# Shadow of the Colossus

14 Hacker News commenters recommended Shadow of the Colossus and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for its atmosphere, artistic vision and tragic tone that still hold up; critics cite slow framerate and cut content.

## Why people recommend it

- Artistic vision and emotional impact (3 comments): "it confirmed that the key was conveying a complex and intentional artistic vision through the gameplay" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48293095)) "Shadow of the Colossus portrays tragedy brilliantly in this regard" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48292237)) "In great art they can be more real than reality." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48298895))
- Unusual scale and unique tone (3 comments): "none of his games have had any focus on reality in terms of scale and that is what makes them so special" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48301904)) "one of those few games that goes its own way and really sticks with you" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46765032)) "it set a special unique tone for the 2000-2010 era" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48291954))
- Still holds up today (2 comments): "reminded me once more what a beautiful experience the game was" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46763145)) "I've heard the remake is perfectly good" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48293573))
- Proof games can be art (2 comments): "It remains one of my favourites and a stellar example of what the medium can achieve." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48291468)) "After that game there was no more debate." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48292462))

## What people warn about

- Slow framerate and poor performance (2 comments): "the absolutely horrid framerate is the thing that I remember most about the game" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48304377)) "the game runs very slowly and has a good deal of cut content" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47494256))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Breath of the Wild](https://hackerapproved.com/p/legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild.md): 27 recommend
- [The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time](https://hackerapproved.com/p/legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time.md): 17 recommend
- [God of War](https://hackerapproved.com/p/god-of-war.md): 12 recommend
- [The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom](https://hackerapproved.com/p/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom.md): 12 recommend
- [Horizon Zero Dawn](https://hackerapproved.com/p/horizon-zero-dawn.md): 10 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Shadow of the Colossus", https://hackerapproved.com/p/shadow-of-the-colossus/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).