Has now been released three times, making it one of the most enduring modern games. Even though Shadow has been out for 13 years, the PlayStation 4 remake means a whole new generation of players will get to learn firsthand what makes the game a classic. It also means that a few people might be stepping into the Forbidden Lands and have no idea what they’re doing.To get you started on your colossus-slaying journey, we’ve put together a few tips and strategies that will help you along the way.

This page contains information on all new Hidden Coins found in the Shadow of the Colossus Remake for the PS4. On top of being a complete remake, the game includes new features not found in the. This page contains various Maps of all the locations of collectibles and Colossus in the Shadow of the Colossus game. Fruit Tree Locations edit Eating fruit will increase your Life Bar.

Here’s what you need to know to be an effective giant-killer, even if you’re new to the game. Find your control schemeEven with the remake’s overhaul, the controls can take a minute to master.

The game’s original controls were a bit disorienting, and while they’ve been remapped with a new “Modern” configuration, you’ll still want to spend some time getting used to them.In particular, no matter what your control scheme, get familiar with the button that makes you grab, crouch, and walk slowly (on the Modern scheme, it defaults to R2). This is probably the most important button in the game, because you’ll use it all the time when climbing and fighting colossi. Snagging handholds when you jump, climbing the colossi’s hairy hides, and catching ledges when you start to fall is all done with this button, and you want hitting it to be second nature — otherwise, you’ll find yourself falling at key moments and starting your colossi battles basically from square one.One other button to get good and used to is the colossus camera button (on the Modern scheme, it’s L2). You’ll often find yourself darting around colossi in battle, so you’ll need to keep an eye on them, and that’s nearly impossible to do by wrestling with the camera on the right analog stick. Every colossus is a puzzleTo kill each Colossus, Wander, the protagonist, must stab specific, well-marked weak points on its body using his magic sword. The stabbing isn’t especially challenging — it’s finding and reaching those spots where you’ll struggle. Fighting colossi in Shadow of the Colossus is less about being a good warrior with fast reflexes, and more about figuring how to get aboard them so you can find their weaknesses.

Each colossus has different traits and features. Most don’t have an easy way for you to climb up their legs and attack them, so you’ll have to watch them to figure out how you can trip them up, knock them over, or get to higher ground so you can jump on their backs.If you’re having trouble figuring out a colossus, you can count on Dormin, the entity in the Shrine of Worship, to give you clues. The trick is to observe the colossus, as well as your surroundings. Everything happens for a reason: Are there high points you can climb to, or underground warrens to hide inside? You will need to use them somehow to win the fight. When in doubt, hit it with an arrowSometimes, in order to get atop a colossus, you need to exploit its behavior to create an opening for you to hop on. Colossi have two behavior states: Their normal state, in which they just cruise around doing whatever they do, and their threatening state, in which they come after you, attack, or otherwise act differently.

You can tell the difference because the colossus’ blue eyes will turn red.If ever you’re wondering what you need to do to get a colossus to come after you or expose a weakness that you can attack, try tagging it with an arrow. That will almost always trigger its threatening state and turn its eyes red — often, the colossus’ attack against you will expose a weakness that you can attack at the same time.Try hitting any point on the colossus that isn’t gray or brow with an arrow from your bow and see what happens. Every colossus is different and has its own quirks, so look for what stands out. Pay attention to your staminaThat yellow circle in the bottom-right corner of your screen is Wander’s stamina — it shows you how long he can hold on to the side of a wall or a shaking colossus before he falls off. Most of Shadow of the Colossus comes down to managing stamina.

Hold on too long and Wander will slip free. If that happens at the wrong moment, at best it means you have to climb all the way back up to where you were — and at worst, it can kill you.Stamina replenishes relatively quickly when Wander isn’t holding onto stuff, but you’ll need to remember to let go periodically. Keep an eye out for safe places where you can stand and avoid dying in order to replenish your stamina, and always have an exit strategy to get to them. If you wait until your stamina meter is making its alarm noise, which means you’re seconds from falling, to figure out where you’re headed to next, you’ve probably waited too long. It’s better to err on the side of keeping your stamina charged than to hang on too long hoping to get an extra hit in.

Pray at the shrinesScattered across the Shadow of the Colossus map are smaller shrines with statues set in front of them. You’ll come across them usually about halfway between the Shrine of Worship and the location of a colossus. If you stand in front of the statue, you’ll heal Wander and save your game. It’s not essential to stop at these locations, but praying at them marks them on your map, and if you should quit the game after praying, you’ll wake up at the statue rather than in the central Shrine of Worship.

Plus, there’s a trophy tied to finding all of them, if you’re into that sort of thing. Explore the map, eat fruit, kill lizardsEvery time you take down a colossus, you’ll gain a little more stamina for use in your next battle. That’s not the only way to make Wander stronger, however. If you spend some time exploring the Forbidden Lands outside of just heading straight to each new colossus, you can find trees with fruit hanging on them, and lizards that sometimes scurry across rocks and other objects. Both can potentially upgrade Wander if you can get them.To increase Wander’s health, look for fruit trees.

You can get fruits by shooting them down with arrows, and then picking them up by making Wander crouch with the grab button (R2 in the default controls). To add more stamina to Wander’s repertoire, you’ll want to find black lizards with white, shiny tails. These guys appear somewhat more randomly, but you’ll almost always find them near the save point shrines that pop up out in the world. The best way to take them down is to hit them with an arrow after they appear, then pick up their tails with the grab button.

Revisit your pastAfter you defeat a colossus, if you return to the place where you fought it, you’ll find its remains pretty much right where you left them. Just because you killed these colossi doesn’t mean you can’t fight them again, though. Shadow of the Colossus includes a function called “Reminiscence Mode,” which allows you to replay the fight as if it was a flashback.To replay a colossus, return to the location where you killed it the first time and locate its body. Standing pretty close to the dead colossus, hold the grab button to make Wander kneel, just like you do at the small shrines. He’ll pray to the colossus, allowing you to activate Reminiscence and replay the fight.

When you’re done, you’ll wake up right back at the colossus’ dead body where you were when you started the battle.After you’ve beaten the game, you can access a “Time Attack Mode” in a similar fashion. Pray in front of the statues of the colossi in the Shrine of Worship, and you can fight them all over again, this time with the clock running. Beating colossi in Time Attack Mode on both Normal and Hard modes unlocks a bunch of special items you can equip to change Wander’s abilities and your fights with colossi.Editors' Recommendations.

Exit Theatre ModeAfter killing Colossus 16, you return to the temple, but are transformed into a giant shadow beast. This is the manifestation of Dormin that has taken hold within the Wander’s body.You will be forced to fight off several humans for a minute, before they flee and a vacuumous hole opens up, trying to suck you inside. It’s impossible to stop, however you can resist and if you fight back for at least a minute before getting sucked in, you unlock a trophy.Upon disappearing into the void, a long cutscene will play out as Agro and Mono appear and a few minutes later, the credits roll. The Ending ExplainedSo what does the ending really represent? Who is Dormin?First, it’s important to know just who Dormin is. When you first arrived at the temple, all Wander knows is his name, and that legend tells of his ability to bring back souls from the dead.What isn’t told to you at first, is that Dormin is evil. He was killed and his essence was sealed inside the body of 16 Colossi many eons ago.

This is why the lands are forbidden, because Dormin has no power, except that of speech. So long as Dormin had no one to talk to, he couldn’t tempt people into helping him, and thus he remained sealed away for untold many years, until Wander arrived. Wander Enters The Forbidden LandsOur story begins when Wander enters the Forbidden Lands, with Mono and Agro.

A brief scene in the beginning paints a clear picture as to why this happened. The trigger was Mono’s death, as part of a sacrifice. This greatly upset Wander, and knowing of the legend of Dormin, he stole the Ancient Sword, took Mono’s corpse, then fled into the Forbidden Lands to find Dormin.Upon reaching the ancient temple and placing Mono’s body on the altar, Dormin reveals himself. While anyone could have replicated this act in the past, Dormin is particularly intrigued this time due to Wander having the Ancient Sword. This sword is the only item that can kill a Colossi, and thus is the only item that can free Dormin. Whether Wander knew about the Colossi before hand is unknown, only that he thought the Ancient Sword was somehow related to reviving Mono.Sensing the opportunity before him, Dormin carefully concocts a tale for Wander, offering his assistance if Wander goes out and kills the Colossi. While he does warn Wander that the cost might be great, Dormin’s words are chosen careful so as to not reveal the true nature of himself and his plan.

Killing the ColossiThus the game begins with Wander setting out to kill the Colossi. At first, the game and everything we know, can make it seem like we are the hero of the story, setting out to gain power so we can save Mono.After you beat the game, it’s clear this is far from the truth. The Colossi are neutral creatures, caring not for Wander or the world around them. They are simple creatures which exist solely to guard the trapped parts of Dormin that are inside them.As Wander begins to kill them, it becomes more and more apparent that you’re not the hero.

For one, the Colossi tend to be very secluded and are often hiding from you, only appearing when you’ve ventured too far into their home. They also tend to ignore Wander (as indicated by their blue eyes), and will only attack him if Wander keeps provoking them with strikes (as indicated by their orange eyes).Upon killing each Colossus, black tendrils assault Wander’s body, another sign that things are amiss.

These tendrils clearly hurt him, as he groans and reels backwards each time. Lastly, the more Colossi you kill, the worse Wander looks, to the point his skin goes white and he begins growing horns.With all that in mind, it becomes clear that Wander is the true villain of the story.

While it’s true he is being tricked into it, the result is the same and Wander ends up slaying 16 peaceful Colossi, in the hopes he can save Mono. 16 Colossi Dead, Wander ReturnsAfter killing Colossus 16, you’re brought back to the temple, just as the other humans arrive. You had been warned they were coming earlier, as they had been chasing you from the beginning. Due to this, it’s implied Wander and Mono are from the same tribe as Emon, the man who is now chasing them.Emon and his band arrive too late however, and although they injure Wander, Dormin is able to possess his body and suddenly a giant manifestation of Dormin appears. The truth is finally revealed, and Dormin, using Wander as a host, begins to attack the other humans.Emon and the other humans luck out however, and the injuries they dished out to Wander make it hard for Dormin to chase them. This gives them an opportunity to steal the Ancient Sword (which had fallen to the ground earlier), and flee the temple.

As they flee, Emon says a prayer and tosses the Ancient Sword into a pool of water, opening up a new portal to reseal Dormin.At this point, Dormin disappears, and only a shadow version of Wander remains. Fight as you may, you’re eventually drawn into the portal with Dormin. However, moments later, Mono also wakes up and Agro returns, limping due to his giant fall earlier in the game. The EndThe game ends with two important scenes. First, Emon and the other humans manage to flee the destruction of the Great Bridge. Without the bridge, humans will have a far greater time reaching Dormin.

Emon also whispers a single line, saying that if Wander survived, he hopes he can atone for his sins.Back in the temple, Mono has awoken. Why Dormin would still revive her is unclear, but the result is that she is alive and well. She, along with Agro, head to the back of the temple where they find an infant with horns laying in a pool of water.

This is implied to be Wander, or what’s left of him. Carrying the child, Mono and Agro walk up the stairs until they reach the secluded shrine on top of the temple. Ending SpeculationWhile it’s never outwardly stated, it’s strongly believed by many that Shadow of the Colossus is the prequel to Ico.For starters, there is a visual theme between them both, and although each game is certainly unique, there are also striking similarities in how they look and how movement and action occurs.More importantly, the characters. Mono is strongly believed to be The Queen from Ico. In Ico, The Queen is the villain, who is trying to kill the protagonist. It’s revealed that she is extremely old, hundreds, even thousands of years old.

She also employs a lot of shadow like abilities, and even her body is often shrouded in shadow.While Mono exhibits none of this in Shadow of the Colossus, it’s possible that by being revived by Dormin, her life cycle has been unnaturally extended. Dormin did warn us that there are great consequences to reviving Mono, and it’s assumed by the end of the game he was referring to us dying, but it could also mean that Dormin was warning us that Mono would not come back the same way she once was. It’s also not impossible to imagine that since Dormin revived her, some of, if not a lot of himself imprinted onto Mono, granting her use of his shadowy abilities.It’s also important to look at the connection between Ico and Wander. At the end of Shadow of the Colossus, Wander is reborn as a child with horns. In Ico, there is a curse that has haunted a tribe of people for untold years, where certain young individuals would grow horns.Taking these two characters into consideration, it’s possible to build a connecting timeline.Revived Mono and Child Wander live on after the end of Shadow of the Colossus. They eventually establish a new tribe of people, although it’s whereabouts can’t be confirmed.

Wander’s horns are passed on through the generations, but as time goes on, the horns begin to represent a curse and are feared by others in the tribe. Mono, who doesn’t seem to age, would live on, seeing the people she loves dying over and over, slowly driving her mad.Mono’s mounting disdain would eventually cause her to split off and become The Queen, while Wander, who likely had been dead for hundreds of years, lives on in legacy, due to his curse, which eventually is transferred to Ico and sparks the beginning of that game.There is one final consideration, although it’s far more speculative.

The Queen’s Sword is found in both games. While it’s physical design is nearly the same, the sword doesn’t have the same shine or effects in Shadow of the Colossus, where as in Ico it has glowing runes and arcing energy. (This has been updated in the PS4 remake of Shadow of the Colossus, and now the Queen’s Sword looks extremely vibrant in Shadow of the Colossus).The fact that the sword is in both games could just be fan-service. Wanted weapons of fate system requirements. However, since the PS4 remake, it’s also possible that the Queen’s Sword is in fact the same in both games. The fact that it glows so intensely in the PS4 remake of Shadow of the Colossus could be due to the graphical fidelity of the game, but it could also imply that the sword is full of energy and that by the time of Ico, it’s dulled somewhat, but still maintains at least some of its magical power.