First released on the PS2 in the mid-2000s, then later remastered by Bluepoint Games on both the PS3 and the PS4, Shadow of the Colossus has been an integral part of the gaming community’s collective consciousness for quite a while. Between Kow Otani’s transportive soundtrack, the stunning locales, and, of course, the David and Goliath-style boss battles, it’s a certifiably unforgettable experience. Yet for all its grandeur, the game takes a minimalist approach to storytelling; relatively speaking, there’s very little in the way of dialogue or cutscenes. The majority of the game’s worldbuilding, as well as its emotional core, is instead slowly but surely spread out and built up across the whole experience. Perhaps not incidentally, the ending isn’t easy to grasp. In order to make sense of it, we should backtrack a bit.

Spoilers Ahead

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Shadow of the Colossus actually does open up with a cutscene, introducing us to protagonist Wander, his loyal steed Agro, and deceased damsel in distress Mono. Her death is never fully explained—it had something to do with “sacrifice” and a “cursed fate”—but it’s also not the point of the story. No, the point (or, at least, what we’re initially led to believe is “the point”) is to resurrect her, which Wander plans to do by paying a visit to the Forbidden Lands.

After arriving at the Shrine of Worship and placing Mono on the altar, a group of shadowy creatures appear and spook Agro. Wander dispels them with the light-bringing power of the Ancient Sword, and within moments, two intermingled and disembodied voices call out to him. The voices call themselves Dormin and claim that Wander can have Mono back only by felling 16 colossi, which will in turn destroy the idols connected to them. Undeterred, the young man forges ahead, regardless of the unspecified toll Dormin ominously mentions…

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And so, the slaughter—not the battle, not the journey, the slaughter—begins. Indeed, despite the size differential between Wander and his foes, he manages to slay them quite handily. Some are more aggressive than others, but many of the colossi are peaceful. On top of the mournful “victory theme” that plays as the titanic creatures fall, it makes you wonder: What exactly is that price Dormin mentioned? Does it have anything to do with why the disembodied voices are so eager to guide Wander from colossus to colossus? Most importantly, are you, the player, willing to complicitly tag along?

A few question-raising cutscenes are sprinkled in along the way: Agro waiting for Wander to return to the Shrine (“Don’t they go back together?”); a dreamlike sequence in which Mono awakens (“Is this a vision of the future?”); the arrival of others seeking Wander and Mono (“Who are they, and what do they want?”) What’s more, for every colossus Wander fells, he’s inevitably struck by black tendrils that emerge from the giant corpses, knocking him out cold. It all seems to be leading up to something, but nothing’s going to be solved until Wander defeats the final colossus, which looms in the stormy night like a living building. Getting to it isn’t easy, though, and Agro sacrifices herself to save Wander so the young man might complete his mission.

And complete it he does. The last bastion of the colossi cut down to size, the camera then cuts to the bridge leading to the Shrine—the same bridge Wander crossed 16 colossi ago—where we see the mysterious men following Wander and Mono have finally arrived. They enter the Shrine as the final colossus’s idol collapses, indicating to the leader, Lord Emon, that they’re running out of time. But for what? What has Wander unknowingly triggered?

Like clockwork, the young man returns to the Shrine just then—and we finally get to see how. Unconscious at the colossal corpse’s feet, Wander rises by some unseen force, only to simply pop back into existence in front of Mono’s altar. The shadowy beings that appeared the first time Wander came to the temple now stand with him. A closeup reveals the full extent of the aforementioned tendrils’ effects: ethereal blue eyes, black veins running the course of his body, and a set of horns jutting from his head.

In spite of the new look, Emon easily recognizes Wander. Remarking on how the young man was used and is now possessed by the dead, Emon has his guards move in to put the husk out of its misery. Their assault does more harm than good, however. Wander simply removes the sword plunged into his chest by one of the guards, reaching out towards Mono as he himself transforms into one of the shadow people. It doesn’t end there, though: The shadow grows and expands, becoming more grotesque as its back nearly brushes the ceiling. Eyes glowing the same ethereal blue as the altered Wander’s, the massive thing introduces itself as Dormin—once scattered into 16 pieces (yep, the colossi!), now whole again. And it is not happy.

Then, in a surprising yet fitting move, the game hands control back to you... as Dormin. Emon and his entourage try to flee and place a new seal over the Shrine, and you’re welcome to either try smashing them to smithereens or just let them go. They escape either way, and Emon places the seal using the Ancient Sword, causing the pool at the back of the Shrine to burst with light and tear Dormin down bit by bit. Soon enough, all that’s left is a shadow in Wander’s shape, grasping for Mono as it’s sucked into the vortex created by the seal.

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Image via Sony, Bluepoint Games

But wait, there’s more! Emon and his men gallop back home across the bridge as it begins collapsing, closing off the Forbidden Lands forevermore. Concurrently, we see that Dormin kept true to his promise after all: Mono wakes up. Without the bridge, however, she’s alone… until the ever-loyal Agro returns, one leg rendered useless after her earlier sacrifice. The young woman seems to know the horse, and the two come together as the credits roll mercilessly over the crumpled heaps that were once colossi one by one.

But wait, there’s more! After seeing that Emon’s made it safely to the edge of the Forbidden Lands, the camera cuts back to Mono and Agro slowly making their way to the back of the Shrine, where Wander and Dormin were trapped in the pool. Strangely, the pool’s now empty—of water, at least. Upon closer inspection, Mono finds a horned baby crying its little eyes out. The horns mean it can only be Wander… but what happened to Dormin? Is it gone for good, or does it somehow live on in baby Wander? It used his body once; doing so again wouldn’t be too far off base.

Regardless, Agro, Mono, and Wander (in Mono’s arms) climb to the very top of the Shrine, where an idyllic paradise has taken root. Flowering plants and peaceful animals surround the trio, and their futures are left uncertain as the camera follows a hawk flying off into the clouds.

It’s a lot to process. Some questions are answered, like what the price Dormin said Wander would have to pay for his actions was, but twice as many arise. Still, there’s enough to make sense of how it all went down, and to understand what it all means.

What’s truly amazing is how—without ever breaking the fourth wall—Shadow of the Colossus explores complicity. From start to finish, the game makes it clear that this isn’t your story; it’s Wander’s. His single-minded devotion to a dead woman he presumably loves is the driving force of everything that’s to come; indeed, you the player may be the one controlling him, but ultimately, you’re not controlling his choices. Just as Wander’s complicit in Dormin’s schemes, you’re complicit in his. The game simply says, “You have the controller. Either put it down or keep moving.” Like Wander, how are you to know any better?

Guilt stems from that complicity, highlighted by the breathtaking soundtrack. The aforementioned “victory theme” doesn’t make you feel good about conquering beasts many times Wander’s size, difficult though it may be. Calling the colossi "beasts" isn’t even entirely accurate. You may not notice it in the midst of battle, but every single one lives in a confined space, be it a ravine or a cave. (The thirteenth colossus is an exception, flying over an open desert, but environmental details hint that it, too, is most likely hemmed in by some form of seal.) They don’t disturb their surroundings or cause any harm, only acting up when Wander arrives—in self-defense, mind you. Wander appears ambivalent about their deaths so long as he can have Mono back, but after learning the full truth, it’s hard for you not to feel guilty.

Where does Wander’s physical transformation fit in? How he turns into Dormin is clear enough; the disembodied voices proudly declare that they used the young man’s body as a vessel of sorts. But regressing into a horned baby? There’s no definitive answer, but it seems symbolic of his actions throughout the game. In sprouting horns, Wander is physically marked as the devil he’s unwittingly yet willingly become. Indeed, the colossi were all prisoners of fate, about as innocent as innocent gets, and now they're dead because of Wander... and because of you. In becoming a baby, Wander’s mindlessness is taken to the next level, turned instead into a lack of developed cognition. You could say he now has a second chance to grow up along a more righteous path, but trapped in the Forbidden Lands as he is, how is such a life to take hold in the first place?

Consequences, consequences. That’s what Shadow of the Colossus is really all about. Wary though you may be about the deal Wander makes with Dormin in the beginning, it’s nigh impossible to see the full picture until the very end—and by then it’s already too late. That this cautionary tale manages to both entertain and never feel preachy is a feat in and of itself, as well as a testament to the power and potential of video game storytelling.

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