Colossus-bothering!

Returning to the comfy old slippers of Shadow of the Colossus now, and it's been so long that I completely forgot all of the controls and yeah, trying to work that out was certainly something. The main stumbling blocks were trying to remember how to use the bow and arrow, and that manoeuvre where you grab one ledge, turn to face another, leap to it and grab onto it - chaos! Your mileage may vary but I tend to find that something is significantly more likely to end in abject calamity when you can half-remember how to do something and are trying to dredge up that information, than when you're trying to do something for the first time and are learning as you go. Still, I've gotten back into a groove with it now, and here are some pictures, from the days when I was still doing Summer of the Colossus. I have taken some new ones as well but they're still on the PS4, so they'll have to wait for now.

Valus is well muggin' it for the camera there.

Boo!

This is proper "Come 'n' 'ave a go if you think yer 'ard enough" energy 'ere.

Avion's elegant ridges and curves here are very pleasing.

Gaius meanwhile is looking very sassy. Fabulous, dahling!

Ambush!

Catching up to Phalanx in the desert; suffice to say, I love the Panzer Dragoon vibe on this colossus.

A bit of an arty one with Barba, who is just too precious - I mean come on; he's a minotaur with what appears to be superbly soft, fluffy fur; cute little horns and a really good beard. He's absolutely adorable, and I will hear nothing to the contrary.

I also love this tucked-away nook here, it's very cosy. The environment design throughout this game (both versions) is lovely, but there are some particular stand-out areas, and this is one of them. There isn't even anything particularly relevant here; you can do the entire game without needing to come here even once, but it's a pleasant spot to chill for a bit.

Loving the design of this area as well; it's very moody and evocative, although I do feel like in the original, it had a bit more of that eerie, surreal atmosphere about it. Also, while I appreciate that the more realistic sound design in this version is likely meant to make it more immersive, and zhuzhing up the visuals while keeping the slightly off-kilter sounds would've been jarring, I still personally prefer the more muted sound design of the original. Both versions have particular things that they bring to the table, though, and I enjoy both for different reasons. The original one has more of a liminal, surreal atmosphere and subtle creative flourishes that give it more character (such as the eyes in Argus' area, a delightful little hint at Greek mythology), and the PS4 version looks fuckin' gorgeous, runs more smoothly and the mechanics have been rebalanced thoughtfully after that fiasco with the PS3 version (do not get me started...)

Dirge, appropriately named because dealing with this bugger always causes me to lose the will to live. Normally, I'm anybody's for a majestic serpent, but this one is kind of a sod.

Finishing up with another serpentine creature, and all I have to say is this...