Commentary: ‘Colossus’ Is A Genre Of Games That Needs More Respect
by Frank Martin
Everyone is aware of the big genres in video games. There are puzzle games, sports games, role playing games, first person shooters, and everything in between. Like film and television, the action-adventure genre of video games is massive. This is because the terms “action” and “adventure” can encompass many different things. Even first person shooters and RPGs can contain some level of action and adventure. But within this large genre, there is definitely a subset that stands out as unique and should definitely get a lot more attention. These are games like Shadow of the Colossus and Solar Ash, both of which focus on taking down gigantic monsters.
Shadow of the Colossus is an older, but extremely beloved game developed by a Team Ico. The story focuses on a character looking to revive his dead love. In order to accomplish this, he has to journey across the land and slay gigantic creatures. In many respects, Solar Ash is completely different. Developed by Heart Machine, the story is primarily science fiction rather than fantasy, and it focuses on a warrior sent into a black hole in order to stop it from consuming her planet. There’s a device she has to activate, but there are a series of anomalies within the black hole that she must vanquish. And, of course, these anomalies take the form of gigantic creatures.
Besides having completely different stories, both of these games are also widely different in terms of their gameplay. Shadow of the Colossus takes a very slow and mindful approach to exploring its vast landscape whereas Solar Ash is all about fast-paced, adrenaline fueled action. And yet, it’s hard not to notice the similarities when it’s time to take on each game’s gigantic creatures. The player is forced to scale these monstrosities and navigate across their bodies in order to strike at weak points. Of course, games have had gigantic monsters before. But the act of physically scaling them in order to take them down, as if the monsters themselves are their own landscapes, is fairly unique. There aren’t many games that have taken this approach over the years. It’s definitely an action-adventure subgenre that should get more attention.
Solar Ash is now available on Xbox Game Pass.
