The Last Guardian (2016)

The Last Guardian, Fumito Ueda's masterpiece 10 years in the making, is a seminal achievement in digital art. Telling the story of a small young boy and giant bird dog hybrid's quest to escape a stony prison in the sky, the entire 12 hour journey is an engrossing affair. The game really retains Shadow of the Colossus's titular Colossal scale, with a heightened sense of detail at each cliff edge and crumbling pillar, each precarious moment requires precise execution, and each scene is constructed to give a breathtaking view at each pause in the action. The design feels much like 2005's Shadow of the Colossus, but whereas that journey took place in a darker constant haze, The Last Guardian, takes place in a giant walled in crater bed, within an ancient skyscraping castle towering into the clouds up to the very top of the crater walls.

All throughout the game there are scenes of you as the child clinging onto the gigantic beast jumping from crumbing jenga pillars of the ancient city in an effort to gain elevation and eventually escape. The whole setting is evocative of the Mines of Moria in the Fellowship of the Ring, if only the mines were in the sky and 5 times taller with swirling clouds at each level. And yet what the game does best is actually much more subtle, maintaining a delicate balance of relaxation and peace and grandiose views and epic action sequences. Each is able to be maintained by neither feeling being insisted at anytime, the player is allowed to experience the adrenaline of climbing up the crumbling towers in one moment, and in the next be inquisitively exploring the environment for a way up.

Finally one can not finish a recommendation of the game without mentioning that it really makes a compelling argument for Video Games as an artistic medium, as your relation with the beast builds in a reactive way over the 12 hour journey, by feeding and stroking the beast to calm it down as well as holding on for dear life in moments of risk and jerking spears out of its side. This realistic way of building a bond with a character could only work in video games where active input is required to advance, rather than a novel or movie where such a passive experience could not convey the same meaning. This game will be remembered as a staggering achievement in design and storytelling in the years to come.

Despite some flaws in the controls and camera, I enjoyed playing The Last Guardian. I played it right after Shadow of the Colossus which was also made by Team ICO so naturally I will compare the two in many aspects.

I love the visual style of TLG, the interactions with Trico and the environmental puzzles. SotC was quite repetitive to me: ride Argo to look for a colossus, solving the puzzle of how to kill the colossus, kill it, and repeat for 16 times. In addition, the colossi puzzles were sometimes too hard to solve (at least for me), prompting me to look for solutions on the internet. More often than not, it was not because I didn’t know how to solve it but because my execution wasn’t good enough which made me feel dump.

For TLG, I was tempted to look for solutions a few times but resisted and eventually beat to the end without hints. This is in part due to my own efforts after the unsatisfactory feelings of playing SotC, but in a large part because the puzzles are better designed in my opinion.

I can’t say that I felt a strong bond towards Trico and I wasn’t deeply sadden by the ending like many people mentioned in their review. But I truly enjoy the game and I highly recommend everyone to try it. Like SotC, TLG is one of a kind.

P.S. I am sure someone has noticed it but I haven’t seen it anywhere. The name Trico is a fun play of words. Team ICO’s first game is ICO which I think it’s just 一個in Japanese (ikko, means “one piece of”) and it’s second game is Shadow of the Colossus a.k.a Project NICO which is 二個(niko, means “two pieces of”). By this logic, the third game should be called SANCO because of 三個 (sanko) but for some reasons they change it to follow Latin prefix of 3 or Tri- and therefore the Griffith or Chimera-like beast is called Trico. Transliteration of Trico in Japanese is トリコ (toriko) (which appears in the official Japanese title of the game: 人喰いの大鷲トリコ) and I think it is a combination of 鳥(tori, means “bird”) and 子 (ko, which is a cute way to call something). Anyway here I predict the next game of Team ICO is called Project YONCO (四個) or has something in the game called Yonco.

At the end, I want to recommend two analyses videos for TLG:

The frustration that is already stated in a bunch of other reviews has already been well articulated. I waited for this game. SotC and Ico were important games to me.

In a different era, or with more responsive play, or a better storyline (IMO) this game could be forgiven and loved for what it’s trying to do (and largely does).

But this is not a ps2 game, the story will not haunt me, and I’m not sure I ever had fun.

Interesting Concept, beautiful, but very skippable.

This game signifies the end of an era for video game development, so let the bells toll. For a time, there wasn't a distinction between Indie and AAA games. Video games as an art form is the youngest of all forms of expression. Most game studios were relatively small. This was due to the limitations of hardware. You didn't need a team of hundreds of coders and artists to compete with the latest release. It's one reasons why there has been an uprising in retro-style Indie games. They're just less complicated to make allowing a small team of motivated artists to deliver a polished product. Lucas Pope is a great example of creating something with artistic merit, though lacking the AAA spectacle.

Like with blockbusters, AAA games require millions of dollars making it a high risk but high reward scenario. This results in trend chasing, risk minimizing, and a formulaic approach. When you're betting that high, it's reasonable to play it safe. The issue is consumer perception. By buying and making these soulless games marketable, you are encouraging the gaming industry, or the film industry, to destroy art by conforming to trends rather than experimenting/revolutionizing the medium. Trend setting is left to the Indie developers, only to have AAA swoop in and exploit the next big trend they didn't invest to discover. Furthermore, there is a socially constructed stigma of what "high art" is. The polish you see in Marvel movies or a AAA game is what is socially perceived to be meaningful, despite being as vapid as the medium can be. It makes the average person more dismissive of less flashy content, though it could be more expressive, thoughtful and/or revolutionary compared to say Assassin's Creed or Avengers.

Team ICO has made some of the most interesting games that I would argue both transcend and leverage the medium to the fullest. ICO and Shadows of the Colossus (SoTC) are both brilliant in their own rights and adhere to a philosophy of minimalism. ICO is the best escort quest I have played while SoTC is one of the best adventure games. The Last Guardian, like it's predecessors, is ambitious. Fumito Ueda set out to make a game about building a bond with an animal. While that may sound like a simple premise, the execution was complicated.

He wanted to create an AI companion that felt like a living and breathing creature. The end result is a large bird-like sassy cat. It's kind of funny how often this bird-cat acts like a real cat, whether by design or bug. This adherence to this design philosophy can be reasonably levied as a criticism. There are plenty of times where Trico acts like a complete idiot, or just feels like being aloof and doing his own thing which can sow frustration to the player. If you quit because of this frustration, I wouldn't judge you. A game should be enjoyable, after all it is a GAME. Still, if you are willing to engage with this game on its terms, and not your own, there is a profound and heartfelt experience to be had.

I originally started playing this game back in 2018. I got about halfway through and just stopped. I picked the controller back up a few months ago and finished where I left off. I'm glad I did. This game made me cry; I can't remember the last time, if ever, a game did. I felt that Trico was a living and sentient being by the end and I cared about his well-being. This was accomplished through a slow burn adherence to creating a living AI companion. It had it's baggage, but it's worth pushing through and engaging with this game on its terms.

It's wild to think that for what felt like an eternity, this game was just lost in the ether, seemingly destined to never see the light of day. From the moment that The Last Guardian was first announced in 2009 to its release in 2016, fans like me who hold Ico and Shadow of the Colossus in incredibly high regard, were clutching tightly to every shred of information that leaked out. The years of silence felt interminable. And then, after several development shake-ups and points at which it seemed like all hope was lost, the game (shockingly) actually came out.

A full console generation late, The Last Guardian's reception was warm but weirdly muted. After so many years of waiting, and following up a masterpiece like Shadow, the expectations for this game were astronomical, and many people were understandably somewhat disappointed. Although Guardian has a lot of that same cryptic, ancient-feeling magic and adventurous gameplay mechanics that made Team Ico's other games instant-classic, this time around it came with the caveat that the game was essentially one large escort mission in which you spent the majority its duration wrestling with the unruly A.I. of a giant feathered beast. It was not for everyone.

I, for one, love this game and found that while it was difficult to communicate with the creature at times, that was kind of the point. It's essentially a prison break story which manages to pull off some spectacularly emotional and awe-inspiring moments through the lens of an unusual friendship. Everything mechanic in the game is meant to illustrate the forming of a connection between this small boy and this giant winged beast and the evolving, nuanced portrayal of their relationship is masterfully done. It's not as epic and bombastic as Shadow of the Colossus or as artistically revolutionary as Ico, but it still stands tall in this spiritual trilogy for the depth of the bonds that the game forges between its two main characters.

I'll start off with saying that, in another universe, I very may well have given this game 5 stars. But not in this one. I'll explain at the end.

So imagine this, you wake up at the bottom of an abyss with your dog who happens to be supersized (and winged). You don't know what's going on, but you know you probably have to get out of there. And so begins your journey in The Last Guardian.

Gameplay

The game is pretty linear. You have to progress by solving various puzzle with your giant chimera companion Trico. Honestly, Trico's really cute, but they're still a chimera of some sort. And when I say solve puzzles with Trico, I mean, you solve the puzzles alone and Trico kind of just does Trico things. Trico might wander onto the switch but they also might not. Actually I mention picturing your dog at the beginning of this review, but saying your cat might be a little more accurate. And that's because Trico really does seem to exhibit some cat-like indifference to your plight sometimes.

The thing is, that's why you picked up this game - to solve puzzles with a creature that has its own autonomy. The trouble comes in when you compound the inherent frustration of taking care of Trico with unintuitive camera angles and slippery controls. There were times when I wanted to throw something or move somewhere, but because of the imprecision of the controls or the odd camera angle, it made it just that much harder. It isn't necessarily pervasive throughout the whole game, but it happens so expect it.

The World

What saves the game is the environment and, of course, the character of Trico. As you travel through the castle ruins ensconced in this mysterious abyss, you learn more and more about the predicament you and Trico are in. When you first meet Trico, they are riddled with spears. Why were they attacked? And why are you here?

As you explore and meet the evils that inhabit the abyss, you quickly realize that you're going to need Trico's help to do or defeat anything. And thus a relationship of teamwork, nurturing guidance, and tension blooms. And that makes the game worth it, despite my qualms with the gameplay itself.

There are some really precious moments you'll experience with Trico. There are some moments of teamwork that just felt so unique and so satisfying that playing through the game for just one of them would have been worth it.

5 stars?

I say in my bio that I reserve 5 star ratings for games that fulfill expectations PLUS give me something I didn't know I was missing. This game does the latter. The relationship I got to build with Trico is like none other I've ever experienced in a video game. I'm not a parent, but maybe I got a taste of what it feels like to be one with this game. However, the disappointments with other parts of the game are enough to drag the score down for me.

Complete pain in the ass. Realism vs Gameplay is a fine line Ueda usually toes masterfully but completely fails at here. Controlling this mongrel of a beast is one of the worst experiences i have ever had in a game. The plot does nto make up for the gameplay, which feels like playing QWOP with my testicles.

Also, usually Ueda is chill about HUDS. Ico had none and Shadow's was minimal. But here i guess he started snorting crack during development and completely reversed his prior stance. It has a completely insufferable narration where it narrates everything that happens, and passive aggresively backseat games (it is in the pOV of the MC from the future, so shit like 'I realised i was going the wrong way, and went to the left instead etc), and annoying tutorials that appear literally every 5 seconds. Im 3 hours into the game, i know how to fucking jump. Shut up. The game feels like Ueda, but barely. It feels like Shadow Ueda. Like Ueda got possessed by his evil siamese twin who tried to sabotage the game. And i hate to say it, but it worked. 9 fucking years for this. Man

I wanted to love it as much as I loved Ico, as much as I marvelled at Shadow of The Colossus.

I just couldn’t.

It’s beautiful and well constructed, tugs at the heart strings but the controls just won’t let it live up to its full potential. Animation issues and clipping problems are distracting, but it’s the touchy/overtly nonresponsive control scheme that really chafes.

Gameplay: 3.75 /5 Story: 4/5 Presentation: 4 /5

Basis:

Story= plot progression, intrigue, characters, world

Gameplay= Mechanics, gameplay options (freedom), repetition, goals, difficulty

Presentation= graphics, animation, environment/character design, Art direction, Script, music

The game uses minimalism in all its forms. Level design, game mechanics, and storytelling. They all gave you just enough to make the game fun and impactful. I am a fan of two character-driven stories such as The Last of Us and the new God of War. This round through though was a journey with unspoken words. Yes the boy does speak, but not a language that I understand. The language they spoke was with their bodies and actions. The relationship starts tense but grows into an unbreakable bond. Though it doesn't happen without a great struggle first.

At times the gameplay did get a bit redundant and the accuracy of giving the beast commands got aggravating at times. It is a short enough play through that by the time it gets bland the exciting stuff starts. And just afterward the story concludes.

The way the beast and the boy functioned was beautiful. It all felt natural from the fear of jumping into the water to the playful catlike mannerisms that the beast shows throughout the game. There were times where the beast's head would go through some walls, but most of the time the game was accurate to its physical space. Forcing the beast to animate differently as spaces got gradually smaller.

Overall a great piece of art and pretty fun experience. Some challenging puzzle-solving mixed in with a great minimalistic story. Highly recommend if you enjoyed titles such as The Shadow of Colossus and Ico. Moderately recommend if you like puzzle games and story-focused games.

The Last Guardian isn't of the likes of Shadow of the Colossus, let's get that straight.

Is it good? It's not just good, it's a tearjerker with gameplay that, however finnicky its AI may be, wraps a powerful and engaging narrative with its mechanics surprisingly well, creating an unforgettable playthrough.

Playing as a child who discovers a shackled bird-beast-horned-thingamabob, you slowly learn to incorporate your basic movements of climbing, throwing, and hanging to help out the creature, feeding it barrels and leading it through a series of gorgeous environments. The visuals themselves evoke an amazingly gorgeous detail that can be adequately described as a current-gen ICO, with dramatic lighting and mysterious ruins abound.

As for the main meat of the game, it mostly requires patient guiding of your beast friend (Trico) on pathways out of the ruin. Can it be frustrating? A bit. Less of a straight-up action game, The Last Guardian requires patience for an AI that feels remarkably alive, right on down to curiously perching on surfaces, violently reacting to threats, and positively reacting to a good pet.

When the player goes through the game, they discover skills of their own and new challenges (no spoilers now) that wrap into the story ever so well. The contextual directions can seem a bit bothersome at first, but they do come in handy from time to time, plus the occasional narration that acts as a small hint system.

If you are to play this game, do it for the story. Have some patience for Trico, and this game will move you like it was a true classic. And if you enjoy leading an AI through harrowing encounters and perils, it's an honest-to-goodness classic.

I just finished The Last Guardian, and it was great. It was definitely worth the 15 year wait or however long it was.

The world of TLG feels familiar, it feels like it's set in the same world from Team ICO's two previous games. But this time there's so much more detail and richness in the environments. It's all very grand and impressive, as we've come to expect from the dev.

It's hard to class this game into a specific genre, it's really just a "Team ICO game" and it has a similar immersive feeling to their prior games. It's very heavy with storytelling and utilises some groundbreaking mechanics. Each game from this dev has offered some type of original gameplay element and it's always very surprising and innovative. In this game, that gimmick is Trico, the weird dog-eagle-cat-deer-griffon-dragon creature thingy. In this game you play as a young boy and you meet this creature. For the entire game you're progressing with the help of Trico. The whole game is basically interacting with this AI-controlled being, finding new ways to interact and to work together to reach certain places, solve puzzles, defeat enemies, etc.

The star of the show is Trico. The surprising thing about this game is the sheer amount of detail, realism and emotion in Trico. It truly feels like you're interacting with a real giant puppy thing. There's so much expression in his subtle little movements, his cute face, his sounds, you very quickly start to feel a special bond with Trico. He reacts to you in interesting ways, you can literally spend hours just fooling around with him and seeing what he does in various situations. It's great stuff.

The game is set in these huge ruins that stretch from horizon to horizon, gigantic towers, bridges, caves, structures, etc. The scale of the world is impressive and it's all so seamless. There aren't loading screens at any point and many of these set pieces are jaw dropping. The world seems entirely consistent too: you'll see some interesting landmark in the far-off distance, and later on you'll be exploring that place with Trico. Though note that the game is entirely linear: you move from area to area advancing the story as you work your way through.

I have a few minor complaints about this game. Firstly, the game has been in development for decades, and in some ways it shows. Occasionally you'll notice a low-res texture, or certain models that feel more PS3 than PS4. But Trico himself feels fully next gen so really the rest is just window dressing. On the PS4, with boost mode, I still noticed low FPS during certain areas/scenes, and the game is extremely choppy on a normal PS4, the non-pro model really struggles with FPS. I wouldn't recommend playing this on the base PS4. Another last-gen artefact is QTEs! That's one thing I didn't enjoy, having to mash my controller during QTEs during every enemy encounter. My final gripe is the controls: sometimes it's difficult to get the boy to do what you want him to do, other times it's frustrating to get Trico to do what you want him to do.

But on this last point, I'll let the game off. Most of the time, you just feel like a clumsy little boy, struggling to get your pet puppy to do his tricks during dog obedience. So for the most part these issues feel like intentional design choices rather than buggy controls.

Overall it's a great story, well told, and it was so magical to go on this emotional rollercoaster with Trico. The ending is so moving, I won't confirm whether I cried a little bit or not. Maybe just a little bit. The story and how it proceeds, it plays better than most movies I've seen. And towards the end as you figure out the mystery of these ruins!! But I won't say anything more, you'll have to play it for yourself. Also, Trico feels real to me, so I think I'll have to re-play it so that I don't get separation anxiety! :'<

For the record, I have not played team Ico's previous two games: Shadow of the Colossus and Ico. Therefore, nostalgia has not effected my review of this game.

The Last Guardian is a wonderful adventure that is only let down by technical issues and questionable design choices. The player controls a young boy who awakes in a cave to find a wounded creature named Trico. What unfolds is a heart-warming and emotional story between man and beast. It has to be said, Trico is the star of 'The Last Guardian, and is a remarkable achievement for Team Ico. I have never felt attached to a video game character as I have with Trico. The creature's animations are fantastic and there were times that I completely forgot that Trico is a video game character. As a puzzle game, 'The Last Guardian' also succeeds. Puzzles are varied enough and you never really feel like you're repeating the same puzzle time and time again. Music can be overlooked in video games, but Takeshi Furakawa's score is beautiful to behold and is one of the best scores I have heard in a while.

The Last Guardian's troublesome development cycle has been well documented and unfortunately the final product does feel like a game that has been tortured. The experience is mired with mind-boggling controls and camera issues. At times, controlling the boy feels clunky, causing the player to make frustrating mistakes. On many occasions you will find yourself in narrow passages but with your large feathery friend beside you there is no room for the camera to operate proficiently. These issues alone are enough to take the player out of the experience and I'm sure for many they are enough to stop the journey altogether. However, if you can persist, the pay off is worth it. As a whole, 'The Last Guardian' has produced some of my favourite moments in video game history and I implore all those who are looking for a strong narrative in their games to seek it out.