When comparing Shadow of the Colossus (2018) vs Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition, the Slant community recommends Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition for most people. In the question“What are the best games that were remade/remastered on PS4?” Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition is ranked 15th while Shadow of the Colossus (2018) is ranked 27th. The most important reason people chose Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition is:
You'll immediately notice how nice it feels to attack the enemies with each slash, strike and shot having an impact behind it. Enemies will flinch, get thrown back and get suspended mid-air from your attacks, making it feel like you're always the dominant force. It's especially amusing seeing an enemy flail about and slamming it into the ground with your demonic arm. Some of the stylistic elements add fun as well. The prime example is Nero's greatsword the Red Queen, which is equipped with a motorcycle-like gear shift. You can use the gear shift mid-combo to add a flame effect to your sword. This increases your damage and the range of your combos and also looks very nice. It's especially awesome to see your character ascend in a whirlwind of flames.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Climbing each colossus is like solving a thrilling puzzle
Upon approaching a new colossus, the player must first observe how the boss moves and behaves while searching for a weak point. After shooting an arrow at a glowing spot beneath the beast's foot, for example, the enemy will fall forward for the player to then parkour on top of. Depending on where the colossus has ledges of stone to climb or patches of fur to hold onto, the player will need to navigate these obstacles while managing their stamina meter. Upon reaching another glowing weak point, there's a precarious thrill in striking this point and depleting the beast's HP while struggling to hold on and not run out of stamina.
Pro Heartbreaking story and ending
The Wanderer's quest to bring back his loved one is a tale that will resonate with anyone who has lost someone that they care about. He defeats each colossi in his determination to challenge his loved one's fate, but he pays a heavy price for his actions that you'll discover as you progress through the plot. His journey to defeat each colossus culminates into an unforgettable, heart-wrenching ending.
Pro Faithful rendition of a masterpiece
Everything looks and feels like an updated copy of the game that first released in 2005, with options for more intuitive control schemes, better draw distance that expands the scope of the world, and the breathtaking scale of the gigantic colossi preserved in-full.
Pro Beautiful environments
The world is as wide and wondrous as the PlayStation 2 version, now with more vibrant colors and intricate details. Traveling across the world by horseback is inspiring: riding over ravines of running waterfalls and traversing the expansive desert puts into perspective how varied and gorgeous the environments are.
Pro Performance mode runs at 60 FPS on PS4 Pro
Performance mode is amazing for PS4 Pro owners who don't have a 4K TV, running at a solid 60 FPS, taking full advantage of the hardware to make Shadow of the Colossus run amazingly well. There's also a cinematic mode that upscales to a dynamic 4K range, but only allows for 30 FPS.
Pro Fun combat
You'll immediately notice how nice it feels to attack the enemies with each slash, strike and shot having an impact behind it. Enemies will flinch, get thrown back and get suspended mid-air from your attacks, making it feel like you're always the dominant force. It's especially amusing seeing an enemy flail about and slamming it into the ground with your demonic arm.
Some of the stylistic elements add fun as well. The prime example is Nero's greatsword the Red Queen, which is equipped with a motorcycle-like gear shift. You can use the gear shift mid-combo to add a flame effect to your sword. This increases your damage and the range of your combos and also looks very nice. It's especially awesome to see your character ascend in a whirlwind of flames.
Pro Great soundtrack
Most of the battle music has the lyrical styling of progressive rock while mixing in dark electronica guitar riffs. It matches the rhythm and speed of the battles really well, spurring on your combos and devastating attacks.
The exploration sections and cutscenes have an entirely different style of music. It ranges from divine vocals accompanied with organ music to eerie pieces with harp and piano sounds creating a bone-chilling ambience.
Pro Highest level of combat depth in any hack and slash game
An open-ended cancelling system (Jump Cancelling) stacked with individual character mechanics (Dante styles and style/weapon switching, Nero ACT and parries, Vergil being Vergil, Lady and Trish are the weakest in terms of combo-ability of the 5 but you can still style with them) and system physics create a combat masterpiece that rewards practice and creativity.
Pro There's a bunch of stuff to do even after beating the game
You can replay the game on higher difficulties, try to find all the hidden missions or collect all the upgrades. You can even try to get the max style rank on all the missions. Doing any of these will award you extra collectibles or unlock new modes.
There's also the The Bloody Palace, which is an arena consisting of 101 levels. Each level contains enemies and bosses found within the main game. The first few levels are quite easy, but each level becomes increasingly more difficult. Only the most skilled players can reach the end, giving you another goal to strive for.
Cons
Con Story is short
Averaging at around 10 hours, the main story isn't all that long, and may not be worth the $40 price for some players.
Con Gameplay can get repetitive
The bulk of Shadow of the Colossus surrounds the Wanderer's quest to defeat each beast, and with over fifteen colossi, things can feel repetitive after a while. Although the way you approach each battle is different, depending on the boss' design, it essentially boils down to finding a way to climb each one's back and strike their weak points.
Con Occasional difficulty spikes
Upon reaching the first boss you'll encounter the first difficulty spike. The boss attacks a lot faster and stronger than the enemies leading up to it. Messing up means you'll die in a couple of seconds, which can be really frustrating. Especially because you have to switch gears so suddenly and adapt to a new playstyle, where the enemy stands on equal footing.
Con Recycled stage designs and lack of character-specific bosses
Capcom basically just slapped on the 3 new characters (Lady, Trish, and Vergil) and they suffer the same problems that Dante does, and that's lack of bosses designed specifically for their toolset. They run through the same bosses and levels instead of getting unique missions.