Review: The Last Guardian

“The Last Guardian” is the newest adventure game from the creators of “icon" and "Shadow of the Colossus“. Almost a decade later, the title is finally released and arrives at Playstation 4 with an epic story about discovery and companionship. Check out my full review of one of the most anticipated games of all time.

Initially revealed in 2007 as a game exclusive to Playstation 3, The Last Guardian went through turbulent times in its long period of development. The game from the Japanese studio Team Icon, which has the talented director Fumito Ueda ahead of the projects, went through several postponements until it was given as canceled in the year 2014.

After a long period after the cancellation, the developer decided to resume the production of the title, which rose from the ashes during the Sony conference, during E3 2015, simply the largest game fair in the world. Since the new announcement, several uncertainties surrounded the project, after all, its trajectory lasted longer than the useful life of the PlayStation 3 – the platform for which the title was originally intended. Believe me: The Last Guardian is finally among us.

The game tells the story of a boy and his hybrid animal, affectionately nicknamed "Knitting“, a gigantic creature inspired by mythological beings. Together, they embark on a mission to unravel the secrets of a mythical world, putting the unexpectedly built friendship to the test.

The mechanics are simple and focused solely on the interaction between the duo. In the beginning, the boy needs to gain Trico's trust through affectionate gestures. Along the journey, the young man teaches the animal to perform natural movements and actions, such as jumping, lying down and eating.

In addition, the game basically comes down to obstacles and puzzles very well designed. The partnership between the young man and Trico is always tested in peculiar puzzles and challenges. Both need to work together, in the same line of thought, so that the strategies are executed correctly.

While the boy is looking for a lever among the rubble at the top of a tower, for example, the animal must remain strategically positioned on the ground to cushion his fall. It's really impressive to see the mechanics working well between the player-driven character and the machine-controlled animal.

In other words, The Last Guardian is, essentially, a fantastic exploration game. Although Trico has to attack the stone knights in occasional situations, the controllable character is not directly involved in confrontations and only acts in the background.

The animal's artificial intelligence works well, but leaves something to be desired at certain times. It's common to see Trico lost in the middle of the scenery not knowing what to do, even being instructed several times to perform a certain action. Generally, it is necessary to get Trico's attention and point to some element of the environment to make him perform the task.

Despite this, flawed intelligence sometimes seems be something purposeful. It is the same difficulty of an owner who has just brought a new animal into his home. The same difficulty, by the way, that Agro had in obeying Wander's commands. Trico needs to be trained little by little, so patience is needed.

Having almost unbelievable ten years of life, it is natural that the game presents some technical limitations, such as somewhat blurred textures, subtle lighting and reflection effects, in addition to timid details in characters and scenery components.

Even so, the art direction is impeccable and lives up to the name of Ueda, with phenomenal environments and areas to remember. The artistic standard, in turn, is the same used in Shadow of the Colossus, but adapted to the current generation console – including support for the HDR feature, which balances the color level.

As expected, the adventure is masterfully conducted by beautiful songs orchestrated in action scenes. Otherwise, only the young man's screams and Trico's heavy footsteps can be heard, which amplifies the sense of isolation.