Sony revealed during its PlayStation press conference at E3 2017 that Shadow of the Colossus was coming to the PlayStation 4 next year, though with confusion on whether the title will be a remastered version of the original PlayStation 2 title or a full-blown remake.
It is now known that Shadow of the Colossus for the PlayStation 4 will be a remake, with several elements of the game undergoing significant changes.
Shadow of the Colossus For PS4: A Remake, Not Remaster
In an interview, Sony Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida clarified to Famitsu that Shadow of the Colossus for the PlayStation 4 will not be a simple remaster but rather a full remake.
For those not in the know, remastered games are titles from previous-generation consoles that are ported to current-generation consoles with mostly nothing more than visual upgrades. Remakes, on the other hand, present much more work to developers, as significant changes are made to several components.
Yoshida revealed that the content of Shadow of the Colossus for the PlayStation 4 will be the same as the original version for the PlayStation 2. However, all the game's assets are being rebuilt from scratch using current technology.
Among the changes that players can expect for the new Shadow of the Colossus is revamped controls, as Yoshida stated that control preferences among players change over time. The team behind the project will implement a more modernized way of playing the game, though players who would like to relive Shadow of the Colossus in its original form can do so, as the PlayStation 2 controls will be an option in the title.
The eight Colossi that were cut from the original Shadow of the Colossus, however, will not be making an appearance in the PlayStation 4 version, despite it being a remake. In addition, Fumito Ueda, the creator of the game, is not involved much in its new iteration.
The developer behind the project is Bluepoint, which was also the studio tapped to remaster Shadow of the Colossus for the PlayStation 3. The current project is much bigger now, as it is not a simple remaster but rather a remake.
Shadow of the Colossus is considered as a groundbreaking game for its time, with players taking on the role of a man named Wander as he goes on a mission to slay 16 giant creatures known as the colossi. There are no towns to explore or other characters to interact with, just an expansive open world and the quest to defeat the 16 targets.
Remakes Coming To The PS4
Shadow of the Colossus is expected to launch exclusively for the PlayStation 4 in 2018, adding to the lineups of remakes for the console.
One of these remakes is Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy, a collection of remade versions of the first three Crash Bandicoot games from the PlayStation 1 that is set to be launched at the end of the month.
The most hyped remake coming to the PlayStation 4, however, is Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII Remake, which currently still has no official release date.
