and more like a human partner that you’re co-oping the game with. partner reach a conclusion before you do is such an interesting design choice, because it feels less like an A.I. Other times, he will be the one to guide the way. At times, you’ll be desperately trying to steer Trico in the right directions. The artificial intelligence attached to Trico is remarkable, striking a balance between intelligent and authentic.

His movements are fluid, his sounds are varied in pitch and length, his facial expressions range from longing to hopeful and, perhaps most importantly, his visual design is incredibly detailed and dynamic. Trico, on the other hand, is one of the single most beautiful and lifelike things to be showcased in a video game. The game is gorgeous, even if it’s environments tend to lean toward repetitive.

So lets talk about Trico, the companion who resembles a griffin had it mated with a rat. If you can’t figure out the right way to go, the game often uses Trico’s eye line to point you in the right direction. Often times, Trico will climb to new heights without you, as if showing you what needs to be done next. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this choice is that it seems to work both ways. These moments of frustration help forge an important bond, one that helps carry the game through to the end. Much like dealing with a pet, communication between boy and animal doesn’t come easily. The communication between our protagonist and Trico is clunky and inflexible. It may seem like an excuse for bad controls, but by the end of The Last Guardian, it becomes totally apparent that this was an intention design choice. Much like asking your pet dog for their paw, only for them to roll over onto their backs with their bellies held high. It’s incredibly frustrating to watch to know what’s next, only for Trico to completely ignore your commands. You’ll often find yourself pounding the jump command only to watch Trico stare aimlessly into the sky. Using the exact same control scheme, there’s something lost in translation.

Much like your protagonist, you can move forward and backward, jump, and climb. Part of the game is communicating with Trico. So what makes The Last Guardian so special? For one, it makes some incredible narrative decisions that aren’t afraid to frustrate the player. If you’re put off by it now, you’ll definitely be put off by it a dozen hours in. Outside of a late-game shooting mechanic that is used about a dozen times, that’s the entirety of the gameplay. It can feel cumbersome, but the struggle might just be the point. Just a young boy, he fumbles about and struggles to accomplish just about anything that isn’t walking forward or climbing straight up and down. Even when you can, the protagonist rarely does exactly what you want him to. The game’s camera often get pinned behind a rock or Trico’s (the creature that accompanies you through the game) butt, making it nearly impossible to see what you’re doing. If there is something that makes it difficult, it’s the camera and controls. I’d call it a platformer, but the game rarely asks the player to do anything resembling an actual challenge. The game lasts well shy of 15 hours, and most of it is walking, slowly climbing, or jumping from one platform to the next. partner surely will), even if it often takes quite a bit of time. This is rarely a struggle (if you can’t figure it out, your A.I. Most of the games ask you to get from point A to point B. Let’s get something clear right off the bat: there is very little actual gameplay in The Last Guardian, which is weird, because there’s also only a handful of cutscenes. But damn, if there aren’t moments of this game that will last you a lifetime. It isn’t always good, and it defies a lot of the industry standards that encompass other large releases. From our seemingly normal protagonist to our majestic sidekick, everything about the game is just different. Everything about The Last Guardian feels memorable.

The last guardian gameplay hours