The Last Guardian (PS4 Pro)GraphicsAesthetically the game is brilliant. It has a lot of the same Team Ico look and texture. However, it still looks like a game that could easily run on PS3 in most instances. It never really shows off the capabilities other games have achieved on PS4. This isn’t that big of an issue, it’s just a fact. Graphically from a polygon count or anything it doesn’t blow any socks off. From an artistic view it’s fantastic though. The grass, the lighting, the animations. All that is very good.
Playing it on the PS4 Pro, I never found issues with frame-rate. It was rock solid and Digital Foundry points to some upgrade in ambient lighting and overall sharpness to which I would say I did notice how especially brilliant the lighting and sharpness was especially during sun-set in the latter half of the game.
GameplayI found like most Team Ico games, the controls are still that very strange frustrating Team Ico Japanese setup and I had a learning curve of about a couple hours. Especially if I played a western 3rd person game and went back to The Last Guardian, I’d be all mixed up again. Never a deal breaker but the game is abit of a chore at times wrestling with the controls.
In terms of actual gameplay, I found it really great early on with the lightning mirror mechanic. Then abit of a bore and tedious in the middle when it’s mostly puzzles. Then towards the latter half the game, it really hits its stride when Trico and the boy have all their abilities. TLG incorporates every mechanic from both Ico and Colossus into one game. While this is great to have, it’s also in the end nothing new.
What is new though is that Trico looks and behaves like a real pet would. He has a mind of his own. At times, unpredictable and unique. Learning to work with him, control him and vice versa is an experience never really before seen in games to this degree. This is one of the rare instances I really felt an emotional attachment to an AI.
SoundThe soundtrack is beautiful just like Ico and Colossus were. However, the game is almost 80% void of music. When action occurs, the music starts up and when it ends, so does the music. I get it though. From a design perspective, they want the silent atmosphere most of the time to then accentuate the encounters. However, I would have appreciated more background calming music during regular gameplay. Ambient sounds were nice though but this is only heard ofcourse when outside in open air environments.
StoryThis game is a love letter to anyone who’s ever had a pet. The boy is a catalyst for the plot yet, in the end Trico is a unique beast you learn the most about and really it's more of the main character than the boy.
The relationship they have is also deeper than any other I can remember in games. Some of the scenes had me an inch away from tears. Haven’t seen a relationship this significant since The Last of Us.
While the story overall is good, it doesn’t really hit its stride until half way through after a significantly important cut scene that basically explains everything about the world and why you are where you are. After that scene, the story improves and I had more drive to keep playing because plot setup is so compelling. And in the end, the ending was great. Really beautiful.
Overall the game was an artistic masterpiece. Although, from a controls perspective and gameplay variety Team Ico games never give me much of a fun factor. They are a frustrating test of patience and dexterity with the controls and animations. Still, I don’t disregard all the positives I’ve just said about it. It’ll stand the test of time in game history as a must play experience. Certainly one I’ll eventually go back to.
4/5