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[Imp the Dimp]

Nope, it was't a good game. It was an amazing one

It did take me a while to get used to the boys movement though, a good couple of hours actually. I just wanted to slow down and walk, but the more i played the more it made sense why they didn't do that. Any lingering desire to slow down and walk had left me after i got the ability to properly issues commands to trico.

Sure didn't amaze me, glad you liked it though

 

[TheWhiteWolf]

Control inconsistency was my biggest issue.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Game with an active OT and new threads about it keeps coming.
It's your opinion so important to deserve its own thread?

It's how forums work and susatin themselves otherwise every thread is about a damn news story. If there can be a thread for every angryjoe video, then people can make threads about their opinion.

Or are you just prickly because it's a critical thread about this game in particular?

 

[Vexii]

Team Ico is not synonymous with janky games.

Ah, please understand that I don't mean jank as in "Bethesda jank". I mean it in more of a "programmed, stylistic" kind of jank.

I mean like the camera and running controls for instance. There's no way that I'm this era of games that they're accidentally terrible.

Again, all a part of the charm, just in its own annoyingly lovable way. Kind of like a younger sibling who annoys you to no end, but you'd try pretty hard to move them out of the way of a city bus, because you just... Care.

If there can be a thread for every angryjoe video, then people can make threads about ther opinion.

Do people not get that this has reached meme status, or am I just slow?

 

[mcz117chief]

Ah, please understand that I don't mean jank as in "Bethesda jank". I mean it in more of a "programmed, stylistic" kind of jank.

I mean like the camera and running controls for instance. There's no way that I'm this era of games that they're accidentally terrible.

Again, all a part of the charm, just in its own annoyingly lovable way. Kind of like a younger sibling who annoys you to no end, but you'd try pretty hard to move them out of the way of a city bus, because you just... Care.

I meant, Ico and SotC work fine, it's only TLG that dropped the ball out of the three games.

 

[matrix-cat]

EDIT: Also don't understand the camera & control complaints. The kid controls just fine for the kind of game it is. If this was some Mario game, I'd understand the complaints but the game hardly requires that kind of precision/responsiveness/fluidity of controls/movement. The kid feeling a bit heavy to control fits the somewhat realistic style they are attempting with all the movement in the game.

Why should a little boy feel heavy to control? It's not like he's wearing a suit of plate armour, he's just a five year old kid scampering around. Ico never felt like he was wading through molasses like TLG's boy does. Hell, Ico felt more responsive even while dragging Yorda around.

I don't think TLG's sluggish, unresponsive controls are some kind of statement; I think Team Ico just went overboard on animations and ended up with a game that controlled badly.

 

[Fbh]

In a way it's kinda amazing how this game turns out to be vastly different to everyone.

I had almost no problems at all controlling trico. There was only a single time he refused to do anything for like 10 minutes

Spoiler

when you are hanging from a tree

But other than that and the fact it runs at like 20-25 fps on regular Ps4, I had a great experience with the game. Definitely one of my favorite of recent years.



By the way, I'm not sure the game ever tells you. But you can give trico more specific commands.
Call button + circle, X and triangle do different things. One will ask him to sit down, one makes him look for places on higher ground, etc.

 

[Finaika]

Man, gamers are so spoiled nowadays.

It is a special game, that's all I'll say. And I would not have it any other way, minor frustrations included.

I bet they didn't even play ICO & Shadow of the Colossus.

 

[Vexii]

I meant, Ico and SotC work fine, it's only TLG that dropped the ball out of the three games.

I certainly don't agree, but by all means that doesn't make you wrong. Trico was annoying as hell at his worst, and the game did have some REALLY frustrating parts, but I genuinely believe that he was programmed that way. Like a flawed intelligence.

I'm sure you disagree, but it's this belief that made the game way more playable for me. It also helps that Trico looks a hell of a lot like my stupid cat 😁

 

[TheWhiteWolf]

I meant, Ico and SotC work fine, it's only TLG that dropped the ball out of the three games.

Yep. I played them back then it was no where frustrating like TLG.

 

[mcz117chief]

but I genuinely believe that he was programmed that way.

Why would a designer purposefully make a bad game? There is no excuse for bad controls unless it's a form of punishment/trade-off, like wearing plate armour in Ecstatica or Souls games.

 

[Vexii]

Why would a designer purposefully make a bad game?

Not bad, but authentic. There's your justification.

 

[myco666]

Why would a designer purposefully make a bad game?

As a joke?

 

[KodaRuss]

As someone who loved it there were times where I was pretty frustrated but it more than made up for its flaws imo.

I remember getting through that section OP and it was a little wonky.

There was a time or two where it felt like Trico was just not listening. At some point, pretty early in the game, it all sort of clicked for me and I didnt run into any problems with the commands.

I hope you can get through it OP because it really is a special game.

 

[eXistor]

I dunno what to tell you, I adapted to the camera within an hour and never had problems with it. I never felt frustrated with the controls. Not saying they're perfect; they could certainly be a bit more responsive (apparently they fixed the camera?), but I genuinely felt no frustration at any point in the game due to these supposed "bad" controls or camera.

 

[GribbleGrunger]

Agreed. I played it for a couple of hours and never touched it again. I exchanged it for Dishonoured 2 on Thursday and never thought twice about it.

 

[mcz117chief]

Not bad, but authentic. There's your justification.

There is nothing authentic about input lag and lack of movement options between stalking and sprinting.

As a joke?

Could be

 

[shounenka]

Man, gamers are so spoiled nowadays.

Lol, this is admittedly the first thing I thought reading through some of the more negative posts.

The infamous "barrel over the gaps puzzle" was just a test of how well-acquainted you were with the game's physics. I was PSYCHED when I got it to the top.

I remember a LOT more games from the Genesis/Mega Drive generation being a lot more unforgiving. Pretty much any game by a Western developer back then that wasn't NHL controlled like sh!t.

That being said, the controls being what they are in TLG, after beating the game last weekend, I told myself it would be a while before I felt like picking it up again.

A few days later, I'm already on playthrough #2, just because the overall experience is so good (that and because I want to grab a few more trophies).

 

[TheBear]

I quit playing at the second barrel throwing puzzle. It was absolutely infuriating. I've never been more frustrated at a video game.

Christ on a bike. I went through this section today and almost threw my controller at the screen. And then I had to lead the stupid dog in the fucking dark and almost lost my mind.

Good lord this game frustrates the hell out of me

 

[MeisterLeder]

Ive refunded the game after dealing with all the garbage. Not really fun

 

[mcz117chief]

Christ on a bike. I went through this section today and almost threw my controller at the screen. And then I had to lead the stupid dog in the fucking dark and almost lost my mind.

Good lord this game frustrates the hell out of me

Stupid dog! You make me look bad!

 

[ViciousDS]

It was one of the most frustrating games I have ever played. At times I yelling at the screen.

I almost threw my controller because of the auto grip shit........god.

Sometimes I just wanted to quick jump off trico but instead hed hop up the fucking thing.....or grab every hair rendered on the way down. Instead of taking 2 seconds getting of the thing to quickly rush to a spot, I ended up wasting 30 seconds just getting of the fucking birddog



gggaaahhhhhh fuck the controls


as for controlling Trico.....I learned to abuse it by giving commands off him. Being on top of him and giving commands didn't work half the time.


still an amazing game.

 

[Footos22]

Finished twice in 3 days. Trico does what you tell him you just need to be patient. Its easier to lead him there with the boy and then use him how you need him. Not hope the ai is gonna do what you want it to. Never had a problem myself and was actually dreading playing it with all the negative comments about that part of the game.

How are the controls frustrating? Game doesn't require precision and they make sense in grand scheme of things. Triangle for jump. X for down, then push on square and pull/grab on circle. Then hold r1 and you have the same commands for trico. It was pretty natural after the 5 mins it took to adjust at the beginning.

 

[Jonneh3003]

I didn't find it frustrating, are you showing Trico what to do or are you riding on his back most of the time? You're right about the camera for sure.

 

[Fitts]

I was a bit frustrated with Trico at the start of the game, and then I realized that I had felt a similar level of frustration with my dog.

Spoiler

He also seemed to listen better as the game went on.

Likewise, there was one particular jumping bit early on that had frustrated me and made me wonder why the boy controlled so poorly, but then in the "panicked" scenarios (won't get into the specific ones to avoid spoilers) I realized how much less tense these moments would be if the game had super responsive controls. The times when you have to

Spoiler

save Trico

would've been far less impactful.

The camera could be a needless struggle at times, but it wasn't persistent enough to take away from the rest of the game for me.

 

[Primethius]

Personally, I never got frustrated in the game so it's unfortunate to hear you are experiencing that.

I think it's the mindset you play the game with that really ends up shaping the experience.

 

[Humdinger]

It's how forums work and susatin themselves otherwise every thread is about a damn news story. If there can be a thread for every angryjoe video, then people can make threads about their opinion.

I have objected to this sort of thing in the past, but you've got a good point. I do tend to avoid OTs after a while, especially if I haven't played a game, because 1) potential spoilers, 2) sometimes group-think develops, crowding out other opinions, 3) it gets so large it can be hard to find things, and 4) people are talking about what part they are playing through now, which isn't all that interesting if you're not in the middle of the game yourself.

So, I guess these sorts of threads do serve a purpose. They re-ignite a bit of discussion, typically focused on one aspect of a game, and they avoid the downsides of posting in an OT.

 

[CharminUltra]

Frustrating as fuck Indeed. I was supposed to take a one month break from it, but it's been two months now. Maybe I'll finish it by the end of the year? It's a shame.

 

[mickagau33]

I don't know...I was indeed frustrated sometimes but it was rather the kind of frustration I can have with videogames in general when I don't "get it". I was giving stupid orders to Trico and he didn't know what to do...but once I got the logic of the puzzle, it was ok. And satysfing. I had the same experience with a very different puzzle game, "BoxBoy" (didn't get it, tried, tried, tried again, got frustrated, "got it", was super satisfied). Both games were great "puzzle games" imo

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

I had zero problems from beginning to end. Just be gentle with it. Don't mash commands, don't try too hard. I found it all pretty effortless once you start understanding Trico's movements/behaviours. 95% of the time he either did what I wanted on his own, or I issued one command and waited and he did it.

Only time I was ever frustrated during the game was the cage rolling thing lol.

 

[Smellycat]

The game is a masterpiece!! Once I figured out the jist of the controls I had little to no problems with it. You have to give commands + use the camera to your advantage while giving them. Makes your life so much easier.

Edit: From the main thread

I am currently playing the game a second time, and I am having almost no issues with the controls and Trico. Trico is obeying my commands pretty much when I tell him to do something. I think what people need to realize is that you can't give Trico several commands at once. Know which command you want him to do, and make sure to position the camera at the object/location you want. The last is crucial!

Here is an example I just uploaded:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu5163SHXuA

 

[BakedTanooki]

Never had a single moment of frustration while playing The Last Guardian. It was the opposite. Very relaxing experience, full of wonderful moments.

Sure, some camera proplems here and there, but nothing you can not manage. Have seen much worse in other games.

The controls were fine for me (same with Shadow of the Colossus).
Different doesn't mean it's bad.

Incredible game and masterpiece.

 

[Pie and Beans]

Worst Team Ico game.

They somehow got even worse at control systems over the last decade which is quite the feat!

 

[Savantcore]

I almost threw my controller because of the auto grip shit........god.

Sometimes I just wanted to quick jump off trico but instead hed hop up the fucking thing.....or grab every hair rendered on the way down. Instead of taking 2 seconds getting of the thing to quickly rush to a spot, I ended up wasting 30 seconds just getting of the fucking birddog



gggaaahhhhhh fuck the controls


as for controlling Trico.....I learned to abuse it by giving commands off him. Being on top of him and giving commands didn't work half the time.


still an amazing game.

Isn't there a button to just let go of his fur and fall to the ground?

On topic I really enjoyed the game despite the occasional frustration. I think it would have been a pretty boring game if Trico acted immediately and accurately every time you commanded him. His autonomy made the game even better for me sometimes. When I would be standing on top of him wondering where to go he'd just jump up to where the next area was. I really liked that spontaneity.

 

[Kraq]

It was one of the most frustrating games I have ever played. At times I yelling at the screen.

This 100%. I recently posted my thoughts on TLG in another thread, but reading this thread gives me some weird reassurance to know that others out there were also experiencing the same annoying AI and controls as I was.

Mandatory viewing for everyone that feels this way

This is eerily similar to my experience.

 

[EGM1966]

The game has two consistent issues: camera can screw up and the auto hold can screw up.

Both can be avoided pretty easily though for the most part.

It also has a few puzzles that frustrate although again this can be negated.

Overall it's great but there are some issues. That said it really is a case of play as they imply and you'll mostly avoid them. It's not a game to try and play "your way".

Trico simply isn't an issue if you command it correctly and keep him pampered. Simple as. In three playtbroughs that's never been an issue.

Experimenting though if you mess around spamming commands and not thinking out what you want to command him beforehand it can get ugly. Again it's a case of play as intended for best results.

It's a pity these couldn't be smoothed over but really the game feels like it's pushing the envelope of what can be made controllable while being dynamic do I get how the rough edges exist.

 

[dolce]

I thought it was fine. Like, the camera was an issue when you're riding on top of Trico in a small space, but it was easily remedied by moving the boy a little. Perfect? No. But it was serviceable, imo.

The controls were totally fine to me as well. I wouldn't pretend they're pristine, but I also totally disagree with people who say the game's mechanics are bad. I think people have gotten so used to automated inputs that have dominated the gaming industry in modern games. If you don't time your jumps, you're going to miss.

One could say the controls feel dated, but I don't think that makes them bad. For the type of game it was, the controls felt serviceable and perfectly fine.

Now, as far as the AI, Trico mostly worked well for me, but during one of the water sections his AI spazzed out. Definitely annoying, but the majority of the experience was great to me.

 

[Budi]

Does it control better than the Witcher 3?

 

[Smellycat]

Mandatory viewing for everyone that feels this way

I definitely didn't have these issues

 

[Sorcerer Supreme]

Never had a single moment of frustration while playing The Last Guardian. It was the opposite. Very relaxing experience, full of wonderful moments.

Sure, some camera proplems here and there, but nothing you can not manage. Have seen much worse in other games.

The controls were fine for me (same with Shadow of the Colossus).
Different doesn't mean it's bad.

Incredible game and masterpiece.

same. i assume that anyone that did have trouble is just an impatient person.

 

[EatinOlives]

Other than literately one time where the game bugged out, I never had an issue with Trico "not listening" when he should have. I don't know what you guys are doing tbh

Camera was hot garbage though.

 

[Relaxt]

I persevered with the game. For more than half the game it was mostly a chore with some good bits

But the last 1/3rd is brilliant and I was delighted I stuck with it

This exactly. Loved ICO and Shadow and immediately felt nostalgic upon booting up this one. But slowly the PS2 era controls and camera went from nostalgic to frustrating. The last 1/3 of the game really opens up and it's true beauty shines through brightly. By the end the control and camera issues disappear and I just enjoyed the finish.

 

[LinkSlayer64]

I really want to like it. I like the setting, the aesthetics very much. I also like the verticality aspect. But by God, this game is frustrating.
The controls and camera are pretty bad, and the bad AI (even if intentional as Trico is an animal after all) just adds to it. Sometimes I keep giving commands and wait (and hope) that Trico will do what I want it to do. At one time it kept going to the wrong place for almost 10 minutes. I wanted to smash the controller in the wall.
Then there is the camera. It in itself is pretty bad, but add the abhorrent frame rate (and I am the kinda guy who rarely feels bad frame rate as long as camera and controls are fine) and weird ass smoothing of camera movement and it's just a clusterfuck.

Oh and the controls. I just do not feel that the kid is going where I am trying to take it, especially when on Trico. I am trying to take him to Trico's tail, but he will rather enter his ass. I will be trying to make him hang on a ledge, but he will rather do that 'omg I am about to fall over the cliff hang on balance' animation. I will try to make him walk towards a certain place, but he will rather do that weird 'looks like running but jumping at the same place' animation. Oh and when the guards catch him and we finally get him free (by mashing random buttons lol), he will stand up and then fall again once, always, making the guard almost catch him again. It's annoying.

I am at a puzzle where I have to throw a barrel across several gaps (and quickly otherwise it rolls off and I have to start over again) and the game is really testing my limits. I don't remember when I cursed last time on a game.

Died lol

 

[ArchAngel]

Not a frustrating second in 3 playthroughs.
SotC > TLG >>> Ico for me, everything played on launch and not as HD remasters years later

 

[CISphil]

It's my personal 2016 GOTY, but the issues you brought up are indeed very serious. I was able to push through, but the problems with the camera, AI, performance and movement, even taken individually, are absolutely deal breakers. I don't blame anyone for giving up, but it still makes me sad since I love the game so much.

Prepare for the defenders to tell you that all that is completely intentional

I don't mean this as a defence, but I do think the weird camera and movement behaviour was (mostly) intentional. They seem to constantly try to direct your attention to specific points, usually a nice view, a puzzle solution or Trico. I don't think it worked as intended. Also, the free camera movement is so cumbersome with the half second input lag and constantly getting caught in odd places. Mixed with lower framerate areas, this is nauseating.
The movement looks very natural, but it comes at the cost of precision and results in awkward and unintended behaviour, as well as annoying deaths.

Again, I think they were going for a very artistic approach to the gameplay, something I actually find really interesting, but that just didn't work in practice. I won't defend it, I think more thought should have been put in to make it comfortable to play as a game, rather than an art piece. I'm not sure "artsy" gameplay can really be done outside of something of very restricted scope, but I hope someone proves me wrong one day.

 

[Brandon F]

Mandatory viewing for everyone that feels this way

I've only played about halfway through, but in my time I never really had close to the same issues that he ran into as most of that video is comprised of sections I have cleared. In some cases, he was even attempting to do something improper therein.

Not saying that I also didn't have times where it took more patience than desired to accomplish an obvious task(and I have certainly flubbed dragging a barrel to a high point only for it it to fall as well causing a vein to pop), but never to the extent of that video.

 

[Acquiescence]

Across my entire playful, I encountered about two moments of frustration in total. One is the already infamous pool-under-the-rafters section, which is just vague with its solution and buggy and in dire need of some sort of patch. The other was getting Trico to stay underwater during the second underwater segment. It took several attempts for him to finally keep going instead of resurfacing. Other than that, Trico was golden and did what I asked 95% of the time or so. I'm taken aback when I read about how much stress people underwent trying to command Trico to do what they wanted, and also wrestling with the camera and controls. Maybe in retrospect I was very lucky? I mean, I played the game at a slow-paced manner, took in the sights, was attentive to Trico's needs (always kept an eye out for spears) and I tried to be as observant as I could. It was a quaint game and I played it in a quaint manner. For me it paid off. A 10/10 game that I think surpassed Ueda's previous efforts. I'm sorry that there are people out there who lost their rag with the game so much.

 

[AlucardGV]

duhno, i enjoyed the whole game. maybe i had some trouble when

Spoiler

you fall down the floor into the water and you have to get up with trico's tail

but that's it
played it 4 times in a row
i guess different tastes

 

[Greatest Ever]

Never had a single moment of frustration while playing The Last Guardian. It was the opposite. Very relaxing experience, full of wonderful moments.

Sure, some camera proplems here and there, but nothing you can not manage. Have seen much worse in other games.

The controls were fine for me (same with Shadow of the Colossus).
Different doesn't mean it's bad.

Incredible game and masterpiece.

Sums up what I would have said.

 

[HStallion]

Mandatory viewing for everyone that feels this way

This is mandatory viewing as this video high lights exactly what not to do in almost any situation in TLG and I'd even say Dunkey actually know's how to play the game. He's basically doing the exact opposite of what you want to do in most of these situations presented in the game whether its mashing buttons and commands expecting Trico to respond, let alone correctly, to not using the camera to frame things or ignoring for Trico's body language and vocal cues. This isn't to say there aren't issues or the game is perfect or anything of the sort but to use this video as some kind of example of how the game plays is a little disingenuous. There is a reason this video is full of "frustration" and that's because a lot of those actions and methods being used are not going to work and actively make things more frustrating and annoying.