Perceiving the inevitable, rising to the occasion, falling. Shadow of the Colossus is a game about failure. A failure of character, a weakness of the inner spirit, and a longing for a lost past, where we find ourselves raising questions about the insurmountable heaviness of decisions laid upon us. The hero is tragic in the classical sense, constantly pursuing the impossible, waning in a quest which has no mannerism of good will. The weighty swing of a sword and awkward motions tend to show that the character in question is no hero, but that he has uniquely human qualities instead.
The main character in the story is uniquely human through expressions of interaction. Falling leads to an awkward tumble, jumping is a strange process, and performing as expected often leads to unexpected results. Exploring the character through their overt interactions is a brilliant manner in which to discuss character through play, rather than attempting to relegate character to dialogue or cinematic flare. Granted, there are some things which cannot be expressed without a necessary modicum of dialog, and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions illustrates such language beautifully.
But language is hardly the only way to explore a character and there is easily a question to be raised about the best practices for expressing the character on the player’s terms. There is something wholly limiting about characters who are formed entirely around internal dialog, and while, when performed well, can be revelatory, it does not take on what is most fascinating about the videogame, which is the tactile interaction, the potential for play. As the player explores the character in Shadow of the Colossus, there is much to be discovered about the character through play that is exciting in relation to what the player wants the experience to become.
Essentially, the character becomes a vessel for discourse that the player shares with the game. The often silent protagonist plays the role best, perhaps, because while we can identify with the situation or the identity of the character as a role in a story, giving a character voice often distorts expectations about the role we intend to reflect upon the character we control. Strangely, far fewer players have problems with other characters having a voice, as there is far less reflection about any character that is, ostensibly, not us. A bias of old storytelling perhaps, where we enjoy having extra-sensory perception of the world around us, rather than being inside the head of a single storyteller.
Storytelling is as much about what is kept in as what is cut out. Shadow of the Colossus understands this, as few games do, where much is left up to the imagination. The situations behind the characters are never fully revealed, but there is a real attachment that grows between the player and the game world, as well as the characters. There is a sense of loss throughout the experience and a genuine culmination, where embedded actions have meaningful consequences.
Recommended: Yes