Simplicity in Shadow of the Colossus

There are two major reasons why I haven’t ever played an open world game like Shadow of the Colossus before. It is not because of the giant boss battles or the morally gray protagonist. Shadow of the Colossus is unique because of the simplicity in its design and its use of empty space, or “ma” in its world and gameplay. Hayao Miyazaki simply defined Ma as the time the hand spends open while someone is clapping. In Shadow of the Colossus, it is the time found between the battles with the Colossi in which the player isn’t fighting anything. In fact, there is a decent amount of it in the battles themselves. In my mind, Ma is the factor that makes Shadow of the Colossus so aesthetically unique and interesting.

Unlike seemingly every open world game that has been released since, the world of Shadow of the Colossus is quite barren when it comes to things for the player to do (excluding unmarked collectables). This means that between each of the Colossi battles in the game, there is nothing to do but travel to the next one. However, empty in Shadow of the Colossus means something a lot different that it does in other open world games. The world may be empty but because of how beautiful, and varied the landscape of the world is, the player’s journey will be anything but boring.

There is also quite a lot of simplicity and ma found in the Colossi battles themselves. All the player needs to do in order to defeat each of the sixteen colossi is find out how to climb them, and then strike their weak points. Those actions of course vary with each Colossus, but that is what it can be boiled down to. Another important piece of these battles though is the ma found within them. There are spaces, usually far away from the Colossus itself in which the player is able to sit back and observe. This in battle Ma is great because the player can take a break whenever they would like to, and they don’t lose any progress. It is the space between the clapping hands of the battles.

For me, exploring the game’s open world was a much more peaceful endeavor than I had expected. After the fifth battle specifically, I was unknowingly in dire need of a rest. I found the fifth colossus to be my favorite of the bunch. My heart rate and excitement were through the roof as I defeated the winged beast in the air. When it came time for me to make my way to the sixth Colossus, I ended up riding through a dark and lush forest. I stopped for a moment to enjoy the beauty that the game was presenting me. The forest is one of my favorite places in reality, so finding such a pleasant one in Shadow of the Colossus captured my attention. I listened peacefully through my headphones and could almost smell the pine trees in the game. In a way, this moment provided ma that was an escape from the escape of the video game.

In the seventh Colossus battle specifically, I was impressed by how much space the game allowed me to have. Despite fighting this giant underwater creator, I was able to swim away and observe. I quickly found admiration in these moments as I watched the sublime Colossus swim its way through the waters. I admired not only the creator itself, but the game developers too. I was in the middle of a boss battle, yet I could sit back and relax. This moment also provided me with a great opportunity to observe and make my plan of attack. I was confused as to how to attack the beast, but when I saw it flip its tail I knew exactly what to do. There was no tutorial. Only the ma of that moment left the rest of the game quiet enough for me to make that observation.

Ma provides Shadow of the Colossus with unique aesthetics not usually found in other similar games. The first of which is that of sensation. When I found that dark forest, it evoked the chill of a late summer morning I’ve only experienced on backpacking trips. The sweet smell of pine trees and the peaceful songs sung by the birds. Most impressive, this wasn’t done with any interaction from me beyond going there. It is magical. The second aesthetic that Ma helps contribute to is challenge. As I mentioned previously, the ma during the colossus battles provided me with the perfect chance to effectively plan how I was going to defeat each of the beasts. It made overcoming them feel even more gratifying as they got increasingly difficult as I continued playing the game.

I wish more games would embrace “ma” and simplicity like Shadow of the Colossus did. It would completely take away the chore elements found in a lot of modern games. I find it ironic that less does actually mean more when it comes to game design, and no game exemplifies this better than Shadow of the Colossus.