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REVIEW: THE LAST GUARDIAN (PS4)

14/12/2016

28 Comments

 
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I read a while back that the reason dogs are so loving is that they evolved to have empathy, so that they wouldn't be abandoned by the human tribes they were a part of. They're not just nice for the sake of being nice; their niceness is a legitimate survival trait.

Yes, often dogs will lose their minds, and still do what they want - especially if there's food involved - but you only have to look at them a certain way, or use a particular tone of voice, and they'll slink off to their bed with their ears plastered against their head.

I used to own a lurcher called Finn, who was the most neurotic animal I've ever known. He seemed to exist in a constant state of neediness, always looking to me for reassurance, as if he was worried that he'd done something wrong. His almost constant anxiety-induced flatulence was something I'd never want to inflict on another human being. 

Nonetheless, I love a bit of neediness, so consequently I loved Finn, and I'm very much a dog person. Unfortunately, I also really hate faeces. Call me weird if you must, but I hate picking it up, I hate smelling it, and I hate treading in it. If you're a dog owner, these three things are unavoidable.

It's different with cats. I get absolutely no love from either of mine, let alone acknowledgment that I even exist most of the time (unless it's time for them to be fed). But at least they do all their shitting in next door's kid's sandpit.
PictureJUST JUMP FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!!!!
REMAIN NAMELESS
In The Last Guardian, you play a nameless boy who - echoing the famous parable about the guy who removes a thorn from a lion's foot - rescues a giant cat-bird-dog-dragon-thing, called Trico, from near-death.

The pair almost immediately become inseperable - Trico acting as your companion and protector, as well as the device you must use to solve the game's puzzles.

While there are elements of platforming, that is what The Last Guardian is at its heart: a puzzle game. Trico's weight, his lightning bolt-firing tail, and hunger for barrels of glowing stuff, are utilised in various different ways to keep you moving forwards.

At other times, it's up to you to clear a path for Trico to reach areas otherwise inaccesible to a massive wild animal, or remove obstacles which stop him in his tracks with fear. 

Beneath the actual videogame-y aspects, this is as much about the relationship between the player and Trico. It's a beautiful game, but that beauty is never more evident than in how real Trico feels. He seems aware of the world around him, veering from gentleness to aggression like any animal. And he cares about you, the player. The relationship develops from wary interest, to inseperable bond, and it - along with the art design - is The Last Guardian's most successful element.

Also: Trico has a surprisingly detailed anus.

CONFESS... CONFESS!
Here's something I need to confess: I don't share everyone's love of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus (the two previous, much-lauded, games from the same team as The Last Guardian.

I get that they're unique, beautiful, works of art... but as video games they were hobbled by awkward controls and a dodgy camera.

For me, a game works best when you forget about the controls altogether, and you don't have to think about them. If you're constantly being pulled out of the fantasy because you're wrestling to understand what's happening, or getting frustrated by what you're trying to do, then that pulls against any amount of artistry. It stops it being immersive.

Unfortunately, The Last Guardian suffers this very same issue. Coupled to that, not only are the controls leaden with imprecise momentum, but much of the game is about trying to solve puzzles, while attempting to get a giant cat-bird-dog-dragon-thing to go and do what you want. And often I'll have solved a puzzle - after much irritation with the camera and the controls - and the giant cat-bird-dog-dragon-thing still needs all manner of coaxing to follow me.

​And by "coaxing" I mean "swearing impotently and waiting until he decides to be where I need him to be".
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FEEL-UPS
The Last Guardian is one of those games that I feel - as someone who loves video games - that I should love.

I had the same issue with Ico and Shadow of the Colossus; beautiful, singular, experiences quite unlike anything else, with an atmosphere of melancholic isolation, which for me verged on being a bit dull.

​The Last Guardian completes a trilogy that is linked stylistically, if not in terms of its shared world.

I just wonder how much more would I have loved those games if they'd made a few more concessions to accesibility? Imagine an Ico or Colossus with Nintendo's guiding hand. There are things wrong with the gameplay here that would never have made it past Shigeru Miyamoto's quality assurance tests, and - I believe - shouldn't be present in The Last Guardian.

Say what you like about the art design, the concept, the relationship between you and Trico... but those flaws make this a less good video game than it could've been. Hats off to them for making a video game creature which feels real. Fewer plaudits for Trico always being off shitting in next door's kid's sandpit when I needed him to be jumping over a chasm.

SUMMARY: Animals and videogames aren't always a good mix.
SCORE: Four legs out of seven, whatever that means.

FROM THE ARCHIVE:
THE BEST THINGS I EVER GOT FOR CHRISTMAS - BY MR BIFFO
​
2016 IN REVIEW PART TWO: NINTENDO
​
2016 IN REVIEW PART ONE - VIRTUAL REALITY
​
++ LETTERS ++ LETTERS ++ LETTERS ++
​

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28 Comments
Peanut Grab
14/12/2016 09:56:41 am

I absolutely disagree with reference to SotC controls, I loved the feel of momentum and weight they convey. If that makes it harder to control than another game., that's because you're climbing on the back of a towering monstrosity, it should be difficult. It's not a matter of having to think about the controls every few seconds so much as just learning how they work. I'm delighted he didn't bend to the lazy gamer's whims here.

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Derider
14/12/2016 10:26:33 am

I really didn't have much trouble getting Trico to do what I wanted. I was honestly a bit disappointed he wasn't more unruly at first, as I had read in previews. There was one section where he wouldn't climb on a ledge for a while (until I had to look up that was indeed the right thing to do), but that's it

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Trico
14/12/2016 11:24:51 am

BLEAT

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Do you see?
14/12/2016 01:47:45 pm

'Hats off to them for making a video game creature which feels real. Fewer plaudits for Trico always being off shitting in next door's kid's sandpit when I needed him to be jumping over a chasm.'

An obedient automaton hardly feels like a real living creature though...

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Mr Biffo
14/12/2016 02:33:17 pm

Then maybe they should've found a balance, or not bothered with trying to make it real! I might've enjoyed it more.

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See, do you?
14/12/2016 03:24:31 pm

On the one hand you seem to be saying your enjoyment of the game hinges on the incredibly lifelike and real seeming Trico, but then you don't like it that he isn't immediately obedient - much the same as your mischievous cats, he is prone to ambling about and doing his own thing.

I only say this because I really didn't experience much of the wandering off at all. The only time Trico left the area I wanted him to be in was when he was following me when I myself was lost; even then, I could've told him to 'sit'. I wanted him MORE feral and curious. I know there's a surplus of barrels to be found in game, I wonder if the more you feed him the more obedient he is?


Life-like Trico was by far and away the most important aspect for me. 'Solid' games are ten a penny, and frankly boring to play without some sort of control gimmick that will affect gameplay (see: all Mario/Nintendo games (other than Ueda, Suda is the only dev I can think of that addresses this, by supposedly deliberately making his games 'janky' to reflect a 'punk' ethos)). You'd be turning this game into something far less than it is by compromising the authenticity of Trico for something as tawdry as more immediate feedback imo

Argo
14/12/2016 01:49:45 pm

NEIGH

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Yorda
14/12/2016 02:05:10 pm

....!

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T-Wigs
14/12/2016 02:14:59 pm

Definitely agree with Nintendo's guiding hand point. After playing and really enjoying SotC, I always thought it would have made for great Zelda bosses or side quests. Upon playing Twilight Princess on the Gamecube later that year, I thought those kind of bosses and side quests were exactly what it was lacking.

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biscuits
14/12/2016 02:34:21 pm

Interesting you should say that, because the SotC influence in Twilight Princess is very apparent imo. A couple of the bosses seemed to be direct 'tributes'

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T-Wigs
15/12/2016 05:40:56 pm

Twilight Princess had some cool, large bosses but they were way too easy and it wasn't hard how to figure out how to defeat them. It was similar to SotC due to the fact that the overworld was similarly empty, without much to do besides the main story.

Kelvin Green link
14/12/2016 06:58:26 pm

It's interesting that you say that because one of the things I liked about SotC was that it felt like a Zelda game without the boring dungeon bits.

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Kelvin Green link
15/12/2016 08:00:52 am

Ha, I didn't realise what I did there. No sarcasm intended. Oops.

T-Wigs
15/12/2016 05:51:55 pm

You agree below that Twilight Princess was amazing and yet without the boring dungeon bits, there wasn't much more to it in my opinion. Good to see we like these games for different reasons, proves their broad appeal really!

Kelvin Green link
15/12/2016 07:20:51 pm

There are degrees of amazing. ;) I liked TP a lot but I don't think it was anywhere as good as SotC.

Col. Asdasd
14/12/2016 11:03:01 pm

Interesting you should say that because Twilight Princess is fucking amazing

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Kelvin Green link
15/12/2016 07:50:09 am

You're not wrong there.

T-Wigs
15/12/2016 05:46:53 pm

I found it disappointing personally, it was too linear and easy for my liking compared to other LoZ games. After playing SotC and expecting more from Twilight Princess, it didn't help that I played Okami after that and it was my favourite of the three!

Duncan Fegredo link
14/12/2016 03:35:40 pm

I've yet to play but inevitably will, this after all is the game I purchased a PS3 for, sigh. I'm actually heartened by your review, I loved both Ico and Shadow and agree with much of what you say about camera control issues with both. I guess as a result I actually expected the same to be the case with this outing, as if it was a feature in itself. Obviously its not but I suppose I'm willing to overlook such issues for a similarly wonderful experience.
It's like visiting that place you've admired in guidebooks only to discover that nobody ever mention the sewage plant just out of sight, it is what it is, enjoy the view but don't breathe too deeply.

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Mega Arse
14/12/2016 04:38:50 pm

The control issues are wildly exaggerated

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Duncan Fegredo
14/12/2016 06:14:40 pm

Good, but its a no brainer purchase regardless :)

Kelvin Green link
14/12/2016 07:01:10 pm

I also bought a PS3 to play this. I wonder how many did?

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Mr Biffo
14/12/2016 08:24:47 pm

If you know what roughly what you're getting from it you'll probably love it. It's a beautiful game, and unique... just not my cup of tea, I guess.

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Duncan Fegredo
14/12/2016 09:13:29 pm

I think that's about right. I completely understand the frustration of lush visuals broken by interface and camera though.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! link
14/12/2016 04:18:02 pm

I named my cat after Ico. I loved that sense of isolation and otherness, and I just thought any control difficulty was my general gaming uselessness or part of the game - something to be overcome. I did find Yorda (especially on subsequent playthroughs) to be wilful and never where I needed her to be though.

I have Shadow, but have never played it because the idea of killing innocent creatures just doesnt appeal to me. It sits on the shelf mocking me that I'm missing out on a great game, but I just can't bring myself to play it.

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Wanda
14/12/2016 04:24:52 pm

Hi, Wanda from SotC here - only one of the colossi is innocent, the others were complete bastards. Colossus 4 is a racist. Slaughter away!

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eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! link
14/12/2016 04:42:14 pm

I may have a quick slaughter after my xmas day goujons then!

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! link
14/12/2016 05:16:02 pm

But wait - you wouldn't have an...ulterior motive for telling me this now - would you...?




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