PS5 Update Fixes Backward Compatibility Issue

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A PlayStation 5 firmware update appears to have corrected a notorious backward compatibility bug in the Shadow of the Colossus PS4 remake. The PS5's backward compatibility with the PS4 is incredibly robust, supporting an "overwhelming majority" of games for Sony's last-generation console. Despite that, there are still some issues that haven't been corrected even two and a half years after the PS5's launch. That's why it's such a surprise that an issue with the Shadow of the Colossus remake has suddenly been addressed.

Shadow of the Colossus is a cult classic PS2 game originally made by Team Ico and Sony's Japan Studio. In 2018, Bluepoint Games released its updated version of Shadow of the Colossus, improved to make the iconic action-adventure game more palatable to new audiences. Yet when the PS5 launched, a strange bug cropped up when running the Shadow of the Colossus remake in backward compatibility mode. It's related to low-resolution textures failing to update to high-resolution textures as players looked at or drew near them.

The bug in Shadow of the Colossus on PS5 has persisted since the console's release with no improvements. Some players believed it to be an issue that Bluehole had to address, but couldn't due to lack of budget or focus on new projects. Imagine those players' surprise when the bug suddenly was resolved without Shadow of the Colossus itself receiving an update.

It appears that the latest PS5 system update may have made a fix to backward compatibility, or at least to the backward compatibility for Shadow of the Colossus specifically. There are no official patch notes clarifying whether a change has been made, unfortunately. There was a recent PS5 system update on April 19, said to improve software performance and stability. That could be the source of the Shadow of the Colossus fix.

Screenshots shared on Reddit capture just what the improvements look like in motion. A player shows multiple views of terrain in the Shadow of the Colossus remake. Prior to the fix, cobblestone roads and tiling within ruins would appear blurry and flat. After the fix, those textures are now high-resolution and have improved depth. It now looks like how Bluehole intended the remake to look, the same as it looked on the PS4 Pro.

The change isn't so significant that it will drive a new wave of players to Shadow of the Colossus, by any means. But for fans or new players who do choose to play the Shadow of the Colossus remake on PS5 going forward, the improvement is significant. As frustrating as it is that it took so long for the fix to be made, it's good to see that Sony did eventually address the problem.

Shadow of the Colossus is available now on PS4.