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The Last Guardian early copy impressions thread

B

Bananastand

Member
Ok, so here are my impressions after finishing the game. I reached the ending yesterday so I've had some time to collect my thoughts.

Don't worry I won't post any spoilerish stuff for the story. Just talking gameplay.

- TLG feels like a combination between Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. There's gameplay elements from both games.
- It has some beautiful views and sceneries. I definitely recommend taking your time to look around every once and a while.

- The game feels pretty dated in a lot of spots. The controls are pretty terrible and I had a hard time controlling the kid. I got used to it in the end but adjust your expectations
- The frame rate is really, really, bad. Haven't played a game that stuttered this bad in a while.
- Trico is really slow to respond to your commands. It sometimes doesn't feel like he understands you at all. So you end up being frustrated a lot.

- Having said all that there is a certain something that only seems to be around in games from Team Ico. You'll grow attached to Trico real quick (like in the first 15 minutes) even though he can be really annoying. That is definitely something a lot of other developers should aspire to achieve. This weird creature has more personality than 99% of all main characters in video games.
 
R

Rixxan

Member
Bananastand said:
Ok, so here are my impressions after finishing the game. I reached the ending yesterday so I've had some time to collect my thoughts.

Don't worry I won't post any spoilerish stuff for the story. Just talking gameplay.

- TLG feels like a combination between Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. There's gameplay elements from both games.
- It has some beautiful views and sceneries. I definitely recommend taking your time to look around every once and a while.

- The game feels pretty dated in a lot of spots. The controls are pretty terrible and I had a hard time controlling the kid. I got used to it in the end but adjust your expectations
- The frame rate is really, really, bad. Haven't played a game that stuttered this bad in a while.
- Trico is really slow to respond to your commands. It sometimes doesn't feel like he understands you at all. So you end up being frustrated a lot.

- Having said all that there is a certain something that only seems to be around in games from Team Ico. You'll grow attached to Trico real quick (like in the first 15 minutes) even though he can be really annoying. That is definitely something a lot of other developers should aspire to achieve. This weird creature has more personality than 99% of all main characters in video games.
Click to expand...

yikes

makes it sound pretty shoddy overall

Raw64life said:
Someone spoil me with a yes or no answer. Does the creature die at the end?
Click to expand...

cant you just google this? i dont personally care but im sure others dont want that answer anywhere near this thread, spoiler blocked or not
 
J

Jawbreaker

Member
Jacob4815 said:
Please, this info is vital to me. I pre-ordered the game but I'm going to wait for the PRO patch, so I could cancel the pre-order if there's no support at day one :(
Click to expand...

I really think you should keep your preorder. I don't see any indication that it shouldn't be there at launch, I'm just unclear about its availability before the official release.
 
K

komorebi

Member
Jacob4815 said:
Please, this info is vital to me. I pre-ordered the game but I'm going to wait for the PRO patch, so I could cancel the pre-order if there's no support at day one :(
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure all games are required to have Pro support day one going forward. This one will definitely have it seeing as it's a Sony title.
 
R

raven777

Member
Bananastand said:
Ok, so here are my impressions after finishing the game. I reached the ending yesterday so I've had some time to collect my thoughts.

Don't worry I won't post any spoilerish stuff for the story. Just talking gameplay.

- TLG feels like a combination between Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. There's gameplay elements from both games.
- It has some beautiful views and sceneries. I definitely recommend taking your time to look around every once and a while.

- The game feels pretty dated in a lot of spots. The controls are pretty terrible and I had a hard time controlling the kid. I got used to it in the end but adjust your expectations
- The frame rate is really, really, bad. Haven't played a game that stuttered this bad in a while.
- Trico is really slow to respond to your commands. It sometimes doesn't feel like he understands you at all. So you end up being frustrated a lot.

- Having said all that there is a certain something that only seems to be around in games from Team Ico. You'll grow attached to Trico real quick (like in the first 15 minutes) even though he can be really annoying. That is definitely something a lot of other developers should aspire to achieve. This weird creature has more personality than 99% of all main characters in video games.
Click to expand...

how long did it take you to finish the game?
 
O

OverBlood 3

Banned
Fuuuck I'm gonna buy this I don't know why I wouldn't loving the first two but with the troubled development it could've gone sideways I suppose.
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
My only dilemma is that I have FFXV on the way and may be getting Titanfall 2 over the weekend as well if I enjoy the free trial enough. But this is still a buy for sure.
 
M.W.

M.W.

Member
So, someone has said frame rate is a solid 30fps, then someone else said it's really really bad...

Was there a patch?
 
P

PlayerOne

Banned
Hopefully, the media will judge it for what it is and don't write non sequiturs based on time between announcement and release date. It does not make the finished product or their experience any better or worse. Very trivial.

A movie being in pre-production and script rewrites for a long time and no one gives that any merit when judging the movie. It should be a footnote, a sentence and nothing else.

I will ignore baloney statements like "controls at wonky because X is not jump". It is not as if left d-pad became right all of a sudden.
 
D

Dascu

Member
Seemingly decent playtime is good to hear, framerate and control issues are not. It's a real shame. Similar issues plagued my enjoyment of Shadow of the Colossus. They can be very immersion-breaking and I wish Team ICO would put some more effort into that.
 
J

Jaymageck

Member
Question - would anyone else be happy if they'd locked the framerate at something silly like...15FPS?

Weirdly for me, in Shadow of the Colossus I prefer the framerate of the original to the remastered version. It feels like part of the art style.

This is coming from someone who usually pushes for a silky 60.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Dascu said:
Seemingly decent playtime is good to hear, framerate and control issues are not. It's a real shame. Similar issues plagued my enjoyment of Shadow of the Colossus. They can be very immersion-breaking and I wish Team ICO would put some more effort into that.
Click to expand...

Their controls worked well for me in both games. I actually really liked the controls in SotC and found them perfectly fine to speed run the game for example. The controls are not a mistake and very much on purpose.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
PlayerOne said:
A movie being in pre-production and script rewrites for a long time and no one gives that any merit when judging the movie. It should be a footnote, a sentence and nothing else.
Click to expand...
They sure do if the movie feels like the product of years of script rewrites or different directors

But while TLG has had a long rocky development, I wouldn't say the game itself was troubled. Watch the Project Trico prototype footage and the current game and they're basically the same
 
M

MrHoot

Member
Played just a bit so far. Only an hour. But I can say: Trico is a GOOD BOY.

Framerate does tank on ps4 normal in open spaces tho (anything with lot's of grasses) Thankfully no intense gameplay element happen so far in it so it's not too bad. Otherwise it's pretty good in any other dungeon like place.
Otherwise, it plays exactly like Ico and SotC. And it feels exactly like an Ico and SotC game, with the jank, but also the intense charm, and great music
 
nemisis0

nemisis0

Member
Bananastand said:
Ok, so here are my impressions after finishing the game. I reached the ending yesterday so I've had some time to collect my thoughts.

Don't worry I won't post any spoilerish stuff for the story. Just talking gameplay.

- TLG feels like a combination between Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. There's gameplay elements from both games.
- It has some beautiful views and sceneries. I definitely recommend taking your time to look around every once and a while.

- The game feels pretty dated in a lot of spots. The controls are pretty terrible and I had a hard time controlling the kid. I got used to it in the end but adjust your expectations
- The frame rate is really, really, bad. Haven't played a game that stuttered this bad in a while.
- Trico is really slow to respond to your commands. It sometimes doesn't feel like he understands you at all. So you end up being frustrated a lot.

- Having said all that there is a certain something that only seems to be around in games from Team Ico. You'll grow attached to Trico real quick (like in the first 15 minutes) even though he can be really annoying. That is definitely something a lot of other developers should aspire to achieve. This weird creature has more personality than 99% of all main characters in video games.
Click to expand...


On what console? And if on pro did you have 1.01 installed?
 
Q

Quillbell

Neo Member
Yeah, SotC's weird controls are part of the experience. I remember when I first got it I hated the horse controls. After a while, though, they felt really natural.

If it plays like a Team Ico game, then I'll be fine.
 
P

PlayerOne

Banned
Quillbell said:
Yeah, SotC's weird controls are part of the experience. I remember when I first got it I hated the horse controls. After a while, though, they felt really natural.

If it plays like a Team Ico game, then I'll be fine.
Click to expand...

SotC's Agro has the best controls of any horse in any game. It actually feels like a horse and a living thing. It's like when you tap X you are treading the line of being careful and being aggressive. Agro just does not take it. Compare that to Red Dead's horse and its stamina. Such a mile away in terms of being on horseback.
 
D

Dascu

Member
HStallion said:
Their controls worked well for me in both games. I actually really liked the controls in SotC and found them perfectly fine to speed run the game for example. The controls are not a mistake and very much on purpose.
Click to expand...

I know, and I heartily applaud developers that don't just copy the same controlscheme as other products on the market. But they still didn't really feel right in SotC. Too many times where I was struggling (especially aiming on horseback) or missing jumps. It's a personal thing, and I find it a real shame. I really liked SotC, but more as a concept than the actual game itself.

Framerate issues are pretty 'unforgiveable' though. If you want to lock it to 30fps for artistic reasons or what-not, OK. But stuttering and fluctuating like SotC (and TLG?)...
 
A

Alienous

Member
Hwoar said:
This whole game sucks man. Brb my COD lobby is ready.
Click to expand...

NeoMetallix said:
Yeah hope we have a Gaf backlash like Uncharted 4 recently and other great games of past. It's not a great game unless half of Gaf is shit posting!
Click to expand...

There isn't a GAF backlash against Uncharted 4. There's just people being more honest to their impressions. Nobody convened to pretend Uncharted 4 is worse than it is.

Anyway, my eyes just glaze over at unanimous praise. I need to hear the consensus on what sucks in a game before I believe the consensus on what is great. For example, I believe Bananastand's impressions - there's good and bad.
 
J

Jawbreaker

Member
PlayerOne said:
SotC's Agro has the best controls of any horse in any game. It actually feels like a horse and a living thing. It's like when you tap X you are treading the line of being careful and being aggressive. Agro just does not take it. Compare that to Red Dead's horse and its stamina. Such a mile away in terms of being on horseback.
Click to expand...

I remember there being such mixed reactions over Agro's controls when the game first launched. One review would praise it as the most natural feeling horse in a video game, while another would slam it as being frustrating and detracting from the experience.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Dascu said:
Framerate issues are pretty 'unforgiveable' though. If you want to lock it to 30fps for artistic reasons or what-not, OK. But stuttering and fluctuating like SotC (and TLG?)...
Click to expand...
Eh...I'd argue that depends on the person. Like as long as it isn't a literal single digit FPS sideshow, it's fine. 15-30 FPS is a good playable range for me (I played MGS V around 18-20 FPS)
 
B

Blinck

Member
How much does the bad framerate affect the experience?

I'm a bit sensitive but I can cope with it if the gameplay doesn't rely to much on it
 
ethomaz

ethomaz

Banned
Bananastand said:
Ok, so here are my impressions after finishing the game. I reached the ending yesterday so I've had some time to collect my thoughts.

Don't worry I won't post any spoilerish stuff for the story. Just talking gameplay.

- TLG feels like a combination between Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. There's gameplay elements from both games.
- It has some beautiful views and sceneries. I definitely recommend taking your time to look around every once and a while.

- The game feels pretty dated in a lot of spots. The controls are pretty terrible and I had a hard time controlling the kid. I got used to it in the end but adjust your expectations
- The frame rate is really, really, bad. Haven't played a game that stuttered this bad in a while.
- Trico is really slow to respond to your commands. It sometimes doesn't feel like he understands you at all. So you end up being frustrated a lot.

- Having said all that there is a certain something that only seems to be around in games from Team Ico. You'll grow attached to Trico real quick (like in the first 15 minutes) even though he can be really annoying. That is definitely something a lot of other developers should aspire to achieve. This weird creature has more personality than 99% of all main characters in video games.
Click to expand...
The controls and Trico part looks to awesome.

The framerate not so much :(
 
Q

Quillbell

Neo Member
PlayerOne said:
SotC's Agro has the best controls of any horse in any game. It actually feels like a horse and a living thing. It's like when you tap X you are treading the line of being careful and being aggressive. Agro just does not take it. Compare that to Red Dead's horse and its stamina. Such a mile away in terms of being on horseback.
Click to expand...
That's exactly it. Riding Agro feels like riding an actual horse. It doesn't feel like you're the horse. You've got two methods of control: 1) reigns, and 2) heel taps. It's a completely different control method than when you're off the horse, which takes some getting used to, but it's ultimately more immersive.
 
hemo memo

hemo memo

Gold Member
Bananastand said:
Ok, so here are my impressions after finishing the game. I reached the ending yesterday so I've had some time to collect my thoughts.

Don't worry I won't post any spoilerish stuff for the story. Just talking gameplay.

- TLG feels like a combination between Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. There's gameplay elements from both games.
- It has some beautiful views and sceneries. I definitely recommend taking your time to look around every once and a while.

- The game feels pretty dated in a lot of spots. The controls are pretty terrible and I had a hard time controlling the kid. I got used to it in the end but adjust your expectations
- The frame rate is really, really, bad. Haven't played a game that stuttered this bad in a while.
- Trico is really slow to respond to your commands. It sometimes doesn't feel like he understands you at all. So you end up being frustrated a lot.

- Having said all that there is a certain something that only seems to be around in games from Team Ico. You'll grow attached to Trico real quick (like in the first 15 minutes) even though he can be really annoying. That is definitely something a lot of other developers should aspire to achieve. This weird creature has more personality than 99% of all main characters in video games.
Click to expand...

And they tried to make this to run on PS3...
 
M

MrHoot

Member
Blinck said:
How much does the bad framerate affect the experience?

I'm a bit sensitive but I can cope with it if the gameplay doesn't rely to much on it
Click to expand...

Not so much so far, at least in the beginning but maybe someone will correct me later.

The dips can be pretty bad "outside" where there's lots of grass and trees. But no major gameplay segments happen in these zones. Everywhere else is fine and that's where most of the game happens
 
D

Dascu

Member
More_Badass said:
Eh...I'd argue that depends on the person. Like as long as it isn't a literal single digit FPS sideshow, it's fine. 15-30 FPS is a good playable range for me (I played MGS V around 18-20 FPS)
Click to expand...

I played MGS3 on the 3DS, so I'm not even that picky. It's just a damn shame they're struggling with this on a technical front. I'd even be up for a graphics option to turn off some effects or less detail on the feathers for the catbird, in exchange for a locked 30fps.
 
ethomaz

ethomaz

Banned
Dascu said:
Seemingly decent playtime is good to hear, framerate and control issues are not. It's a real shame. Similar issues plagued my enjoyment of Shadow of the Colossus. They can be very immersion-breaking and I wish Team ICO would put some more effort into that.
Click to expand...
The controls in Shadow of the Colossus are great... pretty responsible and direct.
 
T

Triggerhappytel

Member
I've only had a quick read over the impressions from the OP, but it's sounding good to me. Also, I just wanna say I appreciate how vague everyone is being to not spoil it for anyone else. See you when I've finally received it guys!
 
S

Steve McQueen

Member
I remember buying Ico. Seems like ages ago. Read a review about Ico and was intrigued. To me it was the first game, that did not feel like a regular game at all. I remember showing the game to my friends and noboby was impressed, and I was dumbstruck that they could not see how special this game was. Anyway, to me it was very, very special. I never ever thought TLG would see the light of day. I'm grateful it did and I can't wait to play it.
 
F

Frag Waffles

Member
As excited as I am for it, I doubt I will be jumping in if it's a slideshow. That will kill my enjoyment. 30 fps with minor drops is fine, anything worse is a no-go.

I'll look forward to more Pro impressions. Am I understanding correctly that there is day one patch that improves performance?
 
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