Shadow of the Colossus boasts some of the most inspiring monster designs in gaming, and there were originally almost 50 Colossi in the early stages of development. Now, a number of images of these missing monsters have been leaked and they are absolutely awesome.
Moe, the 4chan user that shared these files from a developer's binder, has offered an enviable insight into the iterations of one of the most important games for the PlayStation 2. The story is told through a vision of the world's past, explaining how the Forbidden Land is a remnant of an ancient civilisation that asked for too much. Part of what made Shadow of the Colossus so intriguing was its ambiguity and, in and among the leaked images of the unused Colossi, there is a document detailing the game's storyboard and expanded lore.
This has set the community of players alight with the depth of the history and the extent of Team Ico's ambitions before technical restrictions curtailed its original plans for the game. For example, there's a spider crab-like Colossus that would have towered over Wander. And, the terrifying worm Colossus would have coiled like a rattlesnake, lurking in quicksand that would swallow the player whole if they weren't careful.
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There's also a folder with scans of the map of the game's world with its locations and planned biomes and relief. And, a chat with one of the developers reveals even more about the beloved game. The Phoenix Colossi was left out owing to memory issues on the PlayStation 2 and the time frame of the project. However, it would have been a monster with fire inside of its body and the battle would have taken place inside a volcanic caldera.
Moreover, the Monkey Colossi would have been found in a cave where it would have broken enormous stalactites from the rock and thrown them at the player. Again, this required a lot of space to achieve properly and its movement never worked out given what Team Ico had at its disposal at the time.
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Some of these ideas were repurposed for other Colossi, however, it's a cool glimpse into the development of an influential game and how the vision of a virtual world is realised.
Featured Image Credit: Team IcoTopics: PlayStation