7 Shadow of the Colossus - Unable to escape
If you haven't got to the end of Shadow of the Colossus, we recommend you skip to the next page of the feature as there are some pretty major spoilers here.
The emotions Shadow of the Colossus evokes make it more than a videogame. No other game has left us with such a sense of loss, of guilt, of sadness (and, for some, confusion). But somehow, that's a very good thing.
Yet of all the factors that contribute to the astonishing whole, the final playable segment has to be included as one of our top ten gaming moments of all time.
Above: Engulfed in darkness, our hero tries in vain to reach his love, now just a speck of white light
After the realization you've done 'a very bad thing' by killing the colossi, the elders attempt to seal the temple. Our hero is left engulfed in shadows. A raging vortex fills the room at the end of the temple - the place in which this evil must be sealed forever - and suddenly you are given control again.
But this isn't a chance to 'win' or to escape the void.
The brilliance of it is that there is no escape. For every two steps you take forward, the vortex pulls you three steps back. As you reach its edge, you hold R1, clinging desperately to the last inches of this life. Your fingertips locked on to the edge of the pit, your legs dangle towards the swirling light. The grip meter decreases, then fades and dies... and you plunge into the void.
Although the end sequence gives some hope, it can't quite make up for the nagging feeling that you've lost something incredibly valuable.
Above: Engulfed in darkness, our hero tries in vain to reach his love, now just a speck of white light
After the realization you've done 'a very bad thing' by killing the colossi, the elders attempt to seal the temple. Our hero is left engulfed in shadows. A raging vortex fills the room at the end of the temple - the place in which this evil must be sealed forever - and suddenly you are given control again.
But this isn't a chance to 'win' or to escape the void.
The brilliance of it is that there is no escape. For every two steps you take forward, the vortex pulls you three steps back. As you reach its edge, you hold R1, clinging desperately to the last inches of this life. Your fingertips locked on to the edge of the pit, your legs dangle towards the swirling light. The grip meter decreases, then fades and dies... and you plunge into the void.
Although the end sequence gives some hope, it can't quite make up for the nagging feeling that you've lost something incredibly valuable.
