![]() Like a dog to its owner, you can sense the genuine love Trico has for you (especially when he fondly stares at you with those deep black eyes), and so its every action is interpreted as genuine care for your safety and well-being not simply an AI teammate doing its part.įrom a gameplay perspective, there are numerous different ways that Trico will support you, from acting as a bridge to higher levels, to jumping between platforms with you on his back, to attacking stone soldiers that attempt to kidnap you. Trico will affectionately howl if you get out of sight, it will come racing towards you if you shout its name, and it will even poke its head through small doorways just to keep you in sight for as long as possible. It’s not just his size that makes Trico unique (he’s about as large as the massive Colossi from Shadow of the Colossus), but it’s how he’s been designed with realistic animal qualities, behaviours and instincts. I’ve played tons of games where you have non-playable companions that aid you, but Trico stands apart as one of the most endearing, original, and helpful AI characters I’ve ever teamed with. ![]() What’s truly captivating about The Last Guardian is how all of its action-adventure elements-from its discovery of new areas, to platforming segments, to combat segments-all serve to reinforce the core idea that every moment is about the strengthening connection between the boy and his guardian beast. ![]() This was a touching moment between boy and beast, one of dozens I would encounter over this twelve hour journey, and it was absolutely heartwarming to witness our bond gradually grow stronger. The remedy, as it turned out, was to feed Trico glowing barrels that somehow revitalized the beast, and calmed it enough to allow me to get near and pull the spears out. How this beast (which the boy later names Trico) came to be in this wretched condition I couldn’t say, but certainly I felt the need to help it out. Like in past Team Ico games, very little backstory is explained to you, freeing you to interpret situations such as these the way you want, and leaving it completely in your hands as to how to react to them. Lying next to you is an enormous half-bird, half-dog, griffin-like creature, clearly in agonizing pain and hostile towards you, having several spears lodged in its body. The adventure begins with you, playing the role of an everyday boy, waking up in a mysterious underground dungeon and finding strange, foreign markings all over you skin. Publisher: Sony Interactive EntertainmentĮSRB Rating: T (Teen, 13 years and up) A boy and his beast companion Development then shifted over to Sony’s newer, more powerful PS4, and Ueda’s new development studio, genDESIGN, two factors that help explain why there was more than a decade gap since the release of Shadow of the Colossus on PS2 (the Ico and SotC HD Collection on PS3 also contributed.) The Last Guardian is, in many ways, an amazing technical accomplish, and one of the most endearing video games I’ve ever played-without question it was worth the long wait. ![]() The Last Guardian originally started out as a PS3 title, but due to the console’s technical limitations, Ueda was simply unable to realize his creative vision. Now, 11 years since the release of his last game, Ueda is back with his most ambitious project yet, The Last Guardian on PlayStation 4. These games transported us to immersive, mystical worlds to experience inspiring and emotional stories of love and sacrifice, all conveyed through minimalist storytelling and the clever use of lighting and sound to accentuate mood. Long before games like Journey, Undertale, and Ori and the Blind Forest amazed us with their bold artistry, Sony’s Fumito Ueda and his development studio at Team Ico gave us arguably the most influential pair of artistic video games in history: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.
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