Share
submit to reddit
Pin it
The Last Guardian - title

In a Nutshell

WHAT I LIKE

  • Inverts the power dynamic between the player and A.I. companion
  • Trico is a remarkably well-animated animal
  • ... and yeah, Trico's pretty adorable

WHAT I DON'T LIKE

  • Controls are fidgety and imprecise
  • Circle button is overloaded to multiple, conflicting functions
  • First few hours are aimless and meandering
  • Large, open levels feel pathetically linear and simple to solve
  • Visuals look washed-out in many areas

Overall Impression: D+
A clunkier, more bloated mirror of Ico

The Last Guardian

Developer:
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan

Publisher:
Sony

Platforms:
PlayStation 4

Original release date:
December 6, 2016

Genre:
Puzzle platformer

ESRB Rating: T for Teen for:
Blood, Fantasy Violence

Player:
single-player

Official site:
playstation.com/en-us/games/
the-last-guardian-ps4/

Being the follow-up to a masterpiece is no small order. Being the follow-up to two masterpieces is a Sisyphean task. Ico is a masterpiece of its time. Fumito Ueda and SIE Japan managed to follow that game with Shadow of the Colossus - a masterpiece of even higher order. The bar was set tremendously high for the team's third project: The Last Guardian. Multiple delays, a change in platform from PS3 to PS4, and Fumito Ueda's departure from Sony squashed a lot of the hype for the game. Might the game turn into vaporware? Or might it release in a condition analogous to Metal Gear Solid V?

On the surface, The Last Guardian comes off as being a mash-up of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Superficially, it's much more in-line with Ico: you play as a small boy who must guide a companion through a maze of environmental platformer obstacles and adventure puzzles. The catch this time around is that the companion happens to be a giant animal that you can climb and ride on.

The Last Guardian - riding Trico
The Last Guardian share more with Ico, but your companion is a giant creature that you climb and ride on.

The big difference though, is that The Last Guardian is sort of an inversion of the gameplay of Ico. In Ico, the player character had to guide a helpless (some even speculated she is blind) princess through a castle and defend her from shadow monsters that try to drag her away. In The Last Guardian, however, it is the player character - the boy - who is mostly helpless. True, you have most of the agency and are guiding Trico through the maze. But Trico is the one with all the power, and your progress is often dependent on Trico getting you past obstacles.

This point is most hammered home by the game's combat mechanics - or rather, its almost complete lack thereof. The boy can't fight off the stone knights that hunt him down. You can only run away, or let Trico smash them into dust for you. If they catch you, they drag you off to a nearby mysterious blue doorway (a parallel to the smokey portals that the smoke monsters dragged Yorda through in Ico), and all you can do is mash buttons to kick and squirm. Ico and Shadow of the Colossus experimented with player agency by making the player question the motivations of the character and wonder if maybe you're doing more harm than good. The Last Guardian toys with agency in other ways. In this game, you, the player, are the helpless tag-along character in an escort quest. You get a glimpse through the eyes of Yorda from Ico or Ashley from Resident Evil 4.

The boy can't fight back, he can only kick and squirm - much like Yorda from Ico.

Not entirely though. The player and Trico make mutual contributions to progress, and their contributions are shared much more than Ico and Yorda. Much like how Yorda could occasionally open the magically-locked doors, the boy in Guardian also has to pull levers and open doors for Trico to pass from room to room. The boy also has to destroy glass eye murals that mesmerize and terrify Trico to the point of paralysis. The boy also hunts down barrels of [supposedly] food for Trico to eat whenever Trico is tired or wounded. But then there's also parts of the game in which the boy simply hops on Trico's back, and Trico leaps away to the next puzzle area without the player having to do anything.

Going nowhere fast

Probably the first problem that I started to notice with The Last Guardian is its length and pacing. The game just doesn't really seem to go anywhere, and it takes its own sweet time getting there. Pacing and length are a major issue in puzzle games, and the best puzzle games tend to find a perfect balance of length, variety of content, and progress. Ico and Portal, for example, work so well - in part - because they are short. They are very tight, concise games. My first playthrough of Ico and Portal was roughly 5 hours each, but The Last Guardian dragged on for roughly 12. Most of the dead weight seems to come in the first half of the game, as the second half finally started to provide a drip feed of intrigue to keep me interested.

Ico had a clear objective: get out of the castle and take Yorda with you. The opening cutscene establishes that you were brought to the castle against your will (for some kind of ritual or sacrifice) and gives you an idea of the space you'll have to traverse and the challenges you'll have to overcome. As you progress, the large open areas will give you a view of areas to come, and as you reach those foreshadowed areas there's a definite sense of progress; you're getting somewhere! There's also early cutscenes that keep the narrative going at a steady pace. Of course, the game throws a wrench into everything when you get to the front gates, but that's fine.

Ico and Portal provide clear delineations of progress and accomplishments.

Portal on the other hand, provides the implicit objective of completing all the puzzle challanges for GladOS. The game even posts signs telling you exactly how many puzzle rooms there are, but it becomes obvious pretty quickly that GladOS isn't going to let you just walk out when you're done. So you're not quite sure where you're going, but the game makes up for it by being divided up into clearly delineated puzzle rooms. Each puzzle room either adds a new mechanic or requires the player to combine previously-learned mechanics in new and novel ways, providing a constant sense of progress and learning. And when the room-16 twist happens, and the game goes "off the rails", it's actually a pleasant surprise! Portal 2 felt weaker than the first game [to me] because it seemed to go on for too long and had some gimmicky, repetitive puzzle designs.

Behold: the first new mechanic in hours!

The Last Guardian doesn't have any of the strengths of Ico or Portal. It's implied that the boy is trying to escape the castle, but there's no indication as to where the exit is or how escape would be accomplished. He has no idea where he is, how he got here, or why he's here, nor does he know where the Trico came from or why it seems to like him so much. You progress through the castle, therefore, feels aimless and meandering.

The game also introduced practically all of its mechanics in the first half an hour or so, and then even takes a major mechanic away for no real reason and with little justification (only to give it back to you nine hours later with equally little justification). You jump and climb over obstacles, pull levers to open doors, push blocks, and climb onto Trico to let him take you to the next challenge - all while avoiding capture by the stone knights. I was playing for hours doing those same repetitive tasks before the game introduced anything even remotely new: knights with glass eye shields that the boy has to push or shove in order to disarm them or knock them off of ledges.

Some paths are literally marked out for you.

Reading the signs

The other major contributor to the game's pacing feeling wrong is that the puzzles alternate between stupidly-obvious sign-posting that takes all the challenge away, to obtuse or esoteric sign-posting, and sometimes even to outright red herrings. The extent of solving a puzzle is usually just figuring out where the game wants you to go. So if you find some differently-textured line of bricks sticking out of a wall, then it means "climb here". But if the path ahead isn't as obvious, you can spend large chunks of time just wandering around in circles.

And some of the areas are quite large, and wandering in circles looking for a clue you missed can be quite tedious. The size and openness of the areas isn't really used for creative problem-solving or to allow player-driven exploration of them. They're all very simple, linear designs requiring little thought, but a lot of patience. There's one bit near a minecart with a chain that goes up to a ledge that is a dead end. I spent about half an hour climbing and re-climbing that chain trying to find something that I could climb onto because I thought that was the path out. In another area, I spent a good 10 or 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get Trico to dive under water while I'm grabbing its back.

The character can tip toe or run. No in between. He can't simply walk...

There's no real mechanical challenge to solving any of the puzzles. There's no grip gauge to limit how long you can climb or hold onto Trico, and combat is literally just mashing buttons. So the only real ludic challenge comes from having to fight with the game's camera and controls. Movement is fidgety and imprecise. If you nudge the stick slightly, there's an absurdly slow tip-toe movement, despite there also being a crouching slow-walk. This implies [to me] that two different developers on the team thought that this was maybe supposed to be a stealth game, and they both implemented different movement methods that both somehow ended up in the game, despite the game requiring neither. If you push the stick all the way, then the boy does a full run. Oh, there's also a silly-looking run-in-place animation whenever you're giving movement commands to Trico or when there's enemies around. There's no casual walk speed.

Achievement unlocked: Simulated cat

Cat owners know the feeling...

Controling Trico isn't much better. The animal sometimes just doesn't want to cooperate. I can't count the number of times that I gave a command to Trico, only to have the beast quizzically stare at me. This often leads me to wonder if maybe Trico isn't supposed to go that way, and I'm supposed to find another route or solution. But no; it's usually the right way, the animal is just stubborn. If the delays were to improve the beast's A.I., then this game could have used a few more months of polish. On the other hand, if the intent was create an A.I. for a split-brain cat that occasionally thinks it's a dog, then the dev team deserves a bloody award.

It is telling that Trico doesn't become more cooperative or smarter as the game progresses. In fact, I had even more trouble getting the animal to do what I wanted it to do in the later stages. So I doubt that its failures to follow orders are a deliberate element of the A.I. design. If the A.I. were deliberately finicky, then I would expect control over Trico to become more reliable as the game progresses, and their bond and rapport develops. But that isn't the case.

The Last Guardian - commanding Trico
Trico routinely fails to follow instructions, leaving me to wonder if I'm trying to do the right thing.

It's also frustrating that there is no easy way to dismount Trico. Hypothetically, the X button is supposed to let go of stuff and drop down. But since there the boy automatically grabs onto things, he ends up just letting go and then grabbing onto the next clump of feathers or fur. So you can mash the X button until the boy eventually just faceplants into the ground, or you can leap off the beast and hope you don't break your leg or fall into a bottomless pit.

The controls get even worse as the game nears the end. The Circle button is already overloaded to serve as the generic "grab" and "interact" button for when you want to pull a lever, push/pull a box, or pick up an object in the game world. But it's also overloaded to pet Trico, and to remove spears from him when he's attacked. Then the geniuses [sarcasm] on the development team thought it a brilliant idea to also map the magic shield to the Circle button, and then force you to use it while standing on a bunch of narrow walkways with Trico standing right next to you. So it's a crap shoot whether the boy aims the shield or grabs onto Trico's fur, or pets Trico, or picks up a dead enemy's head off the ground.

The Last Guardian - lightning tail
Shooting lightning from Trico's tail is a silly mechanic to begin with, but it also controls very poorly.

The whole "shooting lasers from Trico's tail" is a silly mechanic to begin with (which is why they have to take it away from you for 90% of the game), but it's made absolutely intolerable by the developers' abysmal control decisions. It's practically impossible to use when you're mounted on Trico, as he'll move and squirm and usually cause you to either lose the thing you're targeting, or the boy will stop targeting altogether and grab onto Trico. Also, does the game ever give any reason as to why the tail shoots lightning at the beginning, but shoots laser pulses at the end?

Why did you need to overload so many functions onto one button?! There are twelve buttons on this controller, plus clicking the analog sticks, plus the trackpad! The triggers and touchpad aren't even used for Pete's sake, and you thought it necessary to pile so many conflicting functions onto the circle button...?!

Doesn't hold a candle to its pedigree

I've also heard reports that the game has numerous stability and performance issues. I only suffered one crash and a few noticeable instances of framerate loss. But then again, I didn't start playing the game until a month after its release, so I may have benefited from the game being improved by stability patches.

Regardless, perfect performance and stability would not save The Last Guardian. With just a few seemingly common-sense changes to the controls (like using a trigger button to aim the shield and having a dedicated "climb" button), and with a better sense of direction and purpose at the beginning, The Last Guardian could have been a very good game, and Trico would be a memorable and beloved video game mascot. Instead, the game is mediocre, and whether you even like Trico by the emotionally-traumatic conclusion will depend entirely on how frustrated you are when the game finally ends.

Other Game Reviews I've Published

>Observer_>Observer_12 Minutes12 Minutes
35mm35mmAce Combat 7Ace Combat 7
ADR1FTADR1FTAlan WakeAlan Wake
Alan Wake 2Alan Wake 2Alien: IsolationAlien: Isolation
Amnesia: a Machine for PigsAmnesia: a Machine for PigsAmnesia: RebirthAmnesia: Rebirth
Amnesia: The BunkerAmnesia: The BunkerAmnesia: the Dark DescentAmnesia: the Dark Descent
Among the SleepAmong the SleepAssassin's Creed IIIAssassin's Creed III
Assassin's Creed IV: Black FlagAssassin's Creed IV: Black FlagAssassin's Creed: OriginsAssassin's Creed: Origins
Assassin's Creed: ValhallaAssassin's Creed: ValhallaAtomic SocietyAtomic Society
Axis Football 18Axis Football 18Axis Football 2019Axis Football 2019
Axis Football 2020Axis Football 2020Axis Football 2021Axis Football 2021
Axis Football 2023Axis Football 2023Axis Football 2024Axis Football 2024
Back to the Future Episode OneBack to the Future Episode OneBackbreaker FootballBackbreaker Football
BanishedBanishedBatman: Arkham CityBatman: Arkham City
Battlefield 1Battlefield 1Blair WitchBlair Witch
BloodborneBloodborneBloodborne: the Old HuntersBloodborne: the Old Hunters
Call of Duty World War IICall of Duty World War IICatherineCatherine
Cities SkylinesCities SkylinesCities Skylines IICities Skylines II
Cities Skylines: After DarkCities Skylines: After DarkCities Skylines: AirportsCities Skylines: Airports
Cities Skylines: CampusCities Skylines: CampusCities Skylines: Financial Districts + World TourCities Skylines: Financial Districts + World Tour
Cities Skylines: Green CitiesCities Skylines: Green CitiesCities Skylines: Hotels & RetreatsCities Skylines: Hotels & Retreats
Cities Skylines: IndustriesCities Skylines: IndustriesCities Skylines: Mass TransitCities Skylines: Mass Transit
Cities Skylines: Natural DisastersCities Skylines: Natural DisastersCities Skylines: ParklifeCities Skylines: Parklife
Cities Skylines: Plazas & PromenadesCities Skylines: Plazas & PromenadesCities Skylines: SnowfallCities Skylines: Snowfall
Cities Skylines: Sunset HarborCities Skylines: Sunset HarborCities: Skylines: Match Day & ver. 1.4Cities: Skylines: Match Day & ver. 1.4
CitiesXL & Cities XXLCitiesXL & Cities XXLControlControl
Crusader Kings IIICrusader Kings IIIDark SoulsDark Souls
Dark Souls Artorias of the Abyss DLCDark Souls Artorias of the Abyss DLCDark Souls IIDark Souls II
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First SinDark Souls II: Scholar of the First SinDark Souls IIIDark Souls III
Dark Souls III: Ashes of AriandelDark Souls III: Ashes of AriandelDark Souls III: the Ringed CityDark Souls III: the Ringed City
Darker SkiesDarker SkiesDawn of ManDawn of Man
Dead Space (2023)Dead Space (2023)Dead Space 2Dead Space 2
Death StrandingDeath StrandingDeath's GambitDeath's Gambit
Deliver Us The MoonDeliver Us The MoonDemon's SoulsDemon's Souls
Demon's Souls (PS5)Demon's Souls (PS5)DepravedDepraved
DeracineDeracineDevil May Cry 5Devil May Cry 5
Disco ElysiumDisco ElysiumDmC (Devil May Cry)DmC (Devil May Cry)
DOOM (2016)DOOM (2016)DreadOutDreadOut
Elden RingElden RingEndling: Extinction Is ForeverEndling: Extinction Is Forever
Event [0]Event [0]F.T.L. (Faster Than Light)F.T.L. (Faster Than Light)
Fallout 4Fallout 4Fallout ShelterFallout Shelter
Far Cry PrimalFar Cry PrimalFinal Fantasy VII RemakeFinal Fantasy VII Remake
Final Fantasy XIIIFinal Fantasy XIIIFinal Fantasy XVFinal Fantasy XV
FirewatchFirewatchFive Nights at Freddy'sFive Nights at Freddy's
Game of Thrones (Telltale series 1-2)Game of Thrones (Telltale series 1-2)Ghost of TsushimaGhost of Tsushima
God of War (2018)God of War (2018)God of War IIIGod of War III
Gone HomeGone HomeGran Turismo 7Gran Turismo 7
Grand Theft Auto VGrand Theft Auto VGreen Hell VRGreen Hell VR
Hell Let LooseHell Let LooseHellblade: Senua's SacrificeHellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Her StoryHer StoryHumankindHumankind
Imagine EarthImagine EarthKayak VR MirageKayak VR Mirage
Kingdom Come: DeliveranceKingdom Come: DeliveranceL.A. NoireL.A. Noire
Layers Of Fear 2Layers Of Fear 2Legend BowlLegend Bowl
Letters To A Friend: FarewellLetters To A Friend: FarewellLifeless PlanetLifeless Planet
Lollipop ChainsawLollipop ChainsawMad MaxMad Max
Madden NFL 11Madden NFL 11Madden NFL 12Madden NFL 12
Madden NFL 13Madden NFL 13Madden NFL 15Madden NFL 15
Madden NFL 16Madden NFL 16Madden NFL 17Madden NFL 17
Madden NFL 18Madden NFL 18Madden NFL 19Madden NFL 19
Madden NFL 20Madden NFL 20Madden NFL 21Madden NFL 21
Madden NFL 22Madden NFL 22Madden NFL 23Madden NFL 23
Madden NFL 24Madden NFL 24MADiSONMADiSON
Mars Rover LandingMars Rover LandingMarvel's Spider-ManMarvel's Spider-Man
Marvel's Spider-Man 2Marvel's Spider-Man 2Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles MoralesMarvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Master of Orion: Conquer the StarsMaster of Orion: Conquer the StarsMaximum Football 2018Maximum Football 2018
Maximum Football 2019Maximum Football 2019Maximum Football2020Maximum Football2020
Metal Gear Solid V: the Phantom PainMetal Gear Solid V: the Phantom PainMiasmataMiasmata
Middle-Earth: Shadow of MordorMiddle-Earth: Shadow of MordorMiddle-Earth: Shadow of WarMiddle-Earth: Shadow of War
Monster Hunter: WorldMonster Hunter: WorldMoons of MadnessMoons of Madness
NCAA Football 11NCAA Football 11NCAA Football 12NCAA Football 12
NCAA Football 13NCAA Football 13NFL Pro EraNFL Pro Era
NiohNiohNo Man's SkyNo Man's Sky
ObservationObservationOuter WildsOuter Wilds
Outer Wilds: Echoes of the EyeOuter Wilds: Echoes of the EyeOutlastOutlast
Pacific DrivePacific DrivePapers, PleasePapers, Please
Portal 2Portal 2Red Dead RedemptionRed Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption IIRed Dead Redemption IIResident Evil 2Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 3Resident Evil 3Resident Evil RemasteredResident Evil Remastered
Resident Evil VII: BiohazardResident Evil VII: BiohazardResident Evil VIII VillageResident Evil VIII Village
Return of the Obra DinnReturn of the Obra DinnRock Band 3Rock Band 3
Room 404Room 404Sekiro: Shadows Die TwiceSekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Settlement SurvivalSettlement SurvivalShadow of the Colossus (2018)Shadow of the Colossus (2018)
Sid Meier's Civilization VSid Meier's Civilization VSid Meier's Civilization V: Brave New WorldSid Meier's Civilization V: Brave New World
Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gods & KingsSid Meier's Civilization V: Gods & KingsSid Meier's Civilization VISid Meier's Civilization VI
Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering StormSid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering StormSid Meier's Civilization VI: Rise and FallSid Meier's Civilization VI: Rise and Fall
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond EarthSid Meier's Civilization: Beyond EarthSid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth Rising TideSid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth Rising Tide
Silent Hill 4: the RoomSilent Hill 4: the RoomSilent Hill HD CollectionSilent Hill HD Collection
Silent Hill: Shattered MemoriesSilent Hill: Shattered MemoriesSilent Hill: The Short MessageSilent Hill: The Short Message
Silicon DreamsSilicon DreamsSillent Hill DownpourSillent Hill Downpour
SimCity (2013)SimCity (2013)SimCity BuilditSimCity Buildit
SomaSomaSong of HorrorSong of Horror
Spider-Man: Edge of TimeSpider-Man: Edge of TimeSpider-Man: Shattered DimensionsSpider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
Star Trek ResurgenceStar Trek ResurgenceStar Trek TrexelsStar Trek Trexels
Star Wars Battlefront IIStar Wars Battlefront IIStar Wars Jedi Fallen OrderStar Wars Jedi Fallen Order
Star Wars SquadronsStar Wars SquadronsStellarisStellaris
Stellaris mod: New HorizonsStellaris mod: New HorizonsStranded DeepStranded Deep
StrayStrayTacomaTacoma
The Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man 2The Amazing Spider-Man 2
The Callisto ProtocolThe Callisto ProtocolThe Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim DLCThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim DLCThe Evil WithinThe Evil Within
The Evil Within 2The Evil Within 2The Last GuardianThe Last Guardian
The Last of UsThe Last of UsThe Last of Us Part IIThe Last of Us Part II
The Outer WorldsThe Outer WorldsThe SaboteurThe Saboteur
The SwapperThe SwapperThe Witcher 3 expansionsThe Witcher 3 expansions
The Witcher 3: Wild HuntThe Witcher 3: Wild HuntThis War of MineThis War of Mine
This War of Mine: the Little OnesThis War of Mine: the Little OnesTomb Raider (2013)Tomb Raider (2013)
Total War: AttilaTotal War: AttilaTotal War: Rome IITotal War: Rome II
Total War: Shogun 2Total War: Shogun 2Total War: Shogun 2: Fall of the SamuraiTotal War: Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai
TrineTrineTropico 5Tropico 5
U-BoatU-BoatUltimate General: Civil WarUltimate General: Civil War
Uncharted 3: Drake's DeceptionUncharted 3: Drake's DeceptionUntil DawnUntil Dawn
VirginiaVirginiaVisageVisage
What Remains of Edith FinchWhat Remains of Edith Finch 

Contribute Comment

avatar


We'll incarnate your avatar from the services below.
PlayStation Network Steam Xbox LIVE Facebook MySpace Pinterest Twitter YouTube deviantART LiveJournal



biuquote
  • Comment
  • Preview


Grid Clock Widget
12      60
11      55
10      50
09      45
08      40
07      35
06      30
05      25
04      20
03      15
02      10
01      05
Grid Clock provided by trowaSoft.

A gamer's thoughts

Welcome to Mega Bears Fan's blog, and thanks for visiting! This blog is mostly dedicated to game reviews, strategies, and analysis of my favorite games. I also talk about my other interests, like football, science and technology, movies, and so on. Feel free to read more about the blog.

Check out my YouTube content at YouTube.com/MegaBearsFan.

Follow me on Twitter at: twitter.com/MegaBearsFan

Patreon

If you enjoy my content, please consider Supporting me on Patreon:
Patreon.com/MegaBearsFan

FTC guidelines require me to disclose that as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made by clicking on Amazon product links on this site. All Amazon Associate links are for products relevant to the given blog post, and are usually posted because I recommend the product.

Without Gravity

And check out my colleague, David Pax's novel Without Gravity on his website!

Featured Post

The Humanity of NCAA Football's In-Season RecruitingThe Humanity of NCAA Football's In-Season Recruiting08/01/2022 If you're a fan of college football video games, then I'm sure you're excited by the news from early 2021 that EA will be reviving its college football series. They will be doing so without the NCAA license, and under the new title, EA Sports College Football. I guess Bill Walsh wasn't available for licensing either? Expectations...

Random Post

I got stuck and sadly had to give up on the Echoes of the Eye expansion for Outer WildsI got stuck and sadly had to give up on the Echoes of the Eye expansion for Outer Wilds10/24/2021 When I played it last year (after waiting over a year for its timed Epic Store exclusivity to end), Outer Wilds quickly became one of my favorite games ever due to its innovative sci-fi, exploratory gameplay in its dynamic sandbox solar system full of interesting places that are genuinely worth exploring. It was a compelling...

Month List

Recent Comments

Comment RSS