The Last Guardian

When it comes to Team Ico games, I am of two minds. Shadow of the Colossus is the second best game I have ever played meanwhile, I can only play about an hour of Ico before bouncing off it. I was slightly worried about this game because it appeared to be strongly reminiscent of Ico. However, within the first 20 minutes or so, all of my worries disappeared and I began to just let the game wash over me. From the opening moments, the game began drawing me in as I began feeding, then pulling spears out of a massive beast that is a hybrid of a cat, bird, and dog. After earning a sliver of its trust, the beast and playable character, a young and nameless boy, set off on a journey to return to their respective homes. After escaping the dark cave, the sheer majesty of Trico, as it is known, becomes apparent. Every minor detail of the creature's design; the impeccable animations, the realistic behavior, the puppy dog/ kitty cat eyes, all go a long way in earning your sympathy, and the fact that the player and Trico must rely on each other in many situations builds a certain unspoken trust between player and beast. Even more impressive is how this is all conveyed through the mechanics. Almost every other game developer in some way or another tries to force you to care about characters, but Team Ico (and the other dozen teams who touched this thing) put in the work to organically build the player's relationship with Trico through gameplay mechanics. Trico will be your protector and method of transportation, meanwhile, the boy keeps Trico fed and helps tend to the creature's battle wounds and even helps calm the beast after particularly intense fights. As I said earlier, where most developers would show this in a cutscene, The Last Guardian keeps the player in control of all these moments. This symbiotic relationship between Trico and the boy/player, continues building through many ups and downs leading to an emotional ending that stands alongside the truly great endings in the medium.

The ludic aspects of The Last Guardian are where people will have understandable concerns, but this game is similar to Team Ico's past games. One thing I praise them for may sound insane, but I appreciate their philosophy of realism in the face of convenience. It would be convenient if Yorda did anything on her own in Ico, it would be convenient for Agro to not veer off in a random direction in Shadow of the Colossus, and it would be convenient for Trico to listen to the player at all times, but I feel like making concessions in these regards would lead to all three games being lesser experiences. Trico ignoring the commands of the player every once in a while is what gives the massive bird-cat-dog-thing a sense of realism and personality. This is a game about the unspoken communication between humans and animals that lead to some of the closest bonds one can experience. The mutual understanding across species is what makes our relationships with our pets as meaningful as they are and sometimes there are misunderstandings. By including these misunderstandings, where Trico will sometimes ignore the player and do what it pleases, Team Ico uses them to further the realism of the fantastical creature. (Further relevant reading: this fantastic article about Shadow of the Colossus's controls)

When it comes to video games, there is really nobody who does it like Fumito Ueda and Team Ico. The way they combine gameplay and narrative together through a minimalist design philosophy truly demonstrates a mastery of their chosen medium. The Last Guardian is a damn good example of how video game storytelling is done. Keep it simple and use the mechanics to explore themes. While other games may tell slightly better stories, only 2015's true Game of the Year Life is Strange, has been able to draw a stronger emotional connection out of me than The Last Guardian. By stripping down the story to its basics, boy and beast try to return home, they were able to use mechanics to drive home the bond between the two. I've seen many games, from Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us to Mass Effect try AI companions, but The Last Guardian captured something none of those games did: a sense of companionship.

The Last Guardian is a game that took 9 years to get here, but I can firmly say that the wait was worth it. Even though the game has some bad technical issues, the good parts overwhelm the few, but glaring bad parts to bring one of the best gaming experiences in years. In a medium that relies almost exclusively on violence and killing, it is refreshing to have a game about the simple joys of friendship between humans and animals. All of the parts of this game come together wonderfully to create a memorable and beautiful game that will stick with me for a long time to come. Thanks for reading.

Likes: Trico is an achievement in design, touching narrative is driven home through mechanics,

Dislikes: Camera is downright awful at times, framerate is quite terrible on a base PS4,

The Last Guardian joins; Journey, Shadow of the Colossus, Mass Effect 2, Half Life, The Last of Us: Left Behind, and Mass Effect 3: Citadel, becoming the 7th game/DLC I've played, to earn my personal ★★★★★ rating.