The horse obediently come when I call for it. I gently climb up on him expecting what is called "lousy controls". I kick my legs in the sides and... Damn, Agro starts walking. Sure, it feels a bit imprecise when I'm going out of the temple for the first time and have to go down a narrow set of stairs, but when out in the fields I ride like a... like a... someone who can ride a horse! The camera is a bit off center as a way to display a little more of the surroundings. I think to myself that it might be a problem further on in the game to not be able to center the camera completely but those thoughts slowly fade away when I realize how cozy the world is. Something that help me to appreciate the surroundings even more is the lack of background music. It is just whistling wind and a distant alarming rumble apart from Agro's steps and it is only when you stand face to face with a colossus that dramatic music appears.
It is only lizards for companionship here on the plains, lizards you can kill and steal tails from in case you want to increase your stats. Fruits should do the same but I did not see too many of them, and in all honesty, they will not be needed. It is enough to increase ones stamina and health bar just a bit.
Agro is a horse, not a machine. He stops and backs up when trying to ride him into destruction, he refuses to run at full speed on chaotic trails with nothing short of pure hell on both sides, he can hurt his legs in high jumps, he runs away if he is startled. In short, as I said, Agro is a horse. The sword, which along with a handy bow makes for the arsenal, reflect sunbeams said to show the way. Or at least the right direction. When you know which way you are headed, suddenly the world feel very small. It does not take many minutes to get to each colossus but do not worry, that feeling will disappear pretty quickly. Not only are the giants usually very clever when it comes to hiding in the ruins, in the lakes and up on remote - almost inaccessible places, they also present a real challenge once you reach them. Although I always imagined that I got to a colossus and defeated it within fifteen minutes or so, it took much more than that in reality. A bit over thirty minutes per colossus makes for a decent length considering that there is sixteen of these bad boys to find and defeat.
"It is an amazing feeling to stand and look up at a colossus so big you think there should be clouds between you and the head of the beast."
Now then, these giants. Are they as brutal as I've heard? Is it like being an ant trying to kill an elephant? Yes. It is an amazing feeling to stand and look up at a colossus so big you think there should be clouds between you and the head of the beast. It is an even more astonishing feeling to realize that you somehow have to get up there and find a weak spot to bury your sword in. You utilize the surroundings, shoot arrows and crawl around to get the colossus to leave an opening to exploit. You often need to find a little "fur" (grass) - to be able to climb up to the enormous body and from there use all sorts of acrobatics to get to different key points (which are not always obvious or even unprotected) where you can do the most damage. There is two gauges at the bottom right of the screen that displays your life and strength. Both of them recover when you do not move, so instead of various herbs and potions you simply have to keep a low profile when you are in trouble. The strength decreases steadily when climbing, and even faster when the colossus tries to shake you off. This makes for a challenge of its own. Do I have the strength to go all the way to the other side? Should I stay here on this ledge until I recover completely? Do I have enough time for that? Where am I going exactly?
As I said before the enormous creatures hides in forests, on plains, in deserts, in the air, in lakes... You name it. They are virtually everywhere and although they all have pretty similar weaknesses (a light blue weak spot lights up when approaching with the sword, and it is most often located on the back or head) it still feels like every encounter is unlike the other. One minute I am jumping up on the wing of a birdlike colossus diving in for an attack, the next I am trying to make another bend down so I can climb up his beard.
When I first found out that there is only boss fights and no small enemies, and a relatively small map, I thought the game would be over in just a few hours. But when I was closing in on three hours of game time I had barely made it half way - which made me happy. The game is too sweet and cozy to be over so fast. But at the same time, it is probably not a game you can manage to play through in one sitting. Too much is too cute. Therefore, I was quite happy when my mediocre effort took me to the end after about nine hours. And when the end is closing in there is a few twists and turns that I do not want to spoil, so you have to discover the games secrets on your own.
