Shadow of the Colossus - Colossus 15 location and how to defeat the fifteenth colossus Argus, the Gorilla Colossus

How to find and defeat the fifteenth colossus.

Guide by Chris Tapsell Deputy Editor

Updated on March 16, 2018

Colossus 15 in Shadow of the Colossus, known as the fifteenth colossus Argus or the Gorilla Colossus, is one of the final ones you'll encounter, and although it looks like a fairly standard battle it's surprisingly tricky, too.

Here on this page you'll find our guide to the fifteenth colossus' location, as well as how to defeat Argus, the Gorilla Colossus once you find it.

Colossus 15 location and how to find the fifteenth colossus Argus, the Gorilla Colossus

Argus, the fan name for the fifteenth colossus that looks a lot like a Gorilla Colossus is located right in the far north-eastern reaches of the map.

To get there, it's actually slightly faster to take the bridge to the north of the Shrine of Worship that you get to by turning west as you exit down the steps, rather than the one to the east.

That's because on the eastern side of the huge central bridge in the sky, that divides the desert down the centre, you'll have your path blocked by the canyon that housed colossus number eleven. Instead, charge due north from that central natural bridge, keeping the aqueduct-style bridge just on your right. (If you find yourself on the right of it that's no problem, you just need to swing under it to the left to get around that canyon when you get to it).

When you get to the far north of the map, turn right and head due east. Soon you'll see a ruined, ancient castle forming up ahead.

It's a bit awkward to enter - it appears as though the entrance is blocked by a giant pile of crumbled rock - but just head to the right of that rock and round the back of it is a way onto the bridge, and into the fortress.

You'll have to hop off of Agro to jump up and around the fallen pillar that blocks your path, then just proceed straight on up the huge flights of stairs, until you reach a vast open space with walls and structures on either side.

Go right to the end of it, and there Argus will appear, its huge, black-furred hands pulling it up onto the ledge as it stands up in front of you.

How to defeat the fifteenth colossus Argus, the Gorilla Colossus

Argus is pretty massive - although not the largest colossus by some way - and although he looks a lot like earlier colossi that went down fairly easily, he's a tricky one.

The first thing to do is double all the way back to the entrance of the arena-like area that you're in, and then hop up onto the slightly raised platforms that run along either side of the area like curbs by a road.

Then, you need to bait Argus into attacking. It'll do it by itself, but an arrow or two towards the head will also do the trick.

The aim is to have Argus stamp on one of these platforms, which will move it to be sloped slightly upwards and allow you to jump up onto the zig-zagging staircase that's carved into the arena walls. You'll need to be on the very first slab of platform on either the left or right of the arena to be able to jump up when it's tilted.

Once you get up onto the staircase, climb it and you'll end up in a kind of corridor along the side of the arena, with one side adorned with arches that look out towards the giant Gorilla Colossus.

Your task now is to bait it into another attack with more arrows (Argus' eyes turn red when it's going to attack) until it takes a swipe at these archways.

Stay at the end of the corridor that's nearest to the staircase you just climbed. When it attacks, some more rocks should crumble down, adding to the piles that are already there, and you'll be able to jump on them to reach a ledge on the back wall, and keep climbing until you reach the next staircase.

That set of steps will take out to the very top of the structure, and at the far end, where the fifteenth colossus first appeared, you'll see two long thin bridges that cross the divide.

Stand on the end of that bridge - not in the middle! - and bait Argus over with more arrows. It'll take a huge swing, breaking the bridge, and a little more baiting will get it close enough for you to take a leap of faith onto its head or shoulders from the broken remains of the bridge that jut out towards it.

Now, it's time to go for the weak spots, of which there are two (a third, on the front-left of its chest, if you're on hard mode).

First, the top of the fifteenth colossus' head needs attacking, which will get it down to pretty low health as it is. Argus shakes violently between attacks, but like other colossi you can cancel the animation for its shaking if you get a quick stab in right before it does so.

For more tips, guides and detailed, step-by-step advice, be sure to try out our main Shadow of the Colossus walkthrough and guide can help you hunt down and kill every colossus, including the tricky Colossus 3, Colossus 8, Colossus 9 and Colossus 11. We also have explainers on all Agro tricks, how to find and use lizards and fruit and Enlightenments, and where to find a The Last Guardian Easter egg and all Shrine locations.

When that sigil fades, you need to get to the palm of its right hand - the one that's currently closed around the huge stone cleaver.

That means making it drop the cleaver first (although you can worm your way into a position to stab that sigil if you're a particularly agile player). To do so, climb down the back of its arm to the vulnerable spot that's leaking a blue and red haze.

Stab that a couple of times, and a cutscene will be triggered and Argus will drop the great cleaver it was wielding.

Now, you're free to work your way down its arm and onto the palm. You've probably been struggling with stamina so far - the best place to recover is on its upper back and shoulders, which can be reached with a couple of charged jumps, before you drop back down its arm.