Why the Forbidden Lands are so Empty... | Shadow of the Colossus 

Nice video! Thanks for the mention ; ) Look forward to more from you.

Agro's size against Wander made me realize why Wander is so hard to control during fights, why he feels weak and clumsy, why we take so much time to recover in the fight against the last colossi at the end of the journey... Wander is no man, no warrior... He is just a boy, not fit for the dangers in the game... But he goes in the journey anyway. Maybe he was in the wrong, but his determination is memorable

I too am very biased when it comes to this game, but let's start with the horse, I never felt like I was fighting against Agro nor did I think Agro was the wrong size. Agro is about the size of a full grown horse. The camera is a character & the game wouldn't be the same if if was changed. As for the environment, it's one of the very few games that makes me feel like I'm really in that world when playing. S.O.T.C. grabbed ahold of me in 2005 & never let go. Nice discussion.

I love how it evokes a sense of foreboding, as well as augment the feeling of loss and loneliness. I remember feeling more alone the more I defeat the colossi and especially when Agro fell. When playing, I could picture an ancient civilisation possibly living in certain areas there (before the land was used to imprison Dormin) which made me feel even more uneasy. A visual landscape that generates imagination such as this is a great way to invite one's own interpretation of what may have happened there and why exactly Dormin was imprisoned. That's one of the many reasons why I love this game!

One thing that always stood out to me on the PS2 version was that the lands are in a perpetual state of limbo. It's always overcast and sunny, but you're never sure on the exact time of day. Its doubtful to me Wander completed his task all in one day, but also both Agro and Wander, outside of overexertion, never get tired or need to rest. The lands are also very rarely dark except during the final colossi, but even then it seems unnatural. The only time there is natural night or rain is during the opening and near the very end of the credits. This was important to me because it tells me that after the end the natural order of day, night, and rain returns to the lands giving the possibility for new life outside of the secret garden. This may in turn lead to erosion on the natural barriers of the land to allow the horned boy to eventually leave the Forbidden Lands, but I digress. It's a detail that always caught my attention.

8:54 "each colossus arena is developed to help you defeat the colossi" This is the game design leaking into the world, because the arenas were designed with the colossi in mind... It's like saying "isn't it weird that the player we're playing as is the person that everything happens to" In the game, no matter where you place the colossi, the developers would need to design a way for you to defeat the colossi. So the reality is that while it may seem the arena helps defeat the colossi, the story is that Wander figured out how to defeat the colossi via how they figured how to use the arena.

The forbidden land ignited in me an undying love for vast, awe inducing environment that make you feel like an ant taking a stroll in a skyscraper. I personally believes the colossus were shapes given by the tribes who worshipped Dormin, like avatars, a trick meant to divide his power into parts so they could then escape repercussion for their apostasy, as by the time he realized what had transpired he barely had any hold on this reality, little more than a disembodied voice restrained to the temple that was surely the focal point of his worship way back when. So it isn't as much that each arena were prisons, but dens for each aspect of his divine being, like in a ''your glory is so great it cannot be truly be respected in a single form, so allow us to build you many abodes which you will inhabit, each a place of mighty architectural wonders fitting of the aspects you choose to incarnate in them.'' as many of the colossi could easily escape their realm if they desired so, I mean two of them straight up can fly around as high as the clouds, yet you only encounter them in their respective areas. I also wonder if there is more meaning to their chosen form, as I cannot help but feel as if there is a certain progression between each forms. Personally it feel as if the tribes did their best to keep the charade going for as long as possible, making each colossi feel powerful in the eyes of Dormin but effectively impotent otherwise, with the last one while technically being potentially the strongest due to his insinuated mobility and powerful arsenal as seen by its arms and ease of movement (compared to the others colossi which were mostly all lumbering creatures with a few exceptions), yet restrained to a plaza by iron chains and a surely incredibly heavy stone royal dress, the furthest away from the only way out of the valley, whence the plan was completed and they could escape safely with no fear of consequences from the betrayed divinity, which now found its power divided into sixteen parts spread all over its domain and thus incapable to do anything of worth. The tribe the wanderer comes from perhaps are descendant of the original Dormin worshipping tribe who underwent the schemes, and feared that if the divine being was to ever being released, it would take revenge on those that tricked him, making any visit to the Forbidden Valley a taboo none could even entertain lest they knowingly bring doom to the tribe. then came the Wanderer, who following the death of a loved one, decided to see by himself if the tall tales of a old, misbegotten being of untold power, able to put life into the unliving things was true, and much to his demise, they were. Yet in the end, I cannot help but think that perhaps Dormin wasn't as vile an entity as the tribe myths made him seem to be, for despite tricking the Wanderer into killing the colossi and in turn unknowingly sacrifice himself as a new vessel for it, it still fulfilled its part of the deal and gave Mono life anew, with no curses or trickery involved. Who knows, if it wasn't of the elder casting the spell that absorbed the spirit of Dormin into the well, perhaps he'd simply would have allowed the Wanderer to live with Mono in peace within its domain, content of their loyalty and simply continue dwelling in the valley as a more tangible spirit. For if it had wished it so, it could surely have made of Mono yet another vessel akin to what the Wanderer had become by then, and made the elder attempt at containing him a non-issue. But alas this is all baseless pondering for something we cannot truly have answers for, mere theorizing over a game I deeply loved and fondly remember.

I always thought this game was beautiful, the game always manages to boost my writing inspiration along with the last gaurdian. I became obssesed with the lore for shadow but sadly i could never get far into the game, im unsure why and its sad cause shadow is such a deep and unique game

I love how this masterpiece still give great discussion and interpretations, even after all this years. Continue making great videos like this, I really liked. Good job ☆☆☆

12:35 Actually it's only difficult in game to reach, but in universe super easy. If you watch Wander entering the temple, instead of going inside to the stairway down to the pool he literally could have just taken a left up the stairs gone up to the secret garden. Same with the prophet. In universe, the door back out is closed so if you try going back the game doesnt allow you to open them and go back on the bridge/go up to the garden. But in universe, Wander should have been able to just open up the doors and return/go up to the secret garden.

Excellent video. Also something that I noticed in the game's ending which pretty much works as a metaphor for replaying the game. The eagle we see flying at the end when the credits roll the sky goes dark and the light beams of the fallen Colossi vanish and we see it nearing the path that Wander is taking when the game starts thus implying that Wander has been stuck in a loop.

Great video, amazing game, possibly one of my all time favorites. Personally I always thought that rather than prisons for the colossi the ruins were made before their existence and each collosus was created and anchored to each location as a final act for the ancient civilization in an attempt to seal the dark God away, and their descendants were the tribe that wanderer hails from, which is why the lands are known as forbidden and how he has that special sword.

What’s incredible, is how much longer this game was suppose to be and yet we’re still learning much more.

Even though the world is so “empty” I had tons of fun exploring and knowing there was a chance i might find a fruit tree, lizard, or maybe even a step to enlightenment

I really enjoyed the forbidden lands honestly looking for Lizards and fruits was the perfect distraction to the hectic climbing and tumbling of the colossi battles I actually am one of those players who likes to look into every hole they find so yes... sometimes I would just roam around and do nothing but I never got bored of it especially since it´s really diverse, vertical and has many different zones to it like a desert, steep canyons and then also lush green fields that gave me almost the sensation of "I might settle here were I to live in this world"

I had always appreciated the implications of subtle uses of Team ICO's iconography throughout their works. The Manifestation of Dormin's return and Wander after defeating the sixteenth colossus both bear horns, giving credence to a connection with ICO. Dormin's appearance also has a resemblance to the Queen, and the rings in the desert share similarities to the eastern and western wings of the castle in the mist. Even the games ritual inclusion of a companion character is retained in all of Team ICO's gameography. But after all, this is all just speculative, though it's this speculation that makes these games breathe still.

The brilliance of creating one of the most sprawling, monolithic worlds in videogame history where you aren't expected to touch even half of it.

Amazing video! I always thought about that line of "memories replaced by end & naught & etched into stone". That could be a reference to the ancient buildings you find along the way but maaaybe it can also be refering to the Colossi. I have one head canon in my head about this. Maybe the ancient people were sacrificed in order to seal Dormin into the 16 colossi. That would the price to pay for worshiping a "false god". "Memories" of the people were replaced by "end & naught" since they have to die to form the Colossi whose forms were "etched into stone".

One of my absolute favorite games ever, super excited to see this!

Please more retrospectives of games that had an impact on your life, this is inspiring

Great video!! Good luck for you, mate!

Well done Lewis! Just finished it there. Great work! This video is well structured, technically strong, and underpinned with an insightful script...Now all you have to do is make another...and another...and another.....

When my brother reccomended this to me, he didnt tell me anything other than its open world and it'd like it. So i thought this would be like anyother openworld game. So when the light showed me where to go, i looked at it and said "fuck that" and picked a different direction and rode away. I was looking for people at first but immediately forgot about that when i saw this beautiful but empty forest . I then came across this vast desert with some ring like structures. It truly felt like i was alone, no animals, no people, it was quiet, too quiet. And then i finally returned to where the light pointed, climbed, jumped, and shimmied my way up the cliff, only to get my mind blown by seeing the giant peaceful looking creature minding his own business. When i slayed the colossus i felt a bit bad but didnt think too much about it.But with each colossus slaying i felt more and more like i was basically causing the extinction of an endangered species, wiping them out on their homeland.

Well done. Keep it coming

Very nice content !! So underrated

Very good, I saw your video on Reddit and had to check it out.

I absolutely loved this game when it came out. The atmosphere, ominous music, and battle with colossi really transported you to a different universe.

I usually hate comments like this because its usually the youtuber on an alt just hyping himself up but as someone who in the past has attempted video creation (dont look at my vids and comment, it was another account these are from years ago), I must say that this video so far is very well put together, like on an impressive level... I'm only 3 minutes in and already I am so invested. Great work man

The lands weren't empty at all until you came.

So good to see new vids from other fans in 2022

Whenever someone complains about the forbidden lands being empty and boring, you simply answer them: "Yes, that's the point."

Hell of a first video! Looking forward to more in the future.

Theres something thats quite unique and endearing about your video. :)

Oh yeah also nice video! Nice to just watch anything to do with Shadow of the Colossus once in a while.

Great video! I love this game and played it originally in the mid 2000s. My only issue is that even if the opening cut scene tells me exactly what to expect... I still had to buy the game to get to that part. For me that was a great surprise, but I understand why someone would be frustrated

Nice video! SOTC is a weird game for me because I played Ico and Last Guardian but for whatever reason I've never jumped into SOTC. I am utterly fascinated by the game though and the wider lore surrounding how it connects to Team Icos other games. One day I'll play it but until then I'll always have a great game ahead of me

A wonderful video and a great reminder of how incredible this game is. It may need subtitles though.

this video looks like those videos from those big channels

I enjoyed a lot please do make these types of videos more

I think the previous civilization striped the land of resources (trees, deer, etc) during their whole "retreating" phase. It makes sense they would have wiped out most of the of the species like deer, boars, wolves, etc for food since growing crops would have been to much of an investment. The forbidden lands is completely isolated from outside by cliffs and ocean which would prevent animals from repopulating the area. They would have also have deforested the trees for their massive construction projects, leaving only plains and deserts say the few forests in the game. Its possible for a very small population/species of deer to just barely survive in the "secret area" but its likely theyd be in a constant state of hunger and on the verge of extinction. I've never been up there but i assume theres lots of elevation and levels that would give more feeding grounds for animals. The area was likely isolated from the effects of hunting (intentionally or unintentionally) leaving just a few animals to continue surviving.

This is actually the game that made me turn off my xbox one and annoy my brother to heck to get it on the ps2, just because how much i wast interested in this game back in the day, i remember i played it for the first time when i was watching Ben 10 on Netflix (i even remember the episode i was watching), and i started hearing sounds that sounded familiar in my brothers room, so i got there and i saw my brother playing Shadow of the colossus, and i got so excited because it was the game that i wanted the most, and i was very anxious waiting for my brother to stop playing so i could finally play this game. This game is one my favorites of all time alongside twilight princess, i love this game (and also get enraged when playing it very quickly because of the jankiness lol), and have so many fond memories of it

I'll admit it's frustrating to play especially when you get to the 9th or 10th colossi, that turtle one. But even that in my opinion is part of the fun and adventure of the game, it's such a classic and it's one of my favorite games. Haven't played the remake but it looks gorgeous, yet I prefer PS2 and 3 version's art style.

Honestly i was most of the time in the hunter mindset So didn't feel bad about it

Many fond memories of getting home from school back in 2007, loading up the PS2, then just exploring the Forbidden Lands for hoooours until it was time for me to go to sleep. By that point I had already beaten Hard Time Attack, so i'd just spend days exploring every nook and cranny of the map simply because I didn't want to stop playing the game. I actually kind of like Bluepoint's take on making the Forbidden Lands more lively. It almost makes it feel that, although the land is indeed cursed, there's still a sliver of life still living in the corners of the lands. A little bit optimistic, I guess. That being said, the PS2 absolutely nails the "hollow emptiness" vibe, so I guess it just depends on what you're in the mood for at the time. :P Great video! (P.S. cool mask)

182 follower! Love this

One thing you seem to do is confuse game logic for universe logic. 16:46 For the climb, if the game allowed you to open the temple doors, you could have just brought up argo and made it back across the bridge. You argue that the wind keeps you in trapped in universe. We don't know if that's true 100%, for all we know the game could have been developed that way to keep users from exiting the map. If the game allowed, Wander could probably make his own tools to go over the temple rather than through the narrow passage. I have a feeling if it was an invisible wall instead, you'd have said "upon trying to leave you're met with an invisible wall. This is clearly the spell keeping you trapped inside"

I love this game. I have the Platinum for the PS3 version. So, I know this game very well and I appreciate others who make videos about it. I found this video through Adam McDermott. Here is my feedback. Please don’t take it personal but see this as constructive criticism. (I could be suggar-coding everything but in my opinion direct feedback is more useful.) My feedback comes from the consumer perspective. I have one main issue with this video. I understand English very well but by first language isn’t English, and because of the audio quality and you mumbling while speaking incredibly fast at times, for me it was hard to follow your points. I had to concentrate a lot on the words you saying to understand the things you want to bring across. The music and your voice could be a little more adjusted. The music is louder than your voice and I needed to constantly adjust the volume on my headphones. The editing is well done. I like that you cut between you and gameplay. It makes it personal. I know how to take The gameplay matches your narration/script which is very good. It underlines the points you’re making in the video. I am happy you shared the video with us and I hope there will be more videos like this.

I remember playing this game on ps2 when I was in my 4th grade. It gave me an eerie vibes (one of the reason I stop playing this game lol). I never finished the game cuz it was too difficult to kill the monsters lol.

You did a great job on the editing of this video. Great job! You've got a new sub for sure! It's interesting to see how many people are making video essays about this game. I wonder why. LOL.

I just realized.. on the top of the mask that appears around the monologue, are those stubs of horns?

This is a great video : )! Thank you.

Never as a gaym ben eblto mealy grab man tent ya ushso sush patak lournose lakshar nossis did.,., My honest attempt to translate the opening few words.

I fucking loved this game, It was hard to figure out some times, but overall It was a great experience.

good video

God the camera frustrated me. I still haven't gotten far because of it, but my god, what a great game. It's open world but in it's own sense. So much to see, and the whole combat system is just like nothing else!

I Was.. considering to skip this enough to actually do it- then i read the youtube name. And due to how often Jesters weave their way into my daily life, i cannot skip this video with a good conscience. Whatever i was gonna look for can wait. SotC is something i greatly love, and with a name like that i guess i've got time xD

WHY DIDN'T ANYBODY TELL ME I MADE A TYPO IN "DIRECTION"?! THIS VIDEO HAS OVER A THOUSAND VIEWS & NOBODY SAID SHIT?!?

This game needed DLC with the 8 Cut Colossi

10/10 would watch it again idk if you have any film background but I can tell you are know what you're talking about in regards to the art work and meaning behind the game. I have never played it but will defiantly check it out.

When i first played it i fell in love with it on PS2. You gotta remember games back then were more story based. No real FPS were around. This is a great story and beautiful after bluepoint got to redo it. When you wanna kick back and just play a game were there is some solace. This is that game b

honestly this game has been this way since i was 8 and that was in 2008, i like it the way it is. no progression, no npcs, no anything but lizards and fruits and great places to climb and explore on. the game itself is so simple i like it the way it is. If they change Agro, or any environment and add up some progression aside from what it already has, the essence of the game itself. The game is what it i, simple and nostalgic and great ambience. i can understand those gamers who wanted loots and progression but this game has its reasons why it does not have one of those, if they add loots then killing a colossi will either become less interesting or it will be more complicated. If they added progression then the creator will make a second sotc but i think that will, in my opinion, be boring or uninteresting.

Becauase they are restringed *video ends*

Great

turtle: HELLO! :) 🐢

11:22 Direcrtion

Nice post abery

Shadow of the Colossus is my favorite video game of all time! I own every version!

Great video! Small suggestion, try to talk a bit slower. Hard for me as english is my second language! 😊

Hope more people start watching your channel.

Alright, I can understand people being disappointed about the lack of normal enemies, wildlife, and side activities in the Forbidden Lands. It wasn’t Ueda’s intention to include elements like that in the game, but you know what they say about the death of the author, right? But people who criticize the Forbidden Lands for having a lack of NPC questgivers and vendors need to learn basic reading comprehension. Let’s spell it out together, okay? “But to trespass upon that land is *strictly forbidden…”* Do you think people are supposed to be there? I swear, those people are the same kind of people who would skip cutscenes and refuse to read any in-game mail or whatever and then shit on the game for “having no story.”

MAN YOU SHOULD DO MORE VIDEOS ABOUT SOTC

Nice video and good info! But slow down boy, You are talking so fast you are mumbling haha.

Hey brotha, great video! I can see the passion you have for the game and I share the same for it. With that said, I would just like to share my opinion as a game developer. There is no doubt that the game was indeed to be just Wander, Agro, and the colossus, although at the beginning the idea was to be a coop, so it would be more people in it (shown in the Prototype video of "NIco" later changed to "Shadow of the Colossus" Link for the video -------------- ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9_EyuSE-Ogg.html ). For sure this is a game that has a world lore shared with "ICO" and "The Last Guardian". It is not just a random story so people can figure it out and come up with a story of their own. But regarding the question "Why the Forbidden Lands are so Empty?" I think the answer is not philosophical or artistic at all. It's simply because they didn't had the time or hardware to deliver the final idea and this is why I think this: 1 - They announced 48 colossi at the begging. Now, if you are going to make a game, you start with some concept art and a game map, then you start developing the prototype using what is called "blocking phase" where you just make everything super blocky but it is quickly done and it gives you perspective on gameplay, world/space proportions, etc. During this phase, I would say that Team ICO draw a world with points where the Colossi would be and then they just made the world size and add blocks representing the colossi proportions. 2 - In the prototype shown to get Sony interested in the game, they showcased more of a "game for hunting giant creatures". It seems the idea was to be a coop game, where you can hunt colossus with your friends in the vast world. I would even say that out of these 48, some would even be optional and in one of Fumito's interviews he actually said "It's necessary to go after these bosses one at a time, choosing which one is up to you" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-G2svF-fV4VU.html (5:35) That is a very good reason as for why the world is so big too 3 - My game was selected to be one of the finalists for the Playstation Talents Awards in Portugal (I don't intend to self promote and there for I won't leave any links or names but I can share here on a comment later if anyone wonders), and luckily I did get one awarded, and not the main one, and I say lucky because if I won the main awarded I won't be under a contract where I would have to deliver the game in a very specific deadline. The only good part would be that they would give me a marketing campaign and some other monetized support. Coming to my point 3, back in the days, making a game wasn't as "easy" as it is right now. Like literally, nowadays you just install Unreal Engine use some free assets, and you get yourself a game done under a week, plus 3D softwares are way much stronger making a lot of things automatically. Pressured by the time, they changed the 48 Bosses idea straight away to 24, at the very beginning. But they have the map blocked out, so they make it shorter for sure but they make if so 24 fit in there. It's now 3 months or so to the release date. They have the full map done, but they have only 16 colossi fully working and the other 3 or 4 almost done. They can't say to sony give me more 6 months cos they won't accept. There will be no time to finish it, so they use these 3 months to clean the game and make sense with what we have now. I would also support this idea with the fact that they have answered all the questions on ICO game - The watermelon at the end, the fact that the last scene is ICO dreaming and its not real, translation of what Yorda was saying, etc. For "Shadow of the Colossus" they haven't, and I think that is smart. There are definitely things that we guessed it correctly, I strongly think that the forbidden fruit and other references are accurate to Fumito's idea. But I also think that there are things that could only be explained with the "final version of Shadow of the Colossus" and that's why Fumido doesn't answer those question, and instead it's healthier for the game to just have us dreaming and connecting things that are probably not the reason why they actually are there but that makes sense to everyone, even for Fumito. Another proof of this is The Last Guardian. Now Fumito is a master when it comes to artistic games and we can see that in all of the 3 games. Although all of them are somehow "open for interpretation" there is definitely a huge difference in lore/story gapes between ICO and The Last Guardian vs Shadow of the Colossus. Also, the Last Guardian was announced in 2009 and to be release around this time but it was only released only on 2016, and during this, Sony was strongly against team ICO delays and even announced that "The Last Guardian" was canceled showing that Sony wouldn't support the game development any longer. Luckily Team ICO kept working on the game and eventually released another beautiful and touching game. And since they had an extra 7 year to work on the game, Fumito has gotten interviewed over the game and has cleared a lot of questions just like he did with ICO and unlikely on Shadow of the Colossus. Resume - I love to death all the games that Fumito has worked and my favorite is actually Shadow of the Colossus. I have played on PS2/3 and 5 and just didn't play on 4 because I never got one. I think nowadays the game industry is only focused on the business side which is somehow normal because you make a game to sell it eventually, but I feel like there is "no heart" in games anymore. It's just remakes, and copies of a hyped game with some changes and micro transition. Games should be more focused on player feelings just like art is. And no matter if I am right on this or not. Shadow of the Colossus has definitely Fumido's heart in it and that's why we love this game so much. But if I am right... If Fumito's vision was for Colossus to be around and you just pick one. This question would not exist at all.

sIUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

You read it as Team "Eeco", not with letter "I" ;)

I think people overly nitpick the Bluepoint remake, it's not perfect but I don't think it gets enough credit and I appreciated you pointing out where it succeeds. Also, I know the video wasn't explicitly about dunking on those comments, but man it did annoy me seeing people take such an anti-art/anti-intellectual stance, the sheer unwillingness to even try to understand what the game was trying to do, in favor of critiquing it for what it isn't is just sad. Anyways, neat video dude, you earned a sub.

Face reveal

People who complain about camera and controls are babies

its cuz no one lives here

your slurred speech makes it difficult to understand and get the message across :/ (look, I'm all for content over form, but damn)

Pretty good video, but you're hard to understand sometimes. The way you pronounce some words makes it sound like you're drunk. 😅

Me personally , i love the game coz im a big fan of gigantic monsters and when playing this game , it makes me feel as though these colossus are present in some parts of the world , hiding from us

Bro stop mumbling Really liked your writing though

people who don’t like this game suck :)

who the hell hates this game and its flaws? the only flaws is the ai and the time attack mode. could use more life though

Thanks for putting so much time & thought into this topic, and for sharing it with others. It's a beautiful thing to do, difficult, and brave.. And far too many people shy away from putting their ideas out their into the world. Thank you so much for not simply keeping this to yourself. I'm glad to have taken it in 🩶💖🩶

Good video man. But honestly, I can’t really understand what you’re saying. Maybe slow down and speak more clearly, but I really couldn’t understand. Sorry 🤷‍♂️