The Last Guardian Thread

Roar · 26-12-2016 10:33am

I'm a couple of hours into it and greatly enjoying it so far. A few niggles - the controls are awkward. Triangle for jump? What? I've plummeted to my doom several times when hanging from ledges because I've pressed X to jump. The camera can be a bit awkward too.

And as mentioned the frame rate drops, while not a game breaker, are very noticeable and can be pretty jarring.

That being said, they're niggles I can get over looking forward to sinking in a few more hours later.

Essien · 26-12-2016 9:46pm

Roar wrote: »

I'm a couple of hours into it and greatly enjoying it so far. A few niggles - the controls are awkward. Triangle for jump? What? I've plummeted to my doom several times when hanging from ledges because I've pressed X to jump. The camera can be a bit awkward too.

This^^

Also, some of the puzzles can be pretty frustrating. It's not helped by the bad controls plus the fact that Trico can behave very erratically.

I've spent ages climbing up and down walls looking for a path only to realize all I had to do was pat Trico on the back then ask him 10 times to jump onto something. That gets old after the first time.

I'm enjoying it other than that.

Creamy Goodness · 31-12-2016 6:05pm

Completed this last night having never played Ico or SoTC, have to say I really enjoyed the game. It's not without faults though. They've all been mentioned before but the camera felt like it was the early attempts of 3d games, the controls were ropey, Trico was a nightmare to get to do anything right the first time.

johnny_ultimate · 09-01-2017 10:11pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qot5_rMB8Jc

Mark Brown offers up his reliably articulate, insightful and interesting analysis of the game.

CiDeRmAn · 10-01-2017 8:36am

Yeah, that's it in a nutshell.
I'm still working my way through it, having a blast too.
Only one area, a watery one, was poor, and only briefly annoying. The rest has been sublime.
Sad to think this is the last of the series too, but perhaps the inevitable 8 year wait for a follow-up would be too much for some!

CiDeRmAn · 12-01-2017 7:16pm

Just finished it...
Wow!
One of my games of 2016, if not the generation.
So many moments.
And, the sad thing is, so many people will give up because it isn't hand holding like Uncharted.
And those barrels... That bit at the end... Jaysus....
I'm not sure if I only love it as much as Ico and SotC or if I love it more... A tough choice to be sure.

Roar · 12-01-2017 9:22pm

The last hour or so was absolutely incredible. Incredible.

However, the clunky controls got more annoying as the game went on - they were a real source of frustration and really pulled me out of the game quite a large number of times. Couple that with the godawful camera and it became a slog at times.

But that last hour was just.. wow.

Pickpocket · 13-01-2017 12:57am

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

the sad thing is, so many people will give up because it isn't hand holding like Uncharted.

Funnily enough I thought that the on-screen button prompt was the worst case of hand holding I've ever seen in a puzzle game. It actually hinted at the solutions when they appeared. I think the most recent update tidied it up a bit but on initial release it was ridiculous.

CiDeRmAn · 17-01-2017 8:02am

I don't think those promotes ever became particularly intrusive, and the likes of Uncharted and Tomb Raider have used blatant environmental queues to hustle along the player from point to point.
Yes, I felt the button press messages outstayed their welcome, but they never made the player feel that their journey through the game was being strictly proscribed by the games designers even though it is.

Taltos · 18-01-2017 12:11am

Also playing through this, just out of the water section and having played the other two on release I really feel like I've fallen through a crack in time here and not a good one.

The controls and camera while reminiscent of the earlier games is at this stage unforgivable. The water section most recently was one where I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to guide or trigger Trico, which on what looked like 4 successful attempts were aborted by the beast at the last second or on one occassion had me floating off. How it worked in the end I don't know, and that's maybe my problem here as I am quickly getting to the I don't care stage with this game, unfairly I'm sure, just finding it hard to see the good points beyond the controls and camera.

Benzino · 18-01-2017 9:48am

Yeah, I spent 15 minutes trying to get Trico to jump in a tight space. Not a fun experience.

Also find it weird how they still have button prompts for jump 4 hours into the game. Eh, I wouldn't be here if I didn't know how to jump!

Still enjoying the game very much, but at the moment, the controls are impacting the experience too much,more so than in Ico and SotC (at least from what I can recall anyway).

DeSelby83 · 20-01-2017 11:39pm

Just finished this. Really really enjoyed it. Haven't played any of the other games in the 'series' so didn't know what to expect going in. Really think they put together a solid ending too. Shame the janky camera and controls let it down a notch

Taltos · 20-01-2017 11:54pm

Finished this today.
Glad it's over. The "controls" seriously took from my enjoyment of the game. Still feel it is 5 years too late and on the wrong console, would have been ideal as a swansong for the PS3, but it's not a PS4 game, graphics were nice, story was good, but those damn controls seriously sucked, unlike the other two that I still have boxed I'd be tempted to trade this one in immediately as I know I won't ever (ever) replay it.

Retr0gamer · 24-01-2017 10:27am

Still trying my hardest to get on with this game. I don't like the controls, just moving around the MC is janky and just not fun and exasperated by the awful framerate hitches. The character movement over anything but flat terrain just feels wrong especially in a world where Naughty Dog get it so right. Also Trico is annoying me when the AI doesn't respond of does something daft. While these moments are in the minority when it comes to game design it's when things don't work that the player remembers them them.

Puzzle design is less than inspiring as well. It's aping other games that have a similar dichotomy between characters, stuff like Bubba n'Stix, Lost Vikings, etc. and feel these did it better. I can't help feel that if you replaced Trico with a crate you could push to get to higher places it wouldn't make a difference to the gameplay.

Anyway I'll persevere to the end but I can only manage about an hour at a time before getting annoyed and going back to Atelier Totori to relax.

I'm kind of getting the feeling the game was delayed so long because Team Ico just weren't happy with it and probably would have cancelled if not pushed by Sony.

RasTa · 10-02-2017 12:16am

Masterpiece.

sweetie · 15-02-2017 2:11pm

Loving this despite it's idiosyncracies and tech issues. Haven't felt so connected to a character since brothers and playing through it with a grin on my face! Have had some great laugh out loud moments where the missus thinks I'm going crazy.

RasTa · 15-02-2017 2:48pm

Yeah I was thinking about brothers myself when coming to an end. Either that or Joel and Ellie

irishman86 · 15-02-2017 10:17pm

We had different emotions playing brothers

sticker · 24-04-2017 9:09am

Hi All,

Thinking of buying this. Has it been patched to remove the bugs/camera issues at launch?

Thanks.

Retr0gamer · 24-04-2017 10:42am

The only real issue is the criminal frame rate issues which are still present on a base ps4. It's supposedly better on the pro if you avoid the 4K mode which is meant to be very poor.

sticker · 24-04-2017 10:44am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

The only real issue is the criminal frame rate issues which are still present on a base ps4. It's supposedly better on the pro if you avoid the 4K mode which is meant to be very poor.

Thanks! The reviews seemed to be very mixed. Did you rate the game yourself?

Retr0gamer · 24-04-2017 4:55pm

sticker wrote: »

Thanks! The reviews seemed to be very mixed. Did you rate the game yourself?

Can't bring myself to play it between the frame rate being awful and it just not being all that interesting to play. The creature is essential a big crate you stand on to solve puzzles and it's horrible to control.

I'm in the minority though. There's just so many good games out the last 3 months I can't see why I'd waste time with it when I'm not enjoying it.

Wonda-Boy · 24-04-2017 5:26pm

The little one bought this (12) and played about 20 mins of it and it was just to arkward for her controls wise, she was used to the perfection of Uncharted 4 I suppose. After about 2 mths I stuck it on and after an initial break in period you adjust to the controls and there is a very very good game underneath.

Some of the puzzles are brilliant and the story is very good.....I quite enjoyed it.

7.5/10 would be my rating.

Exclamation Marc · 31-05-2017 1:48pm

After sitting in my drawer for around four months and tempted by Rime and The Witness (the latter which sailed under my radar embarrassingly), I remembered I had this waiting for me and forced myself to put it on.

Probably put an hour or so in so far and apart from the annoying button prompts (a minor complaint), I'm really enjoying it and the puzzles seem fun and I enjoy not being pulled towards a solution like some games tend to do. Trico is gorgeous and really like a real pet with all its mannerisms and I'm excited to see the relationship build. I particularly enjoyed the part where the boy says goodbye about twenty mins in and Trico is having none of it and follows him over a massive wall.

Looking forward to getting back for more later and glad I took the plunge months ago, even though I'm late to the game.

Exclamation Marc · 06-06-2017 12:14pm

Crackin' game with a great story which was unusual and gripping. Lots of heart in mouth moments that were quite affecting and/or very emotional and some genuinely wonderful scenes throughout. Interacting with Trico was a steep learning curve but a very rewarding one as the game went on. Some of the puzzles were incredibly tough as there was little to no hand holding and solutions to some puzzles weren't immediately obvious but I liked that.

It's such a complex game and I couldn't stop thinking of the nature of the interdependency between the boy and trico throughout, it was a magical relationship that really grew in front of my eyes.

My only complaints were that the camera sometimes ended up utterly useless (thankfully only in non-resident parts for me) and that very infrequently the boys climbing on Trico was frustratingly awkward.

Didn't mind the odd framerate drops (even though they were highly noticeable in some parts).

Highly recommend it.

03-01-2018 11:43pm

Just pulled the trigger
Waiting for It to download
Unfortunately not part of the pretty decent sale on the PS store
Already regret buying it after hearing of nothing but bad feedback about the controls
Shadow of the colossus was the most frustrating games I’ve ever played, so I’m hoping it’s more like Ico, which I believe I finished on my first play through as I could not put it down
Looks like I won’t be playing this until tomorrow night
Ah well

Hopefully they fix the controls by then :-)

Exclamation Marc · 03-01-2018 11:47pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Just pulled the trigger
Waiting for It to download
Unfortunately not part of the pretty decent sale on the PS store
Already regret buying it after hearing of nothing but bad feedback about the controls
Shadow of the colossus was the most frustrating games I’ve ever played, so I’m hoping it’s more like Ico, which I believe I finished on my first play through as I could not put it down
Looks like I won’t be playing this until tomorrow night
Ah well

Hopefully they fix the controls by then :-)

Controls are fine. You'll get used to them. Sometimes it's a little finicky or frustrating to get the right angle for the odd movement but it's not game breaking and was never enough for me to stop playing.

03-01-2018 11:49pm

Exclamation Marc wrote: »

Controls are fine. You'll get used to them. Sometimes it's a little finicky or frustrating to get the right angle for the odd movement but it's not game breaking and was never enough for me to stop playing.

Thanks for that

ozmo · 02-09-2021 12:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/103316335#Comment_103316335

Plays great on a PS5 - got it for "free" on the Play Plus subscription.

Only a couple places had me stumped. Well worth getting used to the controls for.

The Last Guardian Thread

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