The Last Guardian At Last

We’ve been waiting for The Last Guardian for a very long time, and now we finally have the chance to play it. I’ll be talking at length about the game on the podcast later in the month, but I need an outlet for it here and now. Having cleared it the night before posting this, these are my first impressions of the game. I’ll try to keep it spoiler free.

There’s been some question as to whether The Last Guardian would ever come out. But it’s here. My first experience with Team ICO and Ueda was with Shadow of the Colossus shortly after I started buying PS2 games. I was moved and thrilled and eventually pursued ICO, not the easiest title to come by at the time prior to the PS3 collection. But it was worth it, and I was a fan. I’ve been hoping for The Last Guardian against whatever odds that it would actually come out and that it would be good. Hype is a dangerous thing, and it’s hard to curb expectations when you’ve been teased for so long.

However, I was playing this game for Trico, the man-eating eagle (dog cat giraffe) that would be your best chum throughout the adventure. And as soon as I could see and interact with him in the game, they had me by the heart. Look, I’m a complete sap when it comes to animals and Trico is so well executed that I was doomed before I ever started. His vocalizations, expressions, movements, and mannerisms are all evocative of real world creatures. They way Trico walks, arcs his back, jumps, scratches, and ponders. It’s a sense of familiarity that completes the conceit. I projected my dogs onto Trico, and I’m sure many people did with their pals too.

It’s no great mystery that Team ICO wanted to endear the player to Trico and that this was going to be a tale of friendship between child and beast. Trico has a certain belligerence, especially before he “trusts” you and will sometimes do what he wants. I loved this, I felt it added to the character of the game. I feel some people will be frustrated with this, and especially if they’re trying to beat this as fast as they can on their first and only playthrough. Trico is the star of the show, take your time to watch his reactions and expressions and let the world unfurl.

There have been some great games focusing on communication and understanding when language barriers are blurred between two characters. In ICO it’s Ico’s earnest want to help Yorda, in Journey it’s two players trying to convey their thoughts to one another through gesture and pace. The Last Guardian built a relationship between two companions on trust and symbiosis, and if you allow yourself to get immersed it’ll have an effect.

The world design is fantastic and you begin to slowly piece together how things work and fit with one another. It’s still vague, but I feel a little less vague than prior offerings. There’s a fairly frequent narration that acts sort of like The Dormin hints in Shadow of the Colossus, gently pushing you forward. But they take the form of a narrative story and remain a little vague so they’re not intrusive.

The Boy moves like Ico or Wander, he has the same weighty physics as other Team ICO games. There’s a bit of lurch and delay to running and jumping that will take some getting used to if you’re new to their games, but if you’ve played either of the other two titles it will feel natural. The camera is mostly solid, it’s kept very close to the Boy I imagine to emphasize the size of Trico. This only becomes an issue in tight corridors, as when the camera can become obscured the screen will flash and the camera will reset. This can happen multiple times in succession as you lose sight of the Boy and attempting to move the camera or the Boy back into an appropriate angle can cause to camera to go nuts with its flashing.

I really enjoyed The Last Guardian and it’s a fast favourite for me. I’ve only said a little, but I’ve already written more than I intended to for this post. I’ll talk at length on the AGROCAST later this month, I’m sure.

The landscape has changed in the last ten years, so many games have appeared that take inspiration from ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, or follow a minimalist story  route that it’s like the game is standing and judged among its progeny. But it maintains its gravity and presence. I’m elated that Ueda and Team ICO could tell this story, and I feel that for me it was well worth the wait.