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gayforgodzilla's review
adventurous
fast-paced
2.5
fun little read on shadow of the colossus and what it means to people.
i feel like it could use less of the direct play by play (i’ve played the game, i know what happens) and more of the insights into the development of the game and it’s impact on people’s lives and how it inspired their own work.
i feel like it could use less of the direct play by play (i’ve played the game, i know what happens) and more of the insights into the development of the game and it’s impact on people’s lives and how it inspired their own work.
mazloum's review
5.0
A fantastic retrospective on one of the best games you could ever experience. I could actually see all the events in my mind's eye as I read through, which was a lot of fun.
Informative yet personal, and with a lot of entertaining anecdotes! I loved this book.
Informative yet personal, and with a lot of entertaining anecdotes! I loved this book.
bzodonnell's review
4.0
I was late to Shadow of the Colossus. I heard of it when it came out, as a 13 year-old rather tuned into the gaming scene, but somehow never ended up playing it. Despite owning a PS2, I pretty much only used it to play Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, devoting most of my gaming time to various RPGs and strategy games across the Nintendo consoles.
I actually started Shadow of the Colossus in May 2015 on the PS3 (yet another purchasing decision driven by a desire to play Kingdom Hearts), and played the first five colossus battles at a meandering pace. Over a year later, in August 2016, reunited with my PS3, I sat immersed in the living room of my family's house night after night until I finally beat the game.
At the moment, my thought was that, while it was perhaps not my favorite game ever, it was probably among the best I'd ever played. Over the last several months since I've finished the game, I've found that my mind drifts back to the experience frequently. Sometimes I'll find a melody stuck in my head, only to realize it's from one of the colossus battles; or I'll look out at a mountain and valley from a train and will think of the expanses of the Forbidden Lands; or I'll see a horse and think of Agro. It's strange to connect so much to a game, especially since I don't have the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia like so many, but I guess that just speaks to its power as a work of art.
This book is a combination of three things: a memoir describing how Shadow of the Colossus essentially defined Suttner's entire life, an analysis of how Shadow of the Colossus (and its predecessor Ico) helped reshape the video game industry and influenced the direction of many games that followed it, and a Let's Play of each part of the game interspersed with analysis and observation.
Overall, the combination works. Having felt a deep personal connection to the game and realized that it has reshaped my conception of what a video game can be and how it can affect the player, I found Suttner's memoir sections quite interesting - and, as a writer, it led me to reflect on the novels, anime, manga, and video games in my life that have affected me similarly to how Shadow of the Colossus affected him.
Regarding the other two sections, I would have liked to see more analysis and less Let's Play. For me, the most interesting parts of the book were those parts when Suttner quoted another video game creator or journalist and put their observations and analyses into the arc of recent video game history. I found his observations about big budget games' unwillingness and inability to take risks given the costs associated with them fascinating, as it put into context something that had nagged at me for years. These quotes, as well as Suttner's own commentary, also gets a little more at one of the biggest questions I have as a video game player, which is, "How does - and how should - a video game attempt to tell its story?" The various discussions of the way that game play informs Shadow of the Colossus's "show-don't-tell" philosophy was particularly helpful in shaping how I can better analyze and describe video games moving forward.
The weakest part of the book is the Let's Play section, in which he describes the colossus battles and his emotions and reactions to them. I did not find these sections too excessive, as they mostly showed up in the middle and end of chapters and blended with the analysis. I usually enjoyed reading them; it was interesting to see how Suttner felt about the various battles, it jogged my memory, it validated to some degree the complicated feelings I felt while playing the game, and Suttner's analysis was interesting when it appeared. That said, I can't help thinking that there was so much more to say about the game, and that these sections were, to some degree, lost potential.
One function of the Let's Play sections, besides helping people who played the game years ago context, was probably to make the book accessible to those who had not yet played the game. That said, if you haven't played Shadow of the Colossus, you should not be reading this book. You should play the game, and then read this book. There's something paradoxical about reading detailed descriptions of a game that the author argues is defined by its game play instead of words. Suttner repeatedly makes the point that the game trusts its players to figure things out. I feel Suttner could have trusted his readers to have played the game and delved more into what makes it so singular.
TL;DR: This is a part-memoir of how Shadow of the Colossus affected the author, Suttner; part-historical analysis of how Shadow of the Colossus and Ico reshaped the video game industry; and part Let's Play interspersed with analysis that helps you remember the game and how you felt about it. It could probably have had more of the second and less of the third, but it is a very interesting, thought-provoking read if you have played the game.
IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED THE GAME, go play the game. It's truly one of the masterpieces of the medium, and should not be missed. Do not read this book if you have no played the game. You will spoil the game for yourself (to the extent that it can be spoiled). After you play the game, read this book, and it may help you sort out what Shadow of the Colossus means to you.
I actually started Shadow of the Colossus in May 2015 on the PS3 (yet another purchasing decision driven by a desire to play Kingdom Hearts), and played the first five colossus battles at a meandering pace. Over a year later, in August 2016, reunited with my PS3, I sat immersed in the living room of my family's house night after night until I finally beat the game.
At the moment, my thought was that, while it was perhaps not my favorite game ever, it was probably among the best I'd ever played. Over the last several months since I've finished the game, I've found that my mind drifts back to the experience frequently. Sometimes I'll find a melody stuck in my head, only to realize it's from one of the colossus battles; or I'll look out at a mountain and valley from a train and will think of the expanses of the Forbidden Lands; or I'll see a horse and think of Agro. It's strange to connect so much to a game, especially since I don't have the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia like so many, but I guess that just speaks to its power as a work of art.
This book is a combination of three things: a memoir describing how Shadow of the Colossus essentially defined Suttner's entire life, an analysis of how Shadow of the Colossus (and its predecessor Ico) helped reshape the video game industry and influenced the direction of many games that followed it, and a Let's Play of each part of the game interspersed with analysis and observation.
Overall, the combination works. Having felt a deep personal connection to the game and realized that it has reshaped my conception of what a video game can be and how it can affect the player, I found Suttner's memoir sections quite interesting - and, as a writer, it led me to reflect on the novels, anime, manga, and video games in my life that have affected me similarly to how Shadow of the Colossus affected him.
Regarding the other two sections, I would have liked to see more analysis and less Let's Play. For me, the most interesting parts of the book were those parts when Suttner quoted another video game creator or journalist and put their observations and analyses into the arc of recent video game history. I found his observations about big budget games' unwillingness and inability to take risks given the costs associated with them fascinating, as it put into context something that had nagged at me for years. These quotes, as well as Suttner's own commentary, also gets a little more at one of the biggest questions I have as a video game player, which is, "How does - and how should - a video game attempt to tell its story?" The various discussions of the way that game play informs Shadow of the Colossus's "show-don't-tell" philosophy was particularly helpful in shaping how I can better analyze and describe video games moving forward.
The weakest part of the book is the Let's Play section, in which he describes the colossus battles and his emotions and reactions to them. I did not find these sections too excessive, as they mostly showed up in the middle and end of chapters and blended with the analysis. I usually enjoyed reading them; it was interesting to see how Suttner felt about the various battles, it jogged my memory, it validated to some degree the complicated feelings I felt while playing the game, and Suttner's analysis was interesting when it appeared. That said, I can't help thinking that there was so much more to say about the game, and that these sections were, to some degree, lost potential.
One function of the Let's Play sections, besides helping people who played the game years ago context, was probably to make the book accessible to those who had not yet played the game. That said, if you haven't played Shadow of the Colossus, you should not be reading this book. You should play the game, and then read this book. There's something paradoxical about reading detailed descriptions of a game that the author argues is defined by its game play instead of words. Suttner repeatedly makes the point that the game trusts its players to figure things out. I feel Suttner could have trusted his readers to have played the game and delved more into what makes it so singular.
TL;DR: This is a part-memoir of how Shadow of the Colossus affected the author, Suttner; part-historical analysis of how Shadow of the Colossus and Ico reshaped the video game industry; and part Let's Play interspersed with analysis that helps you remember the game and how you felt about it. It could probably have had more of the second and less of the third, but it is a very interesting, thought-provoking read if you have played the game.
IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED THE GAME, go play the game. It's truly one of the masterpieces of the medium, and should not be missed. Do not read this book if you have no played the game. You will spoil the game for yourself (to the extent that it can be spoiled). After you play the game, read this book, and it may help you sort out what Shadow of the Colossus means to you.
helpfulsnowman's review
3.0
Well, the parts that were good were GREAT. And the parts that weren't as good were super not as good.
Wow. With reviews like that, who needs Michiko Kakutani?
The best parts of this Shadows book are the parts that go beyond what's happening on the screen. When the author gets personal, or when he gives me some inside info from a fairly in-depth interview with the game's creators.
The parts that didn't light me up as much were the repetitive "I wake up at the temple, cross the land, get to the colossus, kill him by taking these steps" pieces that I didn't really need because I'd played the game. These things definitely happen in the game, and if you hadn't played the game already, I don't think you could read this book and understand it without those pieces.
And that got me thinking, How many people who haven't played Shadows of the Colossus are reading this book? Surely some, but not many(?)
And it really drove home for me that, with this game in particular, the original video game experience of Shadow was committed to a format that, IMHO, really, really works. And a book about Shadow is a secondary, less-enriching experience because the game was totally designed to be a game.
Which is, I think, why the parts that happen outside of the game, the part about Suttner's life or personal connection to the game, his interpretations of what's happening, I think that's why I enjoyed those parts a lot more than the parts of the book that felt like they were filling in the story so that someone who had never played the game would still find the book accessible.
I know it's really damn hard to market a book, let alone a book where one might say, "Go play this entire video game first, then come back." But I feel like it could have made the book a richer experience for me, if it was written with the assumption that the audience would have played the game already. I think Suttner's a good writer, and like I said, the personal stuff was great. The descriptions were good too, especially considering that a lot of the stuff in this game is not easy to describe. I didn't feel lost, and I got a good idea of what was going on. It's been some time since I played Shadow, and Suttner's descriptions brought a lot back to me. And he absolutely kills it for the last 20% of the book, which I think was the part that best combined what was happening in the game and with Suttner personally.
I know the book wasn't written to please me specifically. But that's why, for me personally, it wasn't a total homerun. That might be totally unfair. I don't know.
I'd just like to use the rest of this space to recommend that people play Shadow of the Colossus. It's a fucking incredible game. Trust me when I say, you've never played anything like it. It's emotional in ways and on a level that has never been replicated in gaming. It forces you into a strange, hero-adjacent role that so many narratives are uncomfortable with.
I think that Shadow is the ultimate, for me, when it comes to storytelling in gaming. I don't think I've played a game that had a stronger sense of story, and where the gameplay better served the story. I don't know if I've ever played another game where it felt like the game elements are subordinate to the storytelling.
It's also a beautiful piece of video game minimalism, which is such a strange thing to encounter in a format that's full of SO MUCH STUFF. There is so much stuff happening, so much of it is ratcheted up. Shadow exists in this weird, other space that feels very lonely at times.
I talk a lot about what separates good and great comics when I review books, and the difference between a good and a great comic is this: A great comic is a comic that tells a story that couldn't be done as well in a different format. In a great comic, the comic format is essential to the way in which the story was told, and I think that makes for a very rich comic book experience. It also means that when comics are adapted, they can suffer. Watchmen is a good example of a book that really maxed out what the form can do, and the movie didn't really deliver on those aspects or make use of film in ways not prescribed by the comic.
Shadow of the Colossus is meant to be played. It's a game, but toss aside your preconceived notions about the word "game" meaning that something is unserious or that it can't handle serious stuff. Shadow is the rare game that showed us a different idea of what games could be.
Play that shit.
Wow. With reviews like that, who needs Michiko Kakutani?
The best parts of this Shadows book are the parts that go beyond what's happening on the screen. When the author gets personal, or when he gives me some inside info from a fairly in-depth interview with the game's creators.
The parts that didn't light me up as much were the repetitive "I wake up at the temple, cross the land, get to the colossus, kill him by taking these steps" pieces that I didn't really need because I'd played the game. These things definitely happen in the game, and if you hadn't played the game already, I don't think you could read this book and understand it without those pieces.
And that got me thinking, How many people who haven't played Shadows of the Colossus are reading this book? Surely some, but not many(?)
And it really drove home for me that, with this game in particular, the original video game experience of Shadow was committed to a format that, IMHO, really, really works. And a book about Shadow is a secondary, less-enriching experience because the game was totally designed to be a game.
Which is, I think, why the parts that happen outside of the game, the part about Suttner's life or personal connection to the game, his interpretations of what's happening, I think that's why I enjoyed those parts a lot more than the parts of the book that felt like they were filling in the story so that someone who had never played the game would still find the book accessible.
I know it's really damn hard to market a book, let alone a book where one might say, "Go play this entire video game first, then come back." But I feel like it could have made the book a richer experience for me, if it was written with the assumption that the audience would have played the game already. I think Suttner's a good writer, and like I said, the personal stuff was great. The descriptions were good too, especially considering that a lot of the stuff in this game is not easy to describe. I didn't feel lost, and I got a good idea of what was going on. It's been some time since I played Shadow, and Suttner's descriptions brought a lot back to me. And he absolutely kills it for the last 20% of the book, which I think was the part that best combined what was happening in the game and with Suttner personally.
I know the book wasn't written to please me specifically. But that's why, for me personally, it wasn't a total homerun. That might be totally unfair. I don't know.
I'd just like to use the rest of this space to recommend that people play Shadow of the Colossus. It's a fucking incredible game. Trust me when I say, you've never played anything like it. It's emotional in ways and on a level that has never been replicated in gaming. It forces you into a strange, hero-adjacent role that so many narratives are uncomfortable with.
I think that Shadow is the ultimate, for me, when it comes to storytelling in gaming. I don't think I've played a game that had a stronger sense of story, and where the gameplay better served the story. I don't know if I've ever played another game where it felt like the game elements are subordinate to the storytelling.
It's also a beautiful piece of video game minimalism, which is such a strange thing to encounter in a format that's full of SO MUCH STUFF. There is so much stuff happening, so much of it is ratcheted up. Shadow exists in this weird, other space that feels very lonely at times.
I talk a lot about what separates good and great comics when I review books, and the difference between a good and a great comic is this: A great comic is a comic that tells a story that couldn't be done as well in a different format. In a great comic, the comic format is essential to the way in which the story was told, and I think that makes for a very rich comic book experience. It also means that when comics are adapted, they can suffer. Watchmen is a good example of a book that really maxed out what the form can do, and the movie didn't really deliver on those aspects or make use of film in ways not prescribed by the comic.
Shadow of the Colossus is meant to be played. It's a game, but toss aside your preconceived notions about the word "game" meaning that something is unserious or that it can't handle serious stuff. Shadow is the rare game that showed us a different idea of what games could be.
Play that shit.
esop's review
3.0
I've never fully played Shadow of the Colossus, but it's a game I've been read about and been interested in for many years (and might pick up now after reading this).
This book's structure is fairly interesting, mostly following along the author's playthrough (which reads somewhat like a novel, somewhat like a walkthrough) while certain moments are interjected with related information like interviews with those who worked on the game, interviews and examples of how it influenced games that came later, its connections to Ico, etc.
While I would've enjoyed more of a focus on the creation of the game and those tidbits about its influence on gaming as a whole, I did enjoy and appreciate what was there, and the passages describing the game had a ton of atmosphere and made me itch to play it myself.
This book's structure is fairly interesting, mostly following along the author's playthrough (which reads somewhat like a novel, somewhat like a walkthrough) while certain moments are interjected with related information like interviews with those who worked on the game, interviews and examples of how it influenced games that came later, its connections to Ico, etc.
While I would've enjoyed more of a focus on the creation of the game and those tidbits about its influence on gaming as a whole, I did enjoy and appreciate what was there, and the passages describing the game had a ton of atmosphere and made me itch to play it myself.
nickfourtimes's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
First Reading
1) "But what interests me is just how far Shadow swung away from those other hits. Its reductions were across the board, and uncompromising: Only sixteen “enemies.” Only two weapons, both of which you start with and will never level up. You’ll never learn new moves, only (almost) nothing to collect.
Yet despite all that isn’t there, Shadow is absolutely riveting. At a time when games were doubling down on the gamer by betting big on proven formulas, and leaning on the legacy of film to tell their stories, Shadow was content to spin its mystery up front and shove you into the blinding sun to fend for yourself and figure out the rest. The entirety of the experience lives deep within me, like some primordial dream. Soaring high above the sprawling desert, clinging to my foe as the wind laps at my unsteady feet. Finding the relief of fire at the bottom of a treacherous crevasse, itself in the shadow of an ancient, endless bridge."
2) "Whether you play wholly in character as I do or tend to keep your entertainment at an emotional arm’s length, Shadow will put your feet to the fire and make you think about your actions in a way that few games ever have—it isn’t just a game about conquering giant beasts, it’s a game about how you feel about conquering them."
3) "Holding the L1 button will focus the camera on a colossus for as long as the button is held, immediately useful in taking in my foe while keeping my distance as I plot my attack. There’s not much space in this clearing, and nowhere else to go—I could climb all the way back down, perhaps find some comfort in seeing Agro again, but there’s no other way to progress. In this way, the game puts my back against the wall while at the same time placing the impetus on me to take action and make the first strike. The colossus patrols nearby, but Wander must disturb its path to begin the battle. While most traditional video game boss battles lock the player in a small arena with an enemy who immediately attacks, Shadow casts the player as the aggressor instead, a distinction with ever-growing importance throughout this tale. It’s the beginning of many role reversals that become more evident as the game progresses—but like many things in Shadow, the theme starts more subtly."
4) "One of my favorite touches here is the visibility of the very bottom of a few of the supporting beams of the bridge from the game’s opening, huge columns embedded deep into the base of the canyon. Again Shadow ’s architecture helps to tie its world together, naturally stitching new locations to previous visual landmarks."
5) "There’s a sadness in Shadow’s spaces, and as thrilling as they are to discover, they’re emotionally taxing to return to. The site of That Horrible Thing I Did, a place to bear witness to the remains of a creature that was once sentient and is now another rocky mound amongst many, thanks to me. In this way, Shadow’s world becomes smaller just as quickly as it expands, the excitement of discovering a new area dashed by the realization that I probably won’t return there."
Second Reading
1) “[Like] so many wonderful moments in life and art, Shadow of the Colossus is defined by the space between its lines: the gulf between its quieter, contemplative moments and its tremendous spectacle. Strung end to end, its titanic battles would make for an amazing if exhausting barrage of action. But driving your horse across an imposing sunbaked expanse, twisting up through shade-mottled woods, only to find your ageless, unwitting foe at rest in the stillness of a lake gives the encounter exactly the breathing room it needs.”
1) "But what interests me is just how far Shadow swung away from those other hits. Its reductions were across the board, and uncompromising: Only sixteen “enemies.” Only two weapons, both of which you start with and will never level up. You’ll never learn new moves, only (almost) nothing to collect.
Yet despite all that isn’t there, Shadow is absolutely riveting. At a time when games were doubling down on the gamer by betting big on proven formulas, and leaning on the legacy of film to tell their stories, Shadow was content to spin its mystery up front and shove you into the blinding sun to fend for yourself and figure out the rest. The entirety of the experience lives deep within me, like some primordial dream. Soaring high above the sprawling desert, clinging to my foe as the wind laps at my unsteady feet. Finding the relief of fire at the bottom of a treacherous crevasse, itself in the shadow of an ancient, endless bridge."
2) "Whether you play wholly in character as I do or tend to keep your entertainment at an emotional arm’s length, Shadow will put your feet to the fire and make you think about your actions in a way that few games ever have—it isn’t just a game about conquering giant beasts, it’s a game about how you feel about conquering them."
3) "Holding the L1 button will focus the camera on a colossus for as long as the button is held, immediately useful in taking in my foe while keeping my distance as I plot my attack. There’s not much space in this clearing, and nowhere else to go—I could climb all the way back down, perhaps find some comfort in seeing Agro again, but there’s no other way to progress. In this way, the game puts my back against the wall while at the same time placing the impetus on me to take action and make the first strike. The colossus patrols nearby, but Wander must disturb its path to begin the battle. While most traditional video game boss battles lock the player in a small arena with an enemy who immediately attacks, Shadow casts the player as the aggressor instead, a distinction with ever-growing importance throughout this tale. It’s the beginning of many role reversals that become more evident as the game progresses—but like many things in Shadow, the theme starts more subtly."
4) "One of my favorite touches here is the visibility of the very bottom of a few of the supporting beams of the bridge from the game’s opening, huge columns embedded deep into the base of the canyon. Again Shadow ’s architecture helps to tie its world together, naturally stitching new locations to previous visual landmarks."
5) "There’s a sadness in Shadow’s spaces, and as thrilling as they are to discover, they’re emotionally taxing to return to. The site of That Horrible Thing I Did, a place to bear witness to the remains of a creature that was once sentient and is now another rocky mound amongst many, thanks to me. In this way, Shadow’s world becomes smaller just as quickly as it expands, the excitement of discovering a new area dashed by the realization that I probably won’t return there."
Second Reading
1) “[Like] so many wonderful moments in life and art, Shadow of the Colossus is defined by the space between its lines: the gulf between its quieter, contemplative moments and its tremendous spectacle. Strung end to end, its titanic battles would make for an amazing if exhausting barrage of action. But driving your horse across an imposing sunbaked expanse, twisting up through shade-mottled woods, only to find your ageless, unwitting foe at rest in the stillness of a lake gives the encounter exactly the breathing room it needs.”
2) “Valus is Ueda’s favorite colossus, a critically important introduction to the true meat of the game—one that took significant trial-and-error to get just right. It feels unfair until the moment it doesn't, all the accomplishment of fighting a ‘boss’ without the typical buildup. But at the same time I feel a bit conflicted by the violence of my actions and the reward of a solemn, uncelebrated death. It's clear even in this first victory that what I'm doing is wrong on some level, though I've journeyed too far to not continue at least a bit further down this road, into the depths of Dormin's deal.”
3) “As I clamber up his shoulder, there's a moment when Gaius seems to have forgotten me, looking out over the beauty of the sprawling lands, still and unthreatened. It doesn't last long, though, and he turns his attention back to the nuisance.
These final moments of fighting Gaius are monumental—it feels like a fight to the death at the top of the world, a clear view for miles in every direction save for the writhing titan beneath me. It's also the first time that the scale of the game is truly communicated. Wander, as a relative ant, on the apex of a stories-tall giant, who's standing on an arena, on top of a towering column of rock, in a lake, in a crater. Somewhere far below, my speck of a horse runs back and forth nervously on the shore.”
4) “Andy Nealen, an expert on minimalist design and an assistant professor of computer science and game design at New York University, regularly uses Shadow as a reference point in his classes. He's also the co-creator of Osmos, a serene puzzle game (and early App Store success) about colliding with smaller objects and avoiding larger ones in a visual Petri dish. Nealen tells me via e-mail, ‘Minimalism allows a designer to have a strong vision, but not describe it in every single detail, thus leaving the player to explore the elements, their connections, and their dynamical meaning. It also means only leaving the best parts in the design: If one part is better than the others, the others become a liability, and need to be removed or radically improved. The best designs and design processes I have witnessed have a 'cutting foor’ that is ten times the size of the final game.’”
5 “[Before] I can fully stand he hits me again—and again—until I'm close to death. I finally manage to dodge one of his blows, luring him back across the courtyard and putting several obstacles between us as I climb back around and above him. He charges the column supporting the upper level that I'm now on and it comes crashing down, shattering off much of his armor and exposing a sigil on his furry back. Without his armor, Cenobia appears much smaller, and the impact of his charges now dizzies him, giving me a moment to jump onto his back. The rest is a messy, violent affair, as Wander is sprayed with the black blood of this bucking beast as its life is drained away. He's become vulnerable as I've become savage, and the city shortly falls silent again.”
6) ”It feels lonely sometimes, having such an intensely personal attachment to a piece of art. While Shadow has affected so many others, no one can really understand what it means to me. Just as I can never understand what it means to them. Or for that matter, anyone's favorite anything. There's a chemistry, possibly even a spirituality, in connecting so deeply with someone else's creation. In many ways, I define my life by relentlessly sharing the things I love with the people I care about.
But that may ultimately come from a selfish place. Maybe it's less about wanting others to experience the same magic and humanity that I felt, and more about wanting to be better understood in some small way.”
em_being's review
4.0
This is a nice window into what it is to be a massive SotC fan, in that you laboriously pour over a game that ain't that deep for all sorts of meaning that ain't there. It's actually really nice to see someone just genuinely nerd out in a warm affectionate way.
tmaluck's review
3.0
Suttner's experience strongly resembled my own playthrough of the game. Where this book's concerned, the most consistently interesting bits had to do with trivia surrounding the game's development and studio's habits. SotC as a game features several repeating elements, and commenting on them in prose becomes a little dull by the end. Still, an observant stroll through an exceptional game (with a significant amount of text devoted to Ico for context/comparison's sake).