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A review by bzodonnell
Shadow of the Colossus by Nick Suttner
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.