nothing to do" because it is not an open world. At least not in the modern sense.

I mean, most of the experience is traveling a vast, seemingly desolated world on a single, epic quest.

Adding "side-quests" or other (dumb) activities would have trivialized the game.

No offense, but if traveling feels like "a chore", you're missing more than half of the experience.
 

BANGS

Banned
No offense, but if traveling feels like "a chore", you're missing more than half of the experience.
At times it really is a chore though, and no amount of scenery will change that. It only gets worse later in the game where you can actually have some trouble trying to find the colossi. People play this game to fight colossi, not to ride a horse around with pretty graphics. They can do that in any other game...
 

Robot Pants

Member
At times it really is a chore though, and no amount of scenery will change that. It only gets worse later in the game where you can actually have some trouble trying to find the colossi. People play this game to fight colossi, not to ride a horse around with pretty graphics. They can do that in any other game...
Not true really. I played this game originally on the PS2 years ago and had that mentality. Just rode from Colossus to Colossus without even bothering to look around.
But with the PS3 remaster, I remember spending a significant amount of time riding around getting lost, and just taking everything in. I loved every second of it. Being lost in the beautiful world they created.
With this remake, it's even more breathtaking to behold. And with Photomode? Forget about it.

It's very easy to get lost in the beauty of this gigantic, barren land. There's a bit of magic to that.
 
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