When comparing Shadow of the Colossus (2018) vs Dark Souls III, the Slant community recommends Dark Souls III for most people. In the question“What are the best single player games on PS4?” Dark Souls III is ranked 50th while Shadow of the Colossus (2018) is ranked 91st. The most important reason people chose Dark Souls III is:
There's tons of lore everywhere for you to discover, but it isn't necessarily told through a conventional story. Weapons, armor, spells, and items you acquire have descriptions on them that tell you where in the game world they came from, any prominent characters they're associated with, and a bunch of other relevant and interesting information. So when you find examples of the lore scattered around the game, like bosses wearing a style of armor you read about, or an obscure NPC mentioned in a sword's description, you know the history behind the design and their purpose without that boss or character needing to explain anything to you. Even though the actual story in Dark Souls III is very thin, there's a lot to find under the surface if you're willing to look for it.
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 Extensive lore that's presented in unconventional ways
There's tons of lore everywhere for you to discover, but it isn't necessarily told through a conventional story.
Weapons, armor, spells, and items you acquire have descriptions on them that tell you where in the game world they came from, any prominent characters they're associated with, and a bunch of other relevant and interesting information. So when you find examples of the lore scattered around the game, like bosses wearing a style of armor you read about, or an obscure NPC mentioned in a sword's description, you know the history behind the design and their purpose without that boss or character needing to explain anything to you.
Even though the actual story in Dark Souls III is very thin, there's a lot to find under the surface if you're willing to look for it.
Pro Stunning environments
The world of Dark Souls 3 looks amazing, so you may often feel the need to stop and take in the beautiful sights. This can be the sheer size of structures, mountains, or caves. It can also be the decorations, inscriptions, or details in a room. There's always so much to look at, allowing you to truly immerse yourself in its world.
Pro Can give a great feeling of accomplishment
The Dark Souls series is known for its difficulty and Dark Souls 3 is no exception. It's filled with difficult enemies and tough boss battles, able to cause you grief on more than one occasion. However, every time you progress to the next safe spot or defeat a boss you'll often be filled with a mix of joy and relief. Beating this game will almost certainly feel like an achievement.
Pro Unpredictable boss battles
The boss battles in Dark Souls 3 consist of several phases, changing up how the bosses fight over the course of the battle. They will gain new abilities, become more aggressive, or reveal various nasty surprises. This creates an enjoyable experience that is different from most modern games where bosses are just glorified pincushions.
Pro A great variety of equipment for almost any playstyle
You'll be finding new pieces of equipment quite often, giving you many options to choose from. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to pick the equipment that best suits your playstyle.
For example, heavy armor will make you move slower, but you'll be better protected. Greatswords have a wide reach, but you swing them really slow. Conversely a dagger is very fast but it has a horrible reach.
Pro Solid controls
This game feels and plays really well. Your character responds to button inputs immediately and it almost never feels like you're losing control over it. The control scheme can also be customized, giving you the option of a more personalized experience.
Pro Great combat system
Dark Souls 3 is a very fast-paced game but it's not just about having quick reflexes. A lot of the combat comes down to exploiting your enemies. To do that, you have to learn their patterns and attack the moment they pause or perform a telegraphed attack. This creates a combat system, which rewards awareness and patience, and is satisfying to master, even if you don't have extraordinary reflexes.
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 Poor support for mouse+keyboard control
The default DS3 key/button bindings actually prevent full use of certain weapons by requiring the shift key to be pressed and not-pressed simultaneously. Rebinding is possible, but limited by issues like the left mouse button overriding all others and certain bindings not actually working in game (e.g. Shift+MiddleClick).
Con It's hard
You should try avoiding the trap of great review scores since most of them fail to mention the difficulty. It's simply put - hard. A lot of the combat requires quick reflexes, good mechanics, and the mental fortitude to carry on after failing for hours. If you're new to the Souls-like genre or simply want to enjoy a relaxing evening playing a video game, you most likely won't enjoy Dark Souls III.
Con Poorly tuned dynamic visiblity
You may notice some texture pop in while sharply turning the camera. It can be somewhat distracting if you notice it, but most of the time you won't because it happens in the distance.
Con Occasional performance issues
There are portions of the game that will have noticeable framerate drops, which can negatively affect the gameplay. Most of the fault lies with the game engine, so getting better hardware won't help that much.