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The Last Guardian: Review Thread

So can somebody explain to me why sites feel it is right to give a game that struggles so much on its technical site a 9/10?

Every other game would get destroyed for the performance after this long time.

I mean I like the gameplay and story, but this just doesn't sit well with me
Witcher, Bloodborne, Fallout, Skyrim, etc

If the game is good enough for the reviewer that they outweigh the flaws...it's been that way forever. That 9/10 is how much the reviewer enjoyed the game; the game's strengths are that good to the point that flaws don't hamper that individual's enjoyment.

That's all a review score is. A representation of how much that writer liked the game.
 
So can somebody explain to me why sites feel it is right to give a game that struggles so much on its technical site a 9/10?

Every other game would get destroyed for the performance after this long time.

I mean I like the gameplay and story, but this just doesn't sit well with me

A review is just a personal experience and it means those things didn't harm their own experience enough to dock it.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Were those reviews actually for the PS3 or Xbox 360 scores applied to both consoles.

Because that happened a lot last generation.

Tons of games this gen have launched with horrible issues and still gotten a pass. Some are worse than others of course and some have improved over time like the Witcher 3.
 
Nope

skyrimpas4a.png


skyrimj9xgy.gif
And it still was my GOTY even on PS3 XD
A game can still be a good game to someone even with technical problems.
 

Servbot24

Banned
So can somebody explain to me why sites feel it is right to give a game that struggles so much on its technical site a 9/10?

Every other game would get destroyed for the performance after this long time.

I mean I like the gameplay and story, but this just doesn't sit well with me

Because technical stuff doesn't matter. Art matters.
 

Cyberia

Member
Days after meeting them, I still carry these protagonists and their tale in my thoughts, though genDESIGN and SIE Japan Studio have carried them much longer. The Last Guardian’s troubled development cycle spans nearly ten years, surviving taxing setbacks and delays in hopes of delivering this story. Standing here now, the creation process appears just as challenging, passionate, and lovingly silent as its product. The Last Guardian isn’t perfect — its mechanical slips are present if occasional — but the experience is so very special, and uniquely beautiful to the end.

http://twinfinite.net/2016/12/the-last-guardian-review/

4.5/5
 
Were those reviews actually for the PS3 or Xbox 360 scores applied to both consoles.

Because that happened a lot last generation.

I think Metacritic tried to do that once the backlash started against the PS3 version. That's why it only has 16 reviews compared to the 360 version which has 89 and sits at a 96.

I just saw Yoshida retweet this from a ND writer

tlgmgs6t.png


tlg1sus12.png


It'll be interesting to see if TLG ends up having another ICO effect on the industry.
 
I do wonder how Edge will rate this. They love these kind of games but also tend to take a hardline stance on technical issues.

Yeah, I'm really curious as to how both TLG's and FFXV's reviews pan out. Both SotC and Ico are pretty high up on their Greatest 100 Games list.
In their previous 100 list, Ico was at 22, SotC at 36. FFXII was at 92. For the 2016 Edition, Ico is at 24, SotC at 37, and FFXII at 97. Dark Souls is at 1, and Bloodborne is at 4, Demon's Souls at 22, and the console exclusive Soulsborne games certainly have their technical issues that improve with the Dark Souls Trilogy being playable on PC. All have cameras that need wrangling, bless 'em.

ETA: Er, I'm not sure if top 100 lists could be counted as spoilers for those wanting the magazine, so I'll tag in case, though the 2016 version didn't change anything drastically from their previous edition.
 
So can somebody explain to me why sites feel it is right to give a game that struggles so much on its technical site a 9/10?

Every other game would get destroyed for the performance after this long time.

I mean I like the gameplay and story, but this just doesn't sit well with me

Because games aren't math, and the experience is subjective. I would give this game a 10/10 or equivalent, doesn't mean it's perfect. I mean, footage is out there, information is out there. You can decide for yourself if poor performance is enough to make you not want to play a game.
 
Depends if people accept AI that doesn't obey them. It has huge potential for design but there are a portion of critics who seem to not accept that.
Even if that aspect doesn't full translate, the others - its setpiece design, level design, character building and storytelling through gameplay and mechanics, etc. - hopefully will inspire developers much like Druckmann and Miyazaki were
 
A review is just a personal experience and it means those things didn't harm their own experience enough to dock it.
i think videogames are often measured to the exact standards of other mediums when in reality games share characteristics of them and posses the interative element on top. In this sense a game review shouldn't limit itself to be what a book review is, to name one example.

A game review should add an "objective element" on top of the more traditional personal feelings that encompasses more traditional critcal pieces.

Because technical stuff doesn't matter. Art matters.
For an interactive medium? Of course "technical stuff" does matter. A game often crashing, the lost of save data, low frame rates impacting controls, game ending bugs, broken online components, nause inducing design in VR, etc. Are fundamental factors that affect interactivity and shouldn't be ignored.

Of course im not emitting any judgement about the Last Guardian, which is probably the most significant release of 2016 and comes from a team that has developed some of the most important games of all time.
 
This has to be one of the best stories of the generation. A game that has been the butt of jokes for the last 5 years or so getting getting such a positive reception.
 
i think videogames are often measured to the exact standards of other mediums when in reality games share characteristics of them and posses the interative element on top. In this sense a game review shouldn't limit itself to be what a book review is, to name one example.

A game review should add an "objective element" on top of the more traditional personal feelings that encompasses more traditional critcal pieces
Like?
 
Depends if people accept AI that doesn't obey them. It has huge potential for design but there are a portion of critics who seem to not accept that.

That's not the main thing devs could take from TLG, especially considering it's a bit overblown IMO. I have been playing for 6 hours or so and I feel like Trico didn't do what I wanted just one time and even then I was trying the wrong solution anyway.

The main thing current devs could take from Ueda is as always sparse storytelling and cinematic moments that don't come at the expense of gameplay. TLG tells a beautiful story but it's a videogame through and through, there are hardly any interruptions to the flow and you're in full control nearly every second. Likewise, you walk around a fuckton but you're always going somewhere and it feels like part of the journey, it never feels gratuitous or an excuse for character small talk. Also, it's a pretty linear experience, but there's always the feeling that you discovered your way around instead of the game making it obvious or flat out handing it to you like you're an idiot or something. And it doesn't take the controller away from me every 5 minutes or so to show me shit, which is also very refreshing.

All things that Miyazaki already does masterfully.
 

Bronetta

Ask me about the moon landing or the temperature at which jet fuel burns. You may be surprised at what you learn.
It'll be interesting to see if TLG ends up having another ICO effect on the industry.

Naughty Dog will probably strip the mechanics down to a sterile autoplay cinematic Oscar bait experience.
 
So can somebody explain to me why sites feel it is right to give a game that struggles so much on its technical site a 9/10?

Every other game would get destroyed for the performance after this long time.

I mean I like the gameplay and story, but this just doesn't sit well with me

Not everyone cares about performance as much as NeoGAF.
 

Sami+

Member
i think videogames are often measured to the exact standards of other mediums when in reality games share characteristics of them and posses the interative element on top. In this sense a game review shouldn't limit itself to be what a book review is, to name one example.

A game review should add an "objective element" on top of the more traditional personal feelings that encompasses more traditional critcal pieces.


For an interactive medium? Of course "technical stuff" does matter. A game often crashing, the lost of save data, low frame rates impacting controls, game ending bugs, broken online components, nause inducing design in VR, etc. Are fundamental factors that affect interactivity and shouldn't be ignored.

Of course im not emitting any judgement about the Last Guardian, which is probably the most significant release of 2016 and comes from a team that has developed some of the most important games of all time.

Frankly I don't think standards like this should be forced onto reviewers at all. To me, Demon's Souls, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last of Us (I haven't beaten TLG yet) are 10/10 games. They had a truly special impact on me in different ways and although none are perfect I still think they're the three greatest games I've ever played.

Would I go back to the PS3 versions of DeS and TLoU if I had higher resolution 60fps remasters to turn to? Hell no. In fact I'd go so far as to say that the PS3 version of TLoU has become nearly unplayable for me now that I've played through the Remastered version. That doesn't change the fact that when I originally played it on PS3 it blew me away and left me emotionally impacted - it was a 10.

Forcing critics to dock points if they don't want to just because "yeah but performance" is paradoxical to the entire point of reviews.
 

eot

Banned
Witcher, Bloodborne, Fallout, Skyrim, etc

If the game is good enough for the reviewer that they outweigh the flaws...it's been that way forever. That 9/10 is how much the reviewer enjoyed the game; the game's strengths are that good to the point that flaws don't hamper that individual's enjoyment.

That's all a review score is. A representation of how much that writer liked the game.

Most reviewers probably never noticed the frame pacing in BB, and although there are some fps drops here and there it's not the kind of disaster bethesda games are.
 

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
I'm a little over half way and good lord there is alot of incredible here. Trico's AI and some of the levels are just wow. I can definitely see why it took so long to make.
 

theBmZ

Member
I think I'm about 6 hours in right now. I haven't had many problems with controls or Trico not following commands so far. I feel like a mistake people are making is assuming they are supposed to be in control all the time. The game is about building trust and companionship with this creature, and helping each other towards a mutual goal. Sometimes that means pointing somewhere for Trico to go, sometimes that means just jumping on Trico's back and seeing where it takes you. I think the game is pulling that off brilliantly so far. You really are helping each other and working as a team.

My only problem with the game so far has been one specific puzzle that I knew the solution to. There was just a VERY specific way to do it. The controls are a little wonky, and probably more complicated than they need to be. But after the first hour, I had a handle on them.

I've really been enjoying myself so far. It's giving me that same feeling I have when I play ICO or Shadow of the Colossus.
 

hollomat

Banned
After 6 hours with the game I'm giving up. The controls are simply too frustrating. I've sat here for the past 10 minutes just trying to get Trico to stand on his hind legs to get through this puzzle. He will do it, but then immediately drop down when I am on his head, or he will just ignore me.

I really wanted to like this game and put in an effort, but the frustration is just too much at this point.
 
I think I'm about 6 hours in right now. I haven't had many problems with controls or Trico not following commands so far. I feel like a mistake people are making is assuming they are supposed to be in control all the time. The game is about building trust and companionship with this creature, and helping each other towards a mutual goal. Sometimes that means pointing somewhere for Trico to go, sometimes that means just jumping on Trico's back and seeing where it takes you. I think the game is pulling that off brilliantly so far. You really are helping each other and working as a team.

I'm 3 hours in and I agree with your analysis.

I've really been enjoying myself so far. It's giving me that same feeling I have when I play ICO or Shadow of the Colossus.

That is exactly how I felt after about an hour into the game. It hit me.
 
I don't think the AI implementation of Trico will be seen as a learning tool for devs in years to come for the short term (seems too intense for any game without a laser focus on animal behaviour) but I do believe TLG will have devs rethink what it means when they say they want to create a game built around the sense of bonding or when devs want to create set pieces that is focused more on emotional payoff.

TLG is, I dare say, the purest design by subtraction game I've played. The way the game centralises around what it does makes even the act of Trico jumping the first time no inferior of a "moment" than perhaps any of the most lavish combat encounters or set pieces in the best action games out there.
 

Alienfan

Member
After 6 hours with the game I'm giving up. The controls are simply too frustrating. I've sat here for the past 10 minutes just trying to get Trico to stand on his hind legs to get through this puzzle. He will do it, but then immediately drop down when I am on his head, or he will just ignore me.

I really wanted to like this game and put in an effort, but the frustration is just too much at this point.

Whenever you want to get Trico to move somewhere make sure you're on him first
 
Empire, the UK movie magazine that infamously called The Last of Us the "Citizen Kane of video games," has given the game 5 out of 5. They neglected to mention if it was The Neverending Story of video games or not though.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Empire, the UK movie magazine that infamously called The Last of Us the "Citizen Kane of video games," has given the game 5 out of 5. They neglected to mention if it was The Neverending Story of video games or not though.

Its the To Kill a Mockingbird of video games...
 
Empire, the UK movie magazine that infamously called The Last of Us the "Citizen Kane of video games," has given the game 5 out of 5. They neglected to mention if it was The Neverending Story of video games or not though.


It would be more apt to say TLG as the "Citizen Kane" due to the amount of innovations and experimentations used in the game.
 
What pisses me off is when people say this game is getting mixed reviews.

Um, not really dudes.
Bias/Agenda. Let them wallow in their salt.

Empire, the UK movie magazine that infamously called The Last of Us the "Citizen Kane of video games," has given the game 5 out of 5. They neglected to mention if it was The Neverending Story of video games or not though.
lol I still don't get why people got all up in their feelings over the Citizen Kane comment. If that's how the reviewer felt about it, why let it bother you so much?
 
lol I still don't get why people got all up in their feelings over the Citizen Kane comment. If that's how the reviewer felt about it, why let it bother you so much?

Because it's absolutely ridiculous and TLOU isn't anywhere near a complete evolution/revolution of its medium that Citizen Kane was. Idiotic hyperbole tends to get mocked.
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Bias/Agenda. Let them wallow in their salt.

People will give it mixed reviews because of incredibly high expectations. I mean let's be real, no game is perfect.

This week we got both FFXV and The Last Guardian. 2 games revealed 10 years ago with nonsensical expectations from different people and went through development hell. They're both great games even with flaws. This is no way a Duke Nukem Forever.
 
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