You need to download this unforgettable fantasy epic on PS4 while it's free
Experience some of the greatest boss battles to ever happen in gaming.
Every month, gamers who subscribe to PS Plus on PlayStation 4 can score two games for free, and rarely is one of the titles as good as Shadow of the Colossus in March 2020.
Team Ico's masterpiece Shadow of the Colossus comes out on top as not just the best title this month, but one of the best PS Plus titles of the past year since PS3 and PS Vita were dropped from the free game lineup.
Here's why:
What is Shadow of the Colossus?
Shadow of the Colossus is an atmospheric action-adventure game that was initially released by Team Ico, a smaller team within Sony's Japan Studios, for PS2 all the way back in 2005. It follows a boy named Wander who is trying to bring a girl named Mono back to life. In order to do so, a god tasks him with brutally killing sixteen colossus creatures scattered across a barren landscape.
It's a fairly atypical open-world action-adventure game. The landscapes are fairly sparse and the colossi are the only enemies Wander encounters. Shadow of the Colossus may sound minimalist for a AAA game, but it is an utterly engrossing title with a shocking ending that I don't want to spoil for you here. It is definitely worth playing, whether you get it with PS Plus or not.
The game was critically acclaimed upon its release and was cemented as one of Sony's all-time classics. In 2011, it received an HD remaster for PS3, but in 2018 Bluepoint Games fully remade that game for PS4. That is the version of Shadow of the Colossus that PS Plus members can get this month.
The colossi are very intimidating in Shadow of the Colossus.
What's different in the PS4 Remake?
On a surface level, not much seems to have changed with the Shadow of the Colossus PS4 remake. That being said, it was actually built from the ground up for PS4 by Bluepoint. It honors the original by featuring the same world design and monsters but reworks the controls to be more fitting in the modern era of action-adventure games and uses all-new high definition assets.
The remake's prettiness also scales with whatever version of the PS4 Pro players are using. While users on a base model will experience Shadow of the Colossus at 1080p and 30 frames per second, PS4 Pro users can choose between playing the game at an upscaled 4K and 30 frames per second, or 1080p and 60 frames per second. Playing on PS4 Pro is by far the most beautiful way to experience Shadow of the Colossus.
All of the colossi greatly differ from each other.
How to claim Shadow of the Colossus from the PS Store:
Starting Tuesday, March 3, players should enter the PS Store from the PS4's main menu. From there, there are two ways to find the title: You can simply search "Shadow of the Colossus" and will have the option to claim and download it. Searching on the PS Store can be fairly obtuse, so it is better to navigate to the dedicated PS Plus Members Area of the PS Store on the menu to the left, where Shadow of the Colossus, Sonic Forces, and the Predators: Hunting Grounds free trial should be present. From there, just select Shadow of the Colossus, claim it to put it in your library, then select download to get it onto your PS4.
PS Plus members can get Shadow of the Colossus from March 3 to April 6, 2020.
