Shadow of the Colossus' game play basically boils down to figuring out the means to get to a vital spot, the puzzle, and then actually getting to the spot, which is a mix of crawling and jumping, platforming. The sword usage is either puzzle oriented (hitting the bones on the thunder colossi's head to steer it) or stabbing a colossi's vital spot (which is basically the equivalent of pushing a button). There is no slashing, parrying, or anything that would make the most simple sword fighting game. For example some very simple sword fighting games are the Zelda's, but you are doing a combination of slashing/stabbing/jumping, while Colossus is just stabbing vital spots for damage. The colossi have the context of a fight, but you are not actually fighting as much are you are solving a puzzle. They are more complex versions of jumping and running across platforms to prevent taking damage or getting knocked off. Even the bow operates in a similar vain, you shoot to pop air sacs so it gets closer to the ground or the eyes so it crashes into the wall (ie it is a puzzle mechanic) or you get a colossi's attention so you can jump on it (platforming).
Essentially, it is like taking out the enemies in Uncharted, only having the traversal with the occasional gun usage for getting through areas, yet still calling it a third-person shooter.
The adventure might come from the open world, but it is so empty that it is basically just a collection of independent levels spread out over an area. It makes for a beautiful and interesting way to handle levels, but each colossi is still essentially separated like a level. If a 2D Mario had a flat overworld with pipes to each world throughout instead of the classic map, it would not be an adventure game since the actual game are the levels.
I do understand that the action-adventure label is easier to market off of, this is purely from a stance of what best describes the game. Also, labels are important, we are reliant on them as giant blobs of information are hard to impossible to gain insight from. They may never be 100% correct, but having the most accurate possible has use.
Essentially, it is like taking out the enemies in Uncharted, only having the traversal with the occasional gun usage for getting through areas, yet still calling it a third-person shooter.
The adventure might come from the open world, but it is so empty that it is basically just a collection of independent levels spread out over an area. It makes for a beautiful and interesting way to handle levels, but each colossi is still essentially separated like a level. If a 2D Mario had a flat overworld with pipes to each world throughout instead of the classic map, it would not be an adventure game since the actual game are the levels.
I do understand that the action-adventure label is easier to market off of, this is purely from a stance of what best describes the game. Also, labels are important, we are reliant on them as giant blobs of information are hard to impossible to gain insight from. They may never be 100% correct, but having the most accurate possible has use.
