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Is The Last Guardian a Masterpiece?
- Thread starter Sid
- Start date
By the end I really did love it and Trico is still just amazing, but no, it has too many issues that ruin it for me to consider it a masterpiece or even recommend it.
One person's masterpiece is another person's 'ehhhh it was okay', so it's definitely subjective. For me, TLG is definitely flawed, but it's also one of the most memorable gaming experiences I've ever had. I also found Trico a delight to interact with, and didn't have any problems with his AI, so that certainly also helped my enjoyment of the game.
Also me at the ending of the game:
Also me at the ending of the game:
The horrendously janky controls ruin the game for me.
10+ years and those controls are the best they could do?
10+ years and those controls are the best they could do?
I voted yes. I think this game will be looked at more and more fondly as time goes on. Taste shifts with the times, but this game is so damn confident in what it wants to be. The vision is there at every turn and the emotional punch it wants you to feel hits HARD. The controls can be a little awkward and there are definitely moments that are more frustrating than I would like, but we so rarely see bigger budget games like this with such a singular vision. That counts for a lot in my book even if there are some awkward bits along the way.
For me, The Last Guardian is one of the masterpieces of this generation, along with other great masterpieces like Uncharted 4, Bloodborne, and God of War.
And this beyond any global or mathematical judgment has been given to the game.
Representing today's most ambitious Sony game ever made.
(on a par, perhaps, only with Twenty-year Crash Bandicoot compilation)
And this beyond any global or mathematical judgment has been given to the game.
Representing today's most ambitious Sony game ever made.
(on a par, perhaps, only with Twenty-year Crash Bandicoot compilation)
I want to say yes, but the game does have some glaring issues that hold it back (namely the AI issues, but that is understandable since Trico's AI must be a billion lines of code or something). No doubt is it an incredible experience that everyone needs to play, though.
Hell yes. It's flawed, but honestly 90% of the issues people had with this game were in Shadow of the Colossus and Ico (and frequently worse). It's a feat of empathy-focused game-design, and is the kind of game that would never get made otherwise. It's beautiful, it's ambitious, and it's sublime.
It is indeed a masterpiece. Better than SOTC. One of the greatest forms of Art.
I feel sad for people who rejected it coz the game doesn't hand hold you into anything.
Trico behaving like a real creature was games most important thing and it sure was nailed. Thank god Ueda did not make him like a machine.
The Story, atmosphere,platforming, trico and that ending. Perfect game.
So glad it released. Ingenius creation of Fumito Ueda.
I feel sad for people who rejected it coz the game doesn't hand hold you into anything.
Trico behaving like a real creature was games most important thing and it sure was nailed. Thank god Ueda did not make him like a machine.
The Story, atmosphere,platforming, trico and that ending. Perfect game.
So glad it released. Ingenius creation of Fumito Ueda.
Artistically? Well it's closer than 99% of games although I'dcgesrlitayecto day its a masterpiece; but I'm very stingy with what I consider to be a masterpiece in any medium.
As a game? It's fine and it certainly takes risks with what it tries; Trico may frustrate some but 99% of games wouldn't even dare something that ambitious. Still, there are clear flaws from a gameplay perspective.
So no; but like most Team ICO games it's closer in ambition than majority of games which are merely good craftwork cookie cutter commercially driven examples of their genre.
Whatever else TLG like ICO and SOTC feels like it's unique and in a genre all of its own. I'll always respect that.
As a game? It's fine and it certainly takes risks with what it tries; Trico may frustrate some but 99% of games wouldn't even dare something that ambitious. Still, there are clear flaws from a gameplay perspective.
So no; but like most Team ICO games it's closer in ambition than majority of games which are merely good craftwork cookie cutter commercially driven examples of their genre.
Whatever else TLG like ICO and SOTC feels like it's unique and in a genre all of its own. I'll always respect that.
To me it is. It was full of technical issues that gave me light headaches every time i played it for more than an hour (low framerate, stuttering, unresponsive controls) but i remember the journey from the lower parts of the Nest until the very top vividly and Trico suffering along the journey.
I will never forget that last section, that ending.
Great thing Ueda is already developing his next game, can't wait.
I will never forget that last section, that ending.
Great thing Ueda is already developing his next game, can't wait.
It's an amazing and beautiful experience, but one marred with frustration due to poor design decisions. So not a masterpiece but still a game that is very special.
It's not remotely close to SotC. I never thought ICO was a masterpiece, so much as it was a nice oddity. The Last Guardian has its moments, but it's decent at best, and terribly frustrating at its worst.
Personally I consider both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus masterpieces. However I don't feel the same towards The Last Guardian. I understand that the gameplay is meant to mimic the behaviour of a real animal, but it makes for frustrating gameplay that fails to immerse and captivate.
In saying this, I hope we get another game by Fumito Ueda in the future. He's a brilliant videogame designer. And he is allowed to falter once or twice as any other human.
In saying this, I hope we get another game by Fumito Ueda in the future. He's a brilliant videogame designer. And he is allowed to falter once or twice as any other human.
Absolutely not. And I don't even really have any complaints about Trico's AI, if anything it's probably the biggest success in the game. But the narrative is beyond disappointing. The bond between the child and Trico feels forced (in large part due to the narration, a truly awful decision that should have never been in the game) and I found the game's world to be ultimately uninteresting, unlike the worlds of Ico or SotC. The finale of the game in particular just left me with a blank "that's it...?" feeling (aside from one moment that was well done, you probably know what I'm talking about).
I feel like the game is a 6/10 at best. It wasn't the biggest disappointment of my life or anything but I was still pretty let down considering the developer's pedigree and how long the wait ended up being.
I feel like the game is a 6/10 at best. It wasn't the biggest disappointment of my life or anything but I was still pretty let down considering the developer's pedigree and how long the wait ended up being.
ahahahah....no. It remains as the most disappoint game of the gen for me (as someone who has SOTC in their top5). Some segments manage to bring back the charm and awe of the previous games, but they can't manage to overcome the horrible technical misfortunes of the game, mainly camera work and character control and the weak "story".
It honestly didn't perform well enough at launch to be considered one.
Come back with a rerelease on PS5 that at least sticks to 30fps and then we'll talk.
It is one of the best PS4 exclusives easily, but it's a pain to play due to performance.
Come back with a rerelease on PS5 that at least sticks to 30fps and then we'll talk.
It is one of the best PS4 exclusives easily, but it's a pain to play due to performance.
It wasn't for me. It had masterpiece potential but it felt like it lacked direction, in the beginning you're constantly going through the same motions of entering new rooms, finding the switch and letting Trico through and at some point I guess they felt like they should rush the player through the game to get to the ending. The one highlight for me was the point where I had to trust Trico to catch me, which they then recycled a couple of times but to me it seems like the designers didn't know where they wanted the game to go so they just had to resort to implementing them in scripted events along the way, shoehorned.
Games like Journey, Inside, Thomas was Alone and dozens of quality indie games released in the past couple of years succeeded where TLG failed in that the aesthetic qualities are a result of the player engaging with the core play mechanics that are consistent throughout the game.
Games like Journey, Inside, Thomas was Alone and dozens of quality indie games released in the past couple of years succeeded where TLG failed in that the aesthetic qualities are a result of the player engaging with the core play mechanics that are consistent throughout the game.
It couldn't have been out on the PS3 gen though. We know that PS3 has trouble running what they were attempting to do. It would have been a 15fps game, which would have been more than unacceptable. It was a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario?