I'll drop my top ten here: Nier Replicant Final Fantasy XVI Withering Rooms Shadow of the Colossus Zero Escape: Nine Persons, Nine Hours, Nine Doors A Hat in Time Signalis Legend of Zelda : Tears of the Kingdom Oxenfree / World of Horror (Tied) Castlevania : Aria of Sorrow
I'm surprised Matt didn't bring up Adam Sandler playing Shadow of the Colossus in the film "Reign Over Me" where the character Charlie uses the game as a form of therapy to overcome his grief of losing his family. It exactly describes what Matt gets into here; being left with one's inner thoughts, and the game being a reflection of his unexamined life and Charlie finding solace in the peaceful landscape of the game.
Wander stole a magic sword and entered the Forbidden Lands to commune with a banished ancient spirit and resurrect the dead. Wander wasn't played for a fool, the player was. He made a successful deal with the devil (or mercurial trickster god for those that want to be generous). The player just takes awhile to figure out that's what's going on. To paraphrase Mitchell & Webb: "Wait, am I playing the baddie?"
Agreed. To me it ask the question “what would you do to bring a loved one back to life?” The answer, it doesn’t matter i would do anything. Even if i lose my own life.
My favorite part of this game - ever since 2006 when I first played it is this - Dormin, whatever you think of it, keeps its word to Wander. I always respected that.
And Dormin even says he borrowed the body of this warrior, never ever the term possessed is used. There’s no clear indication Dormin was evil, just an ancient entity that sparked fear on an ancient civilization that decided to seal it away due to fear alone. I loved that ambiguity about Dormin
This is honestly the most beautiful epic I’ve ever played. It’s the only game that I, my wife, my father, and my son have all played. It bridges all gaps.
Shadow of the Colossus was the first video game I remember where even the most snobbish of critics had to recognize that it was great art. I would argue the 6th generation of gaming was the most important generation since the 8-bit era and Shadow of the Colossus is right up there for the reasons why.
The PS4 version is actually a remaster as stated by Bluepoint developers in many interviews. The way they made it was to first get the original PS2 engine and code running on their engine (essentially porting), and then using their engine they replaced models, textures, sounds and added things like post processing. So yeah, highly polished remaster is an accurate description
At this point, I'm fairly certain Matt is simply following me around and creating video esays from my favourite media. Joking aside, selfishly I'd love to see you cover World of Horror and Withering Rooms but given that those games are way too niche horror RPGs, I'll say Chrono Cross, Nier, Dragon Age 2, A Hat in Time, Castlevania Aria of Sorrow, the Zero Escape series, or maybe Signalis
What has Dormin done that was considered evil? We've only been told that and never seen it. Even when he possesses your body at the end he only says he's borrowing it, not outright taking it. His morality is intentionally grey and not really clear.
Exactly. Funny how so many people overlook this huge detail. It’s never stated he’s evil. Maybe due to its appearance? Maybe that’s why he was sealed in the first place, due to people being afraid of it. But like you said, he fulfills his part of the deal and is “gentle” enough to say he borrowed (not possess) Wander’s body
Not only that but assuming Dormin is not controlling Wander, Dormin tells Wander that he might pay a heavy price if he goes through with trying to bring Mono back. So at the very least Dormin was decent enough to give Wander a heads up. Even risking his own freedom should Wander heed his warning. Satan wouldn't have done that. He would have told Wander "Hey do it. Everything will turn out wonderful".
Every playthrough of this game I watch where the player is hyped up for finally bringing down a Colossus only to calm down and ask "Why do I feel bad?" just reminds me of why I absolutely adore Shadow.
The word "sad" is one that I often associate with this game. Not because of some tearful moment or tragedy, but because the world it's set in just feels so overwhelmingly devoid of joy or any kind of positivity. There's melancholy baked into every single moment. A forgotten land, a hero who has lost someone precious, magnificent beasts we must wipe out. It's not a game that makes you feel good, yet it is undoubtedly video games at their most poignant :(
Fumito Ueda's first two games are two of the best videogame experiences all time and are completely unforgettable imo! Those two games are some of the few I played through countless times. I've probably played each at least 12 times each over the years. Journey was another simlar top-notch experience! The Last Guardian is just a notch down but almost as amazing. The fact it came out so well considering it's extremely tumultuous development is astonishing! Very excited to see his next title on new technology. Should be amazing!
2:17 it's funny how you said "ico" here right before "Let's go!" appeared on screen which, in Japanese, can be 行こう (ikou), which is pronounced pretty much the same as "Ico"
I agree that it's more emotional, but it's also my least favorite game. There could be many reasons for this, but I think the biggest one of all was I was just expecting too much. My expectations were too high. The game was never going to live up to the hype I had developed within myself. And here I am doing it again for "Project Robot". I will say Trico is a one-of-a-kind A.I. companion. No question about it.
The ICO trilogy (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, The Last Guardian) truly are masterpieces. Some of the best examples of games that are also pieces of art
What's interesting for me is that I never felt closed in when playing "ICO" but I did feel closed in when playing "The Last Guardian". This despite the fact that the area you play in for "The Last Guardian" is much bigger. So why is that? I don't have the answer. All I know is I'm beyond excited for "Project Robot" as it's currently being referred to. In the meantime hopefully we get a remake of "ICO" & a 20th anniversary edition of "Shadow Of The Colossus" with bonus content.
So glad to see you cover this game, probably one of my favorite games of all time right next to Super Mario Galaxy. Also fitting since the announcement of the creator's next project was during this year's VGA
I put at least a thousand hours into this game when it came out it's in my top 3 favorites. It's very impressive how this game ran on the ps2 and looked so consistent, the art direction really shines through each part of the game. The ps4 remake was also one of the most gorgeous games I've played they did an amazing job. Btw shoutout to Nomad Colossus for STILL finding secrets and uploading videos to this day he's a legend
I don't think Dormin tricked anyone, I bet nobody knew what the ritual implied until the moment Wander slayed the first Colossus, and then he didn't care about the more and more obvious price to pay as long as it kept it's word, and maybe Dormin wouldn't, but there was no other way for him than to bet on the supernatural to achieve a result beyond natural
One of the most enriching games ever made. Iconic, spiritual music. Wandering through a national forest made me feel like I was revisiting the forbidden lands of this game
I would have liked to have seen a world where the gameplay of Sotc was refined in a proper sequel. I think the shortness of the game and lack of cohesion as the game progresses is why people desire there to be more to the game, the lost bosses to be found, and we almost could of had that.
As an all-time fan of SotC (and not a spring chicken at that !), I had already been through all the thoughts and points you make in your video, and obviously SotC has been the object of much scholarly analysis over the years. Yet I really liked how well-structured and at the same time emotional your writing on this topic was. My wife, who did not get to play the game, once wondered why I kept referring to it as « emotional » and strongly « poetic ». And indeed, seen from an outside perspective, I can get how this game could be perceived as merely an endless series of boss battles. But I feel sharing your video with her will be the best answer I can make to her question. 👍
@ I know you are a big Daredevil fan. If it helps, they released an omnibus covering Andy Diggle’s run and the entire Shadowland storyline including the aftermath leading into Mark Waid’s run. I don’t know why you and so many people I look up to abandoned comics. Just becomes you have this big mega companies ruin the characters with bad events and cringey movies, doesn’t taint the legacy of all the past storylines by talented people.
You gotta ride in front of him and look backwards while you're riding. He'll jump up and you'll see the weak spot(in his mouth, i think). Shooting it will make it crash into a wall where you can stab it
What’s your favorite fantasy video game?
Elden Ring.
Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom
Bloodborne
I'll drop my top ten here:
Nier Replicant
Final Fantasy XVI
Withering Rooms
Shadow of the Colossus
Zero Escape: Nine Persons, Nine Hours, Nine Doors
A Hat in Time
Signalis
Legend of Zelda : Tears of the Kingdom
Oxenfree / World of Horror (Tied)
Castlevania : Aria of Sorrow
Elden ring and devil may cry
I used this game in my college speech course to illustrate why video games are art, and actually managed to win over my stubborn professor by the end.
No one cares
@@shadowaccountDo you get hard by being rude?
@@shadowaccountI do
Things that didn't happen
@@DellamorteDellamore0 Your life must be boring
I'm surprised Matt didn't bring up Adam Sandler playing Shadow of the Colossus in the film "Reign Over Me" where the character Charlie uses the game as a form of therapy to overcome his grief of losing his family. It exactly describes what Matt gets into here; being left with one's inner thoughts, and the game being a reflection of his unexamined life and Charlie finding solace in the peaceful landscape of the game.
Probably because it's low-hanging fruit; Everyone and their grandma brings it up. Same with Viggo Mortensen breaking his toe in LOTR.
I completely forgot about this
@@doublezeta2025 dID hE! wOW!
😏
@@doublezeta2025 as much as I appreciate your snark, please read Matt's response, it wasn't low hanging fruit at all bud
Holy... it's been 20 years? Jesus, I'm old.
Wander stole a magic sword and entered the Forbidden Lands to commune with a banished ancient spirit and resurrect the dead.
Wander wasn't played for a fool, the player was. He made a successful deal with the devil (or mercurial trickster god for those that want to be generous). The player just takes awhile to figure out that's what's going on.
To paraphrase Mitchell & Webb: "Wait, am I playing the baddie?"
Agreed. To me it ask the question “what would you do to bring a loved one back to life?” The answer, it doesn’t matter i would do anything. Even if i lose my own life.
My favorite part of this game - ever since 2006 when I first played it is this - Dormin, whatever you think of it, keeps its word to Wander. I always respected that.
And Dormin even says he borrowed the body of this warrior, never ever the term possessed is used. There’s no clear indication Dormin was evil, just an ancient entity that sparked fear on an ancient civilization that decided to seal it away due to fear alone. I loved that ambiguity about Dormin
This is honestly the most beautiful epic I’ve ever played. It’s the only game that I, my wife, my father, and my son have all played. It bridges all gaps.
I remember when I started hunting the last colossus, my first thought was, "This is the last time for us huh Agro. Thank you."
Shadow of the Colossus was the first video game I remember where even the most snobbish of critics had to recognize that it was great art. I would argue the 6th generation of gaming was the most important generation since the 8-bit era and Shadow of the Colossus is right up there for the reasons why.
The PS4 version is actually a remaster as stated by Bluepoint developers in many interviews. The way they made it was to first get the original PS2 engine and code running on their engine (essentially porting), and then using their engine they replaced models, textures, sounds and added things like post processing. So yeah, highly polished remaster is an accurate description
15:05 they all think they're spec ops the line. All the while forgetting the many narrative tricks Spec Ops pulled to make that work
At this point, I'm fairly certain Matt is simply following me around and creating video esays from my favourite media. Joking aside, selfishly I'd love to see you cover World of Horror and Withering Rooms but given that those games are way too niche horror RPGs, I'll say Chrono Cross, Nier, Dragon Age 2, A Hat in Time, Castlevania Aria of Sorrow, the Zero Escape series, or maybe Signalis
What has Dormin done that was considered evil? We've only been told that and never seen it. Even when he possesses your body at the end he only says he's borrowing it, not outright taking it.
His morality is intentionally grey and not really clear.
He also mantained his end of the deal and brought back Mono and it's implied even Agro
@@Mauricio0973 Exactly. Saying he's outright evil is disingenuous. It's definitely interesting to think about.
Exactly. Funny how so many people overlook this huge detail. It’s never stated he’s evil. Maybe due to its appearance? Maybe that’s why he was sealed in the first place, due to people being afraid of it. But like you said, he fulfills his part of the deal and is “gentle” enough to say he borrowed (not possess) Wander’s body
Not only that but assuming Dormin is not controlling Wander, Dormin tells Wander that he might pay a heavy price if he goes through with trying to bring Mono back. So at the very least Dormin was decent enough to give Wander a heads up. Even risking his own freedom should Wander heed his warning. Satan wouldn't have done that. He would have told Wander "Hey do it. Everything will turn out wonderful".
Every playthrough of this game I watch where the player is hyped up for finally bringing down a Colossus only to calm down and ask "Why do I feel bad?" just reminds me of why I absolutely adore Shadow.
Best lunch break ever.
Thank you
The word "sad" is one that I often associate with this game. Not because of some tearful moment or tragedy, but because the world it's set in just feels so overwhelmingly devoid of joy or any kind of positivity. There's melancholy baked into every single moment. A forgotten land, a hero who has lost someone precious, magnificent beasts we must wipe out. It's not a game that makes you feel good, yet it is undoubtedly video games at their most poignant :(
Fumito Ueda's first two games are two of the best videogame experiences all time and are completely unforgettable imo! Those two games are some of the few I played through countless times. I've probably played each at least 12 times each over the years. Journey was another simlar top-notch experience! The Last Guardian is just a notch down but almost as amazing. The fact it came out so well considering it's extremely tumultuous development is astonishing! Very excited to see his next title on new technology. Should be amazing!
Awesome you doing a video on shadow of the colossus just in time for the announcement of the robot from ueda
Great video, one of my most treasured experiences in videogames.
Excellent video review this is one if the few games i regretted playing this and ico.
2:17 it's funny how you said "ico" here right before "Let's go!" appeared on screen which, in Japanese, can be 行こう (ikou), which is pronounced pretty much the same as "Ico"
Now do a video on The Last Guardian. To me it’s more emotional than the other 2 games.
I agree that it's more emotional, but it's also my least favorite game. There could be many reasons for this, but I think the biggest one of all was I was just expecting too much. My expectations were too high. The game was never going to live up to the hype I had developed within myself. And here I am doing it again for "Project Robot". I will say Trico is a one-of-a-kind A.I. companion. No question about it.
It needs to be said:
Wander is a simp. He may very well be the most colossal simp in the entire realm of fiction.
(Great vid, as always, by the way.)
The ICO trilogy (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, The Last Guardian) truly are masterpieces. Some of the best examples of games that are also pieces of art
What's interesting for me is that I never felt closed in when playing "ICO" but I did feel closed in when playing "The Last Guardian". This despite the fact that the area you play in for "The Last Guardian" is much bigger. So why is that? I don't have the answer. All I know is I'm beyond excited for "Project Robot" as it's currently being referred to. In the meantime hopefully we get a remake of "ICO" & a 20th anniversary edition of "Shadow Of The Colossus" with bonus content.
So glad to see you cover this game, probably one of my favorite games of all time right next to Super Mario Galaxy.
Also fitting since the announcement of the creator's next project was during this year's VGA
visually Elden-Ring 2 decades prior
Such a. Good game. I would literally just ride the horse looking for shrines on my second play through and just take in the world.
Shadow of the Colossus is one of my favorite Videogame. Thanks Matt Draper for taking about. Very instructive.💯💯💯
I put at least a thousand hours into this game when it came out it's in my top 3 favorites. It's very impressive how this game ran on the ps2 and looked so consistent, the art direction really shines through each part of the game. The ps4 remake was also one of the most gorgeous games I've played they did an amazing job. Btw shoutout to Nomad Colossus for STILL finding secrets and uploading videos to this day he's a legend
we need a sequel with 100 colossi
I don't think Dormin tricked anyone, I bet nobody knew what the ritual implied until the moment Wander slayed the first Colossus, and then he didn't care about the more and more obvious price to pay as long as it kept it's word, and maybe Dormin wouldn't, but there was no other way for him than to bet on the supernatural to achieve a result beyond natural
Played this way back on the PS2. This game changed my life and heavily influenced my taste in stories and art. A true masterpiece.
Wonderful work
The GOAT of youtube talking about the GOAT of games
Wander is most certainly the first in the line of horned boys, at the end of ico you wash up on a beach in the forbidden lands.
Also, the language spoken in Shadow of the Colossus is the same language spoken by Yorda and the Queen in Ico
One of the most enriching games ever made. Iconic, spiritual music. Wandering through a national forest made me feel like I was revisiting the forbidden lands of this game
The ethical questions of this game are obvious from the beginning.
I would have liked to have seen a world where the gameplay of Sotc was refined in a proper sequel. I think the shortness of the game and lack of cohesion as the game progresses is why people desire there to be more to the game, the lost bosses to be found, and we almost could of had that.
I haven't played this game but since a kid, the atmosphere of the game has always intrigued me.
Thanks for video the Matt ❤️. Never played the game. But you got me interested in the game
I have yet to play this game but I have seen gameplay of it. This game is one I want to try and have my own experience with. A timeless game
As an all-time fan of SotC (and not a spring chicken at that !), I had already been through all the thoughts and points you make in your video, and obviously SotC has been the object of much scholarly analysis over the years.
Yet I really liked how well-structured and at the same time emotional your writing on this topic was.
My wife, who did not get to play the game, once wondered why I kept referring to it as « emotional » and strongly « poetic ». And indeed, seen from an outside perspective, I can get how this game could be perceived as merely an endless series of boss battles.
But I feel sharing your video with her will be the best answer I can make to her question.
👍
I could only own one game system in the 2000s and went with Xbox but this made me want a PS2 so bad....
You should talk more about videogames, Matt.
Dude, no fucking way! I’m in the middle of a shower! Hahahaha!
Hey Diego!
PLEASE COVER GOD OF WAR THE LAST OF US AND GHOSTS OF TSUSHIMA
Might actually play this now after watching this
thank you Matt
Please do a video essay retrospective on the God of war series 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤😭😋😖😎
Coming soon!
@MattDraper cool beans 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😖💯🤑
Make more video game videos. Make more wrestling videos. Kthxbye!
Matt, i know you are afraid to talk about Shadowland. But you did Bendis and Burbaker. You need to fill the gap with doing Diggle’s run.
I'm unfamiliar with the topic.
@ I know you are a big Daredevil fan. If it helps, they released an omnibus covering Andy Diggle’s run and the entire Shadowland storyline including the aftermath leading into Mark Waid’s run.
I don’t know why you and so many people I look up to abandoned comics. Just becomes you have this big mega companies ruin the characters with bad events and cringey movies, doesn’t taint the legacy of all the past storylines by talented people.
Fiiiine, I'll play it again
it's beautiful but haven't finished it, got stuck on that sandworm thingy. My fave fantasy videogame is witcher 3
You gotta ride in front of him and look backwards while you're riding. He'll jump up and you'll see the weak spot(in his mouth, i think). Shooting it will make it crash into a wall where you can stab it
14:46- eh Atleast in no more heroes it made you think
Eyy
So tired of the "____ is art" sentiment.
This comment is art
@Mauricio0973 people overuse the statement. No sh*t it's art.