The Last Guardian Review

Team ICO has made some damn fine video games. ICO, the company’s namesake, was a stellar game in its time and while it doesn’t hold up quite as well today it’s still a great example of how games don’t have to be complicated to be amazing. Shadow of Colossus is one of my favorite games and is on the short list of titles I recommend everyone play as a gamer. While Team ICO games usually play with the buttery smoothness of forty-grit sandpaper, they are so simple, beautiful, and unique that it rarely detracts from the experience – and that’s really what their games are – experiences. The Last Guardian is no different. Subject to a seriously awkward and drawn-out development that at one point devolved into cancellation rumors, the hype surrounding the game largely died out years ago, though it never truly went away entirely. So as with an increasing number of games these days the question of course is can it live up to a decade of anticipation?

Press the go button and watch a pretty cutscene before your character wakes up next to a dog-cat-bird – yep this is a Team ICO game. Like with ICO, you’re in control of a boy who has found themselves in a labyrinthian stronghold with the goal of getting out alive. However, you’re not to be dragging a girl around with you. No, instead you’ll be partnering up with said dog-cat-bird who happens to be a creature of legend called Trico (Toriko in Japanese). As it turns out all you need to do to tame a dog-cat-bird of legend is feed it and pat its head occasionally. Easy enough.

The general gameplay of The Last Guardian is about what it was in ICO, though the interactions with Trico certainly change it up a bit. You’ll be handling some general platforming and light puzzle-solving while avoiding the occasional bad guy. It’s not a particularly difficult game and while some of that difficulty comes from the typically clunky Team ICO controls, much of the difficulty comes from getting Trico to listen – but more on that later. The Last Guardian isn’t meant to be particularly difficult or complex, so that’s ok. The real reason to play this game is to interact with Trico who represents perhaps the most accurate representation of an animal in any video game ever made to date. Now that sounds awfully cold and scientific, so let’s just say Trico is adorable and for better or worse, accurate to dealing with a cat-dog-bird in reality. You know, for those of you with that kind of experience.

It really is impressive how lifelike Trico is. You’ll notice him aimlessly wandering around inspecting things around him. He’ll play with barrels, chains, and objects just like you’d imagine. Get separated from him and he’ll wine and attempt to get to you wherever possible. He’ll get fixated on things that smell great, drink from pools of water, and nudge you for cuddles. It’s as adorable as it is amazing but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.

Unfortunately, Team ICO’s attempt at having an organic relationship with Trico ends up being more of a frustration than anything. You are capable of and are indeed required to, direct Trico to go certain places and do certain things to progress. Instead of having a more direct approach to controlling Trico in these confined spaces, you’re left haphazardly giving Trico orders that almost inevitably result in doing something totally different or doing nothing at all. These issues compound when the game has Trico in set movements within a room in what I can only assume is an attempt to aid you though it often fails to do more than complicate things. I found myself trying innumerable methods to progress out of an area without success, only to try the same thing I first attempted 20 minutes earlier and have it work. Easily a third of my playtime in The Last Guardian is attributed to fighting with Trico to get him to do what needed to be done. Because of its erratic nature, some players don’t see these issues as much as others making for some interesting discourse on the aggravation of Trico herding. I remember saying out loud during my playthrough that I doubt I’d have had the patience for it all as a child and likely would have stopped playing a few hours in. Previous titles from Team ICO had clunky controls for your character which continues in The Last Guardian but it was easier to digest because it was the only real stumbling block. Add in Trico herding and for me, it became far harder to look past while trying to enjoy the whimsical experience the game presents otherwise.

And it really is whimsical, as silly sounding a word that may be. The world and its characters look fantastic and in typical Team ICO style are a great blend between art and performance. The real stand out once again is Trico whose feathers being pushed and pulled by the prevailing winds is spectacular. The general blown-out lighting suits the game well and is used to great effect. The environments are beautiful and the level design, while perhaps too simple, is well integrated with the visual aesthetic. There are some spots where the framerate tanks hard but it’s never for particularly long and didn’t get in the way of my playing. This is one of the few games available that would benefit from 4k and HDR so if you have that and a PS4 Pro bring several changes of pants. The musical score is also wonderfully done though not quite as impactful as Shadow of the Colossus. The scant cutscenes give you the best combination of both the visuals and the music and will stick with you.

Ultimately, I think The Last Guardian is about how much stock you put in Team ICO’s ability to craft an interesting world without much direct exposition, and how much you want to experience the joys and sorrows of Trico. The game itself is a simple one with Trico and the general controls being the largest obstacle. There are a few other weird odds and ends like having to button mash EVERY button to escape from enemies, or more strangely continue the game after a load. The enemies you encounter are more of a nuisance than a threat, especially given your need to pet Trico to get him to calm down after every single encounter. The final area of the game is also a bit of a gongshow, and depending on how long it takes you to somehow sort it out or guess your way through it may taint your final thoughts of the game.

There’s a lot to love about The Last Guardian, but because the gameplay itself is so thin the problems presented are magnified. Many people will likely be so caught up in the magic that is Trico that they won’t notice, but I’d hazard a guess that just as many will want to punt Trico off a bridge in a fit of biker rage. It’s just more Team ICO shenanigans which for fans might be great or it might be the point they start to question why these games still control so poorly 16 years post the release of ICO. If you’re new to this whole thing I’d be cautiously optimistic, but if you like it make sure to try out Shadow of the Colossus if you have the chance. The Last Guardian might not live up to the nearly unobtainable hype ten years of development can build, but it’s worth a peek should you be equal parts intrigued and patient.