# Are the colossi bad in Shadow of the Colossus?

> No. The colossi are mostly peaceful guardians; each holds a piece of Dormin, and killing them is the game's real moral weight.

No. The colossi in Shadow of the Colossus are not villains. Most of them never attack until Wander provokes them, and several simply wander their part of the Forbidden Land. Each one holds a fragment of the entity Dormin, which was split into sixteen pieces and sealed inside them. Killing them is less a heroic quest than a sacrifice made for selfish, if understandable, reasons.

## What the colossi actually are

Wander brings the body of a girl named Mono to the Shrine of Worship and asks Dormin to bring her back. Dormin agrees on one condition: destroy the sixteen idols in the shrine, which can only be done by killing the colossi that embody them. The game never calls the colossi evil. They are best read as living seals or guardians that keep Dormin's power locked away.

The design reinforces that reading:

- **They are calm until disturbed.** Some, like the bird and fish-like colossi, ignore you at first.
- **Their deaths are mournful.** Each kill is followed by slow, somber music instead of a victory fanfare.
- **Wander pays a price.** After every fight he grows paler and darker, a visible sign that something is wrong.

## Who is the real "bad guy"?

That is the question the game leaves open. Dormin uses Wander to free itself and takes over his body at the end. Lord Emon, who arrives to stop the ritual, is the closest thing to an authority figure, and he seals Dormin away again. Wander himself breaks a taboo knowingly. The ending, where Mono wakes and finds an infant with small horns, suggests a cycle rather than a clean victory.

Many players read the story as a tragedy about how far love and grief can push a person, with the colossi as innocent casualties.

## FAQ

**Is Shadow of the Colossus a boss rush?**
Close to it. There are no regular enemies to fight; the game is sixteen colossus battles connected by exploration on horseback. Finding each colossus is part of the challenge.

**Who made Shadow of the Colossus?**
Team Ico, led by Fumito Ueda, released it on PlayStation 2 in 2005. Bluepoint Games remade it for PlayStation 4 in 2018.

**Why do people love Shadow of the Colossus?**
The scale of the battles, the climbing-based combat, the empty and quiet world, and the moral ambiguity of the story made it one of the most discussed games of its era.

**How old are the colossi?**
The game doesn't say. They are presented as ancient, created long before Wander's arrival to hold Dormin's power.

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https://gamevoyages.com/are-the-colossi-bad-in-shadow-of-the-colossus/ · Game Voyage · Checked 2026-10-30