He isn't a hero. Not really. When you first take control of Wander in Shadow of the Colossus, you're struck by how small he looks. He's just a scrawny kid in a poncho, dragging a heavy sword through the sand while his horse, Agro, trots faithfully behind. He isn't some legendary warrior with a destiny to save the world. He’s a desperate guy who broke every law of his people to bring a girl back to life.
That’s the hook. That’s why we’re still talking about this game twenty years after Fumito Ueda and Team Ico released it on the PlayStation 2. Most protagonists in gaming are built to make you feel powerful. Wander is built to make you feel guilty. Every time you bring down one of those majestic, skyscraper-sized creatures, the music doesn't swell with triumph. It mourns. It weeps. You watch Wander get consumed by darkness, bit by bit, and you realize you're the one pulling the trigger.
The Problem with Wander’s Mission
Lord Emon warns him. Right at the start, the high priest makes it clear that the price for using the Forbidden Lands' power is heavy. But Wander doesn't care. He strikes a deal with Dormin, a multi-voiced entity trapped in the Shrine of Worship, to slay sixteen colossi. The prize? Mono, a girl sacrificed because of a "cursed fate," gets her soul back.
It's a classic "deal with the devil" scenario, but it feels different because you're the one doing the dirty work.
You aren't killing monsters that are attacking villages. Most of these colossi are just chilling. The fifth one, Avion, is a bird-like titan circling a lake. He won't even look at you until you shoot an arrow at him. You’re the aggressor. Every time a colossus dies, black tendrils erupt from its corpse and impale Wander. He passes out, wakes up back at the shrine, and looks a little worse for wear. His skin gets paler. His hair gets darker. Small horns start to poke through his forehead. By the time you’re halfway through the game, Wander looks like a corpse walking.
How Wander in Shadow of the Colossus Redefined the Protagonist
Usually, when you level up in a game, your character gets cooler armor or a bigger sword. Wander just gets more cursed. It’s a brilliant bit of "ludo-narrative" design. The game mechanics tell the story better than any cutscene could.
Think about the grip meter.
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That little pink circle is the heartbeat of the game. When Wander is hanging onto the fur of a thrashing stone giant three hundred feet in the air, that circle shrinks. You feel his desperation. You feel his fingers slipping. It’s a physical manifestation of his willpower. Honestly, it’s stressful. You aren't playing as a god; you’re playing as a human being who is way out of his depth.
The Evolution of the Design
The developers at Team Ico (and later Bluepoint Games for the PS4 remake) spent an insane amount of time on Wander’s animations. He stumbles. He trips over uneven terrain. When he swings his sword, it looks heavy and clumsy. He’s a far cry from the acrobatic grace of characters like Link or Kratos. This was intentional. Ueda wanted players to feel the "weight" of the world.
Some people find the controls clunky. I get that. But the clunkiness is the point. If Wander moved like a superhero, the stakes would vanish. You need to feel that he is physically struggling to keep his grip on the world—and his morality.
The Moral Ambiguity of the Forbidden Lands
There's a lot of debate in the fandom about whether Wander knew what he was doing. Was he just a naive kid, or was he selfish?
I think it's both.
He clearly loves Mono, but his love is destructive. He’s willing to destroy an entire ecosystem of ancient beings to fix a tragedy that might have been better left alone. The Forbidden Lands aren't just a playground; they’re a prison. By killing the colossi, Wander is literally breaking the locks on Dormin’s cage.
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- The Colossi are the fragments of Dormin’s soul.
- Wander acts as the vessel to reunite those fragments.
- The ritual is a trap, and Wander is the willing bait.
The Agro Factor
We can't talk about Wander without talking about Agro. That horse is the only source of comfort in the entire game. The bond between them is one of the most effective relationships in gaming history because it isn’t scripted. It’s built through miles of riding across silent plains. When the "accident" happens near the end of the game—you know the one, at the bridge—it hits harder than any death in a high-budget RPG. It leaves Wander completely alone for the final confrontation. It strips away his last piece of humanity before the transformation is complete.
What Most People Miss About the Ending
The ending is a gut punch, but it’s also weirdly hopeful. After Wander is possessed by Dormin and subsequently "cleansed" by Lord Emon’s spell, he’s sucked into the pool at the back of the shrine.
But he doesn't stay dead.
Mono wakes up, finds a horned baby in the pool, and carries him to the secret garden at the top of the tower. This baby is Wander, reborn. He gets a second chance, but he carries the physical mark of his sins—the horns. This directly ties into Ico, suggesting that Wander is the ancestor of the horned boys who are locked away generations later. It’s a cycle of karma. His "victory" saved Mono, but it cursed his bloodline forever.
The Technical Wizardry Behind the Character
Back in 2005, what Team Ico did was basically magic. They used "Inverse Kinematics" to make sure Wander’s feet always planted correctly on the shifting, moving surfaces of the colossi. If a colossus tilted its head, Wander’s body reacted realistically.
They also used a fake form of HDR (High Dynamic Range) lighting to make the world feel ethereal and washed out. It gives the Forbidden Lands a dreamlike quality. When you look at the 2018 remake by Bluepoint, they kept that atmosphere but dialed the detail up to 11. You can see the individual threads in Wander’s tabard and the dirt under his fingernails.
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Strategies for Playing Wander Effectively
If you're jumping into the game for the first time (or the tenth), there are a few things that make the experience better.
- Don't rush the kills. Spend time watching the colossi. Each one has a "tell" or a specific environmental trigger.
- Hunt the lizards. The white-tailed lizards found at save shrines increase your stamina (that grip meter). It makes the late-game climbs way less frustrating.
- Eat the fruit. You'll find trees with glowing fruit. Shooting them down and eating them increases your health bar.
- Listen to the music. Kohei Tanaka’s score is a masterpiece. The music changes based on whether you’re winning or losing. If the music drops out, you’re in trouble.
The Legacy of a Tragic Icon
Wander remains a blueprint for "show, don't tell" storytelling. He barely speaks. He has no internal monologue. Yet, we know exactly who he is by the way he holds his sword and the way he looks at Mono’s lifeless body. He’s a reminder that heroism isn't always about doing the right thing; sometimes, it’s just about how much you’re willing to lose for the person you love.
The game doesn't give you a "Good Ending" because there isn't one. There’s just the consequence of a choice. Wander chose love over the world, and he paid for it in full.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you've finished the game and are looking for more, don't just put the controller down. There is a whole world of "Secret Seekers" who have spent decades looking for hidden content in the game.
- Find the 79 Gold Coins: In the PS4 remake, Bluepoint added a hidden quest. Collecting all 79 Enlightenment Gold Coins unlocks the Sword of Dormin. It’s a grueling scavenger hunt, but it’s the ultimate tribute to the game’s mystery.
- Try the Hard Time Attacks: Beating the colossi within the time limit unlocks special items like the Whistling Arrow or the Mask of Power. It changes the way the game feels, turning a somber journey into a tactical challenge.
- Visit the Secret Garden: You can actually climb the Shrine of Worship to reach the garden from the ending. It requires a massive amount of stamina, usually only achievable after multiple playthroughs.
Wander's journey is a lonely one, but it’s a trip every gamer should take at least once. It’s a masterclass in atmosphere and a heartbreaking look at what happens when we refuse to let go.
Source References:
- The Making of Shadow of the Colossus, Team Ico interviews (2005-2006).
- Bluepoint Games Technical Blogs on the 2018 Remake.
- Design Works: Fumito Ueda, architectural and character design archives.
To fully appreciate the world Wander inhabits, consider exploring the environmental storytelling of Team Ico's other works, Ico and The Last Guardian, which share the same DNA and subtle narrative connections. For those interested in the technical side, researching the "Fur Shaders" used on the original PS2 hardware provides incredible insight into how the developers pushed the limits of 2000s technology.