25 Days of Villains - #8: Dormin

Following Barthandelus is another deity-level being. Dormin's presence is made known from the very start of the Wanderer's quest inside the Forbidden Land, but just what his role in everything is kept a secret until the very end.

His girlfriend dead, the Wanderer seeks out a legendary power, word of which has been passed down through his people for generations. However, this power lies in a land that has been deemed a forbidden place. There is hardly any life within its borders, but upon his arrival to the central temple, Wanderer is greeted by a bodiless voice that seemingly emanates from an opening in the ceiling of the temple where sunlight shines through. The voice tells Wanderer that he can bring the girl back to life, but only if Wanderer is able to slay the sixteen Colossi that roam the land. Determined to save his lover, Wanderer sets out on his horse Aggro, sword in hand.

While it isn't apparent right off the bat, Wanderer undergoes physical changes after defeating each Colossi. About halfway through his quest, it is easy to notice that the hue of Wanderer's skin has become more pale, almost grey. Before facing the last few Colossi, a cutscene is prompted, showing a group of masked men on horseback headed toward the Forbidden Land. Only after Wanderer defeats the final Colossi is it made apparent that these men are familiar with the main character, and warned him never to come here.

Thus is the game's big plot twist - Wanderer was not the knight in shining armor players were led on to believe. His aims are still to revive his lover, but the means to achieve that were dark and taboo. Knowing the severity of what Wanderer has done, the men try to kill him with sword and arrows, but it is already too late. With all sixteen of the Colossi slain, the voice from above is now freed, his sixteen pieces no longer sealed.

Dormin, as this deity is known, assumes the body of the Wanderer as his vessel for resurrection. He then proceeds to attack the men, knowing they are all that stands between him and the outside world. Despite his power, Dormin is only able to hinder their escape within the cramped spaces of the temple. The men make their way to the top of the spiral ramp, then turn to an enchantment as one last-ditch effort to defeat Dormin. This opens a portal within the pool of water at the bottom of the ramp and, despite their attempts to escape, both Dormin and the Wanderer are sucked in. The men leave, destroying the bridge, barring anyone from ever entering these lands again.

In the final moments of the game, it is revealed that the young girl has been brought back to life. Though Dormin kept his word, the Wanderer is no longer the man who brought his girlfriend to this temple. He is still alive, but in the form of a baby with horns on its head, implying Wanderer to be the first of the horned people in ICO. As for the fate of Dormin, things are not as clear. As Wanderer defeats each Colossi, a new shadowy figure is waiting in the temple. The enemies in ICO look similar, and it is possible that Dormin scattered in many smaller shadow beings after his defeat. It is also possible that his power merged with Wanderer, and that the horned people are a kind of human-demon hybrids.

Boss theme:

Since there is no actual boss battle against Dormin, the closest thing is the point where players assume control of him, attempting to stop the men from leaving the temple. The whole soundtrack to Shadow of the Colossus is gorgeous, and this track is no exception.

25 Days of Christmas - #2: Shadow of the Colossus

Ico was released in 2001 for the Playstation 2, and was a cult classic of sorts. The game focused heavily on scaling buildings and solving puzzles as the horned boy Ico attempted to rescue the mysterious Yorda from an evil queen and her shadow creatures. The game, though not very widespread, was received with much praise from those who did play it, and many hailed it as the Playstation 2’s equivalent of The Legend of Zelda.

In 2005, Sony released the prequel titled Shadow of the Colossus. Early footage showed the game to be focused around teamwork with other horned people as they attempted to climb aboard and slay a large moving creature. This beast appeared to be made of some sort of stone-like material, with long fur covering the majority of its body. The final product, though similar in design, put players in control of a lone character known as the Wanderer.

Shadow of the Colossus has an absolutely breathtaking opening sequence as the Wanderer’s journey to the forbidden land is chronicled. The sequence is completely devoid of dialogue, but is layered over by a beautiful and dark tune orchestrated by Koh Otani. As the Wanderer approaches the temple, players are given their first glimpse of the massive and open world that is the forbidden land. What they are unaware of, however, is just how empty the land truly is.


The story sets up rather simple. The Wanderer was in love with a girl who met an early death. He comes to the temple in the forbidden land in hopes of bringing her back to life by appealing to the deity of the forbidden land Dormin. Dormin agrees to help the Wanderer if he is able to slay the sixteen colossi that exist within the confines of the forbidden land. Not asking for any further instructions or elaboration, the Wanderer mounts his steed Aggro and rides off to slay his first foe.

As large as the first colossi is, he is in fact one of the smaller Colossi in the game. His build is humanoid and players will be required to perform the relatively easy task of climbing up his back in order to locate his glowing weak spot, which upon injury will profusely bleed a black liquid substance. The Wanderer, having slain the giant, is rewarded by the bizarre effect of having the black material from inside the colossus turn into rope-like appendages, and then throw themselves into his gut. If this seems incredibly odd or somewhat disturbing to anyone, I can’t help but agree. The game’s mysterious aspects are what make the overall story so impactful, as much of said story is reserved almost exclusively for the latter half of the game.

The colossi are incredibly varied in design, and although players will be using the same basic controls to defeat the behemoths, each battle requires a distinctly different strategy. The fifth colossus, Avion, is a huge bird that flies around a partially submerged set of buildings. Players must attract the colossi’s attention via arrows and leap onto the front of its wing as Avion attempts to swoop down and knock the Wanderer into the water. From there, Avion will do rolls in the air, attempting to fling the Wanderer off his wings. In contrast, reptilian colossi Kuromori is trapped within a colosseum-like structure, and scampers around the walls as he fires energy beams at the Wanderer. In order to take this colossus down, the Wanderer must shoot arrows into its feet, then jump onto its belly after it has rolled over to find the glowing weak spot. The colossi come in many different shapes and sizes, and each has its own attack to use against the Wanderer.


The control scheme is fairly simple. Players will use the square button to swing their sword and stab the colossi, while using the triangle button to jump. The R1 button is used to grab hold of the colossi’s fur or outcroppings on a building. Cycling between weapons is left up to the left and right D-pad buttons, the X button lets the Wanderer call to his horse Aggro, and the Circle button reflects light off the Wanderer’s sword to point him in the direction of the next colossi. The six main controls for the game make things fluid and intuitive, as players can memorize these rather quickly.

Some gamers may be turned off by the fact that there are only sixteen enemies in the entire game. I admit that I was somewhat skeptical at first, figuring the game would be easy to complete. Not so, as many of the colossi, regardless of what difficulty setting you are playing on – really pack a wallop. But instead of getting frustrated each time I died, I actually found it helpful, as it teaches you which approach works and which do not. As challenging as the game may be, it is also incredibly fair, dealing out fights that are intense but not impossible.

When not fighting the colossi, the Wanderer will spend a large amount of time travelling to reach them. Along the way, players can save the game at any one of the small prayer buildings. Also, players can sort of ‘level-up’ the Wanderer by collecting rare glowing lizard tails and grabbing fruit off trees. These will then improve the Wanderer’s maximum grip ability and health bar respectively.

In regards to the landscape, there is such variety in this huge land, it’s almost surprising that Sony managed to pack it all onto one disc. The massive ruins at the edge of the desert make an epic setting for the battle against the fifteenth colossi Argus. The graveyard-esque environment in which player fight the fourth colossi Phaedra, is almost completely devoid of architecture, and shows off the beauty of the natural environment. Players will travel to all sorts of areas, and from the empty city nestled deep within the jungle, to the geyser field where players must coax out ninth colossi Basaran, no two environments will ever look the same.


While the main game is a decent length, it still leaves something to be desired. Thus, Sony added a second playthrough in conjunction with a time trial mode. In this second time through the game, players can unlock new weapons and armor as they complete each time trial challenge. These can prove invaluable against the colossi, and loosen up the player’s dependency on fruit and lizard tails.

The art style of the game is some of the most hauntingly beautiful I’ve ever seen in a video game. Everything feels believable, yet still has an aura of fantasy about it. The lighting effects are quite possibly the best in any game from this past generation. While much of the game is constrained to a dark setting, it lets the mood of the game express itself freely to the player. Koh Otani has outdone himself again with a superb soundtracks. While the story does not pick up pace until the second half, it is masterfully written and tosses an amazing plot twist at players. Simply put, Shadow of the Colossus is Sony at their best, offering some of the most challenging and creative adventure gaming in years.