WATCH: Shadow of the Colossus Devs Discuss Opening Cinematic

As the remake of otherworldly PlayStation 2 classic Shadow of the Colossus inches closer to release, developer Bluepoint Studios has shared its thoughts on the artistic direction present in the initial moments of the game.

We know that this is going to be remake, not a remaster. It won’t just look different, it will feel different when you’re playing it, too. Six months ago, Shuhei Yoshida clarified that Shadow of the Colossus would be re-entering the modern gaming arena with completely revamped assets and an updated control scheme that relies on current technology. Despite the technical improvements, Bluepoint’s art director Mark Skelton says the spirit of the original game will live on:

“We definitely wanted to encapsulate the original’s kind of hero’s journey. What he had to go through to get to the forbidden lands”

Skelton also mentioned that it was important to accurately capture the scale of Shadow of the Colossus so players can sense the vastness of the environments they’ll be exploring. Additionally, key scenes have been reanimated with more detail, and as a result, achieve heightened graphical fidelity; foliage now flutters in response to the wind’s caress, Agro’s footsteps displace patches of grass, rainwater now ripples in realistic fashion.

You can view the commentary below to listen to the developer insights directly.

Shadow of the Colossus is set to release on February 6 2018. You can pre-order it today for $39.99 USD.