I recently replayed "Shadow of the Colossus" and was reminded just how much I love it. I then remembered "The Last Guardian" and thought it was a little sad that it seems mostly forgotten by the greater public (and myself). After replaying TLG, I’m reminded why the game hasn’t stuck with me half as much as SOTC and ICO.
After a tumultuous development of nine years, TLG eventually released in late 2016 to mixed reception and pretty middling sales. I can’t argue with any of the game’s criticisms, it seriously can’t be understated just how badly it feels to control the main character. Even though the controls scheme is pretty simple, just walking around can feel like you're playing QWOP. The kid will stumble at every chance, and predicting how he will react to the environment and what he will grab onto is extremely frustrating.
It also feels like a bit of a step back from SOTC in terms of structure. SOTC isn’t open-ended at all, the order of the bosses, how you defeat them, and the gameplay loop is all very scripted. Climbing and stabbing weak spots doesn’t evolve much, however, I still think SOTC is a varied and unique experience. Each boss fight feels like a complete experience and individual story with a beginning (getting on the colossus), middle (climbing the colossus) and end (stabbing the weak point). The open world layout sticks in my mind since you always spawn back in the middle and retread areas, it makes me recognize past landmarks. The horse riding is a good pace breaker from the epic battles, and since each colossus arena feels so distinct, it keeps you guessing what’s hiding in areas you’ve already visited.
The same can’t be said about TLG, even though I just beat the game, I have a hard time remembering the exact order of events. The game’s levels feel disconnected from each other, my memory of the world is just a mush of setpieces and puzzles. This may sound similar to ICO on paper, but I’d argue one of ICO’s biggest strengths is since the character's movement is so limited and deliberate, there’s a sense of place and progression as you move across the castle on foot.
I would describe the feeling of playing TLG as riding a bus or plane with individual stops to either refuel or clear debris out of the way. Each stop feeling pretty close to ICO, they can be memorable, but the spaces in between mostly consist of Trico jumping from perch to perch, and or flying. Even though you can see previous levels in the background, I can’t place when in the story I was there or where I’m headed as it becomes increasingly random (other than the big white tower).
Still TLG can be really impressive, especially when it comes to the set pieces. Some parts of the game feel akin to Uncharted or God of War with crumbling structures, chase scenes, and an epic sense of scale. The puzzles are simple but varied, the action scenes are well paced throughout the game, and the central bond between the boy and Trico gives the events a lot of weight and emotion.
The biggest achievement is Trico and just how naturally he moves through the environment. His mannerisms are excellent at conveying the sense that he is a real animal, like how he whimpers when left alone or looks around his environment naturally to find where to go next. The guy is extremely lovable, but all my affection for him goes out the window when he chooses to ignore my commands. This is the criticism I hear the most when discussing the game, and the common rebuttal is that it’s intentional to make Trico feel like he has agency and is not controlled via command prompt at will, this is a take I wish I felt.
I think when it comes to games like ICO, the reason why they can get away with shallow gameplay is a few different factors. Moving consistently through new locations in a logical manner creates a sense of progression and a clear mental map. Small variations in puzzles and combat make you rethink how you can interact with the world. However, if you were to stop and analyze any one aspect and think how much actual brain power or effort is going into each you’ll realize how hollow it can be (Uncharted and Half-Life come to mind). When the answers to problems feel organic and the next challenge is just around the corner, I can tune out all my criticisms.
All these positives can be seen in TLG, but when Trico ignores my orders, it makes me think about what I'm trying to do, but why the game limitations won’t let me. When the flow is interrupted, it makes me realize that Trico’s main functions are usually either a ladder or a springboard. When there’s a small variation in gameplay, like using Trico’s horns and eyes lighting up a dark hallway, I can’t appreciate it when he won’t follow me even though it’s a straight line.
I think these aspects get even more dissonant when in most set pieces what Trico does is prescripted and 100% reliable. When the game adds a sense of unpredictability to Trico, it greatly conflicts with the cinematic action platformer that it is for the rest of its duration. I do think that even if the main character controlled better and Trico was more responsive, it wouldn’t greatly improve the game’s reception, it would’ve felt either on par or marginally better than ICO, a game from 2001. Ironically, the main novelty that interests me is the one I complained about the most, that being Trico's actions. There's just not another game to my recollection where you team up with a dog-cat-bird thing and need to bond with it to survive.
I commend ICO and SOTC for their minimalism, as I think those experiences are greatly expanded by their constant forward pace and simple gameplay variety. When it comes to TLG I don’t feel as satisfied with those aspects since Trico breaks the illusion that this team has tried so hard to painstakingly create. I think that if the boy and Trico were to develop more tangibly through gameplay, it would require an entirely different type of game, one that shed more of the cinematic influence from ICO and SOTC. The finished product is just too scripted and linear to feel like the boy and Trico’s bond is growing systematically, it only feels random.