PS4-exclusive The Last Guardian is a combination of beauty and frustration
PS4-exclusive The Last Guardian is a combination of beauty and frustration
7:24

PS4-exclusive The Last Guardian is a combination of beauty and frustration

Video Games
[MUSIC] [SOUND] It's the middle of September and The Last Guardian should have been out next month. It's recently been delayed until early December. However, Justin Haywald recently went down to Sony and had a chance to play the game, which I believe is the first time that anyone as Gamespot has played The Last Guardian. No, it's not the first time that we've played it and this is the build that they're showing at TGS Then we gotta see it a little bit at E3. I got a little bit of hands on but this is the first time when we've been able to record our games like when we're been able to show up how really bad we are at the game. I I thought like I was taking my first steps in in a new body in a new world in this game at sometimes and and to be fair. So what we saw at the, of the game this time it wasn't the beginning. This was not the tutorial, this is not an intro to the world. It was kinda throwing you into the middle. So there were some things that you're kind of expected to already know. So as you watch the footage you see that the game shows you, push this button to push something to push this button to jump And I think those are things that you would be expected to know at that point, how to interact with the monster and how to just interact in the world. But for me jumping in right at that point, it was definitely a steep learning curve. But I don't think that's gonna be indicative of the final game. So a lot of the things that I think people are wondering about are the things that they've been showing for a long time. That includes Theres a Treco or Trico. this sort of hybrid animal that you are I believe guarding. Although I'm curious. Maybe he's the guardian of the boy in the end. But how does that- [LAUGH] . No that could make since. But I'm curious. How was your interactions with Trico? Did it feel like he was a companion? Does it really feel like you weren't that familiar with him yet? Cuz I know that Des explained that [MUSIC] As you spend more time with him, you'll be able to understand each other a little bit better. How did that experience worked out? So I'm kind of a two minds around Trinkle. I love the design of the creature. I remember when I first saw it that I wasn't really that taken with it but when you see him from a distance and his those glowing green cat eyes, it just looked so cool to see him through shadow and then you get up close And that mix of fur and feathers as you climb unto his back and clamber over him like he's. It's a really cool looking creature. And it feels kinda cute and menacing and scary at the same time and you don't really know what to expect out of it. And it felt like the portion where I was at in the game, there was not a super close bond and it maybe that's what they were trying to get across with With that section of gameplay. So you can call to the creature. It's a lot like Eco in that sense. Mm-hm. Where you can call to your companion and they'll come towards you. And in this case, [UNKNOWN] might come towards you. You can kind of point him towards things. You can direct him. He's not always gonna listen right away though. Which is, it's both frustrating because you're playing a game and you're solving puzzles that are very similar to the other games in that Series that they've done before. So you kinda want to get that puzzle be like I know how to solve this. I'm sure if I go pull this thing it'll make the door come open. But at the same time it does give us that personality where it's almost like a precocious child, or a pet, like a cat who is not necessarily gonna listen to you when you say, hey cat, Go over there. And then the cat just looks over at the corner and goes, no, I'm not gonna do that. Yeah. That never works. [LAUGH] You cannot tell a cat what to do. And Trickle is a mix of different types of animals. The strongest one, and I think it's mannerisms in the way that it moves, is a cat. So it's just like a weird dog bird looking cat creature. So someone aloof, maybe? And it's aloof in some ways but and and I feel like this is another thing that just takes a lot of. You have to spend a lot of time in the game to to get to hang out but the way that he reacts to things around you, It it's kind of how you know what to do in the game. So, I don't think you're gonna get as blatant hand as I got in the game. Sure. But things are popping up on screen saying do this and and I had developers around me who were. Helping out. If you, you would have all ready learned if you grabbed this item, this is how you use that, if you watched Trico though, he looks around at his environment. So he looks up, there's one part that he's looking up at the ceiling. And a thing that you have to, Light. Yeah. And when you light that, then he jumps up on there, because he's attracted to the light. He wants to be closer to that. And then if you ride on his back when he jumps up there, then that gets you to this higher ledge, and you're able to solve the puzzle that way. Okay, so did maybe your anticipation or your hype, did you feel like finally picking this controller up and playing the game delivered what you were expecting? And if not, maybe How is it different from Fumito Ueda's past works Ico and Shadow of the Colossus? The years I think in some ways have diluted what this experience could have been. Cuz coming off of Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, just two amazing experiences that tell you so much about the world and how to play the game without ever being very explicit. Yeah. You are just kind of. Forced to figure things out. And it's hard to get a feel for that if you're not going in from the very beginning. Because I think a lot of the tutorial elements from Icho and Shadow of the Colossus in particular, are very subtle. So you have those elements in The Last Guardian as well, where there is a lot going on in this world and it's not clear what all of it means. And You kinda want to explore. You want answers to these things, and I don't think you're gonna get answers to everything. But, at the same time, it also feels like it borrows maybe a little too much, for me, in particular, a lot from Eco. Because now you're back in a castle, and I see things that are very familiar. And I don't think it's the same castle. But it also doesn't feel quite as fresh as new as something that it's surprising and that I didn't know what I was getting into. I felt very familiar which isn't necessarily a negative thing but I, you know, after waiting all this time, after having played [UNKNOWN] You know, I kinda wanted another experiences which is going to surprise me. So one other thing that is pretty particular about the way the game's in the past is the controls have been somewhat floaty, right. It's not this precise thing. You're sort of wrestling with a very organic feeling character. How does that translate to the last guardian? Especially, From some of the stuff I saw you're walking on pretty precarious land and structures. You do have to be very, very careful with the way that you move your character, because he does make an open world. And we've seen that in the other games where if you're walking along the ledge, if you're not careful you just walk off that ledge and it can either kill you or send you back to the beginning of the puzzle. And that happened to me a few times. But at the same time after having played so many games that have such tight controls. I'm a little bit hesitant to feel like this is going to be the finished product. Like I hope that the controls have some more work that's going to be done to them. Alright. Thanks Justin for all that new info. The rest of us will get a chance to play the game in about three months time. I'm hoping it's worth the wait, what are you hoping? Let us know in the comments below. Do you think The Last Guardian will live up to its prolonged development cycle? Otherwise, stay tuned to www.gamespot.com for more coverage of The Last Guardian, as its release approaches. [MUSIC] [SOUND] [MUSIC] [SOUND] [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]

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