"The price you pay may be heavy indeed"
-I've pretty much never played a game that pulls off such a dramatic sense of scale. At times it seems like every visual element that was programmed into the game was carefully calculated to convey the feeling that you're about to get stepped on by something very, very big.
-The developers used a subtractive design method while working on Ico, and it's plain to see that they used something similar here. It's very minimalist. In other words, there is nothing in this game that doesn't have a specific purpose, and oftentimes the story is less about the dialogue than what goes unsaid by it's characters. A very interesting and unique way to design a game in my opinion.
-An ending with room for multiple interpretations.
-Overall, probably the best boss battles I've ever come across in a single game. Indeed, it is safe to say that the entire game is basically a series of puzzle-like boss battles.
-A very cinematic orchestral soundtrack that keeps the action tense.
-Excellent graphics with even more utilization of the bloom lighting effects the developers introduced in Ico, additionally, each location feels fresh and fun to explore.
Bad:
-It's short, I think I finished it in about 15 or so hours and I was taking my time. But make no mistake - what Shadow loses due to brevity it easily makes up for with awesomeness.
-Some of the battles can become extremely repetitive and once you know the secret or trick to beating each one your excitement will inevitably begin to wane. (I can't tell you how many times I climbed up to the walkways on the second to last boss, maybe I'm just a bad player but that boss alone took me about 2 or 3 hours)
I greatly enjoyed playing Ico but I think Shadow was just a little bit better. Can't wait to see how The Last Guardian turns out.