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[Kup]

Finished the game today. What a roller-coaster of excitement and frustration. It was beautiful at times and absolutely irritating as far as controls and commands are concerned for me... I plan on playing through it again soon though to explore what I missed.

Convinced my cat to take part in a photo shoot too.

 

[DieNgamers]

Finished the game today. What a roller-coaster of excitement and frustration. It was beautiful at times and absolutely irritating as far as controls and commands are concerned for me... I plan on playing through it again soon though to explore what I missed.

Convinced my cat to take part in a photo shoot too.

Haha, she is HUGE! Looks exactly like my cat back in the days! She used to have that same "I may look relaxed but touch me and I'll kill you"-stare all the time. Cats can look pretty different but yours must be a very distant relative.

Small tipps for next time:
- Try using the direction command (R+analog stick) in most cases, it doesn't matter if Trico needs to dive or jump. This always worked for me.
- Don't use R+X unless you want to cancel an action. Also experiment with the others.
- Take your time, watch and listen to trico closely.
- There are unlockables in your second playthrough. Check the menu for them. ;D
- There are some open questions regarding game mechanics. Maybe you can find some new stuff yourself. I'll try whenever I get the chance. The power supply gave up yesterday ;_; Trico's gonna have to wait a bit.

 

[sasuke_91]

I think the weighty movement can be a decision - I really liked it in Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, Inside, etc - it's just soooo sloppy here. He falls all the time, jumps in weird directions, and so on. It is indeed hard to tell how much of it is actually due to the camera, but still it just seems beyond the point of being deliberate. Maybe it was, who knows, but it's.... rough.

Damn, I'm so glad I didn't have any problems with the controls. The boy's controls were pretty on point imo and I rarely missed my target when jumping (like 2 times in the entire game). The camera was the only problem, but it didn't affect my enjoyment in any way.
For a lot of people this seems to be a big issue though. Can't say I don't understand where the complaints come from.

It didn't affect my experience too harshly but it is rough. At one point in the game, I pulled Trico's tail over a raised cobblestone and the boy began to instead "climb" the tip of the tail from an entirely horizontal position. Upon letting go (practically lying on the ground), he recoiled from an impact as if he had fallen from several feet into a belly flop. It was bizarre. Over the majority of my time with the game, though, the boy's ambling felt very lifelike.

Right at the end of the game I

Spoiler

tried picking up Trico's tail after the other Tricos chopped it off and the boy started climbing it. Looked really funny because I didn't exactly know what he was doing at first. I climbed off and tried picking it up again and it suddenly worked fine

.
This may sound a little fanboy-ish, but I find situations like these very charming. It reminds that it still is a game and there will be bugs and stuff like that. I gotta admit that I never ran into any frustrating bug though.

 

[victreeb3l]

Finally put an hour or two in this game and the controls and camera are really ruining my experience. Its such a frustrating game to play holy shit.

 

[Epidemik2000]

 

[Spiral Insanity]

What is this?

 

[Shin-chan]

What a game. Technical issues aside it's just so beautifully put together and the design of the environments and puzzles is incredible.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel at the end (it's always a thing with games I know are trying to make me feel something) but I was blown away. The whole last section was nerve wracking and the finale felt perfect.

 

[piccio_ssl]

What is this?

team ico

 

[Epidemik2000]

What is this?

LOL!!

The photo looked larger when I previewed the post.

Edit: Fixed

 

[ronaldthump]

Finally put an hour or two in this game and the controls and camera are really ruining my experience. Its such a frustrating game to play holy shit.

it gets better once the gameworld opens up into bigger spaces. and also adjust the camera sensitivity up

 

[HStallion]

Is this a recent shot of GenDesign? Really is a small team at 19 people though that doesn't count the Studio Japan people. Still its really impressive to see what they came up with. A very cohesive design from beginning to end. I can't wait to see what they come up with in the future.

 

[Jawbreaker]

I learned that fiddling around with the camera less made for a much better experience. The game will frame things on its own, so when you also move the camera around often, it's like you're working against it. Making use of L1 to focus on Trico is also quite useful.

 

[Acquiescence]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is a picture of the team that worked on ICO. With that in mind, the only person from that shot who worked on The Last Guardian was probably Ueda himself and nobody else.

What a game. Technical issues aside it's just so beautifully put together and the design of the environments and puzzles is incredible.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel at the end (it's always a thing with games I know are trying to make me feel something) but I was blown away. The whole last section was nerve wracking and the finale felt perfect.

Agreed on all counts. The final hour or so was

Spoiler

gut-wrenchingly tense and the ending managed to somehow be simultaneously uplifting and devastating.

 

[Epidemik2000]

Is this a recent shot of GenDesign? Really is a small team at 19 people though that doesn't count the Studio Japan people. Still its really impressive to see what they came up with. A very cohesive design from beginning to end. I can't wait to see what they come up with in the future.

Amazing feat indeed... Speaking of the future, does anyone know the story behind this https://twitter.com/genDESIGN_Inc/status/645140923043549184?lang=en

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is a picture of the team that worked on ICO. With that in mind, the only person from that shot who worked on The Last Guardian was probably Ueda himself and nobody else.

Some were still involved...

 

[CHC]

I truly can't believe they would put a speed run trophy in a game so reliant on the fickle actions of an AI entity. I would like to maybe platninum this but just playing the game normally is painful enough, doing it against a timer seems unthinkable.

 

[TimeEffect]

I truly can't believe they would put a speed run trophy in a game so reliant on the fickle actions of an AI entity. I would like to maybe platninum this but just playing the game normally is painful enough, doing it against a timer seems unthinkable.

Once you know what you're doing, the game is presumably much, much faster to complete than an initial run through

 

[OfTheOverflow]

Thinking about picking this up but don't want the experience marred by technical woes; is there any word on a patch to help fix the control issues at least? Or are they too deeply ingrained do we think?

 

[weekev]

Thinking about picking this up but don't want the experience marred by technical woes; is there any word on a patch to help fix the control issues at least? Or are they too deeply ingrained do we think?

I don't find the controls awful, it's the camera that's the issue. Would be surprised if they fixed that with a patch.

 

[Dimmle]

Thinking about picking this up but don't want the experience marred by technical woes; is there any word on a patch to help fix the control issues at least? Or are they too deeply ingrained do we think?

The controls may not be an issue for you but frame rate gets pretty dicey in some spots. The game was never unplayable for me, though.

 

[HueyFreeman]

I learned that fiddling around with the camera less made for a much better experience. The game will frame things on its own, so when you also move the camera around often, it's like you're working against it. Making use of L1 to focus on Trico is also quite useful.

This. I almost wish they hadn't even given the user control of the camera in this given how bad people are at managing it themselves. Just let it do it's thing.

Thinking about picking this up but don't want the experience marred by technical woes; is there any word on a patch to help fix the control issues at least? Or are they too deeply ingrained do we think?

Honestly, if that's the perspective you're coming at the game from, you should probably just skip it. The controls will frustrate you, the technical issues will bother you, and there is no patch coming for them.

 

[Jennipeg]

Ok it's official, Trico is the new Nathan Drake. He breaks everything lol.

Holy Shit, that

Spoiler

Trico fight

was spectacular!

 

[Memento]

After a lot of problems before buying it... I will be playing this game in 3 hours.

So excited to have my own opinion about it! BRING IT ON! I expect it to be my GOTY tbh, so expectations are through the roof.

 

[CHC]

One thing I am really admiring is how non "game-like" a lot of the spaces are. Often strangely shaped, extremely small, extremely vast, or otherwise just irregular. Rarely do places feel planned from the top down or have any kind of feeling of symmetry. Even though the paths are pre-defined, the way you traverse the world feels organic. The routes you take do not feel artificial or overly convenient like in many other games that rely on traversal.

 

[Nia]

I just finished the game yesterday. I have to say, I did not expect the finale to take on a

Spoiler

sci-fi twist.

 

[A-V-B]

I just finished the game yesterday. I have to say, I did not expect the finale to take on a

Spoiler

sci-fi twist.

The wild thing is that everyone accepts it. How many fantasy-adventure series can suddenly veer into that territory? Remember

Spoiler

Indiana Jones 4.

 

[CHC]

Man some of the later parts of this game are MIND BLOWING. The

Spoiler

tower bridge collapse through the Trico-on-Trico fight

is simply spectacular.

This game has MANY near-fatal flaws but goddamn there is simply nothing else even remotely like it.

 

[Jennipeg]

Man some of the later parts of this game are MIND BLOWING. The

Spoiler

tower bridge collapse through the Trico-on-Trico fight

is simply spectacular.

This game has MANY near-fatal flaws but goddamn there is simply nothing else even remotely like it.

That was my exact description. That whole set piece was incredible. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I totally understand why Neil Druckmann says it's a masterpiece. It was better than Uncharted!

 

[Ratrat]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is a picture of the team that worked on ICO. With that in mind, the only person from that shot who worked on The Last Guardian was probably Ueda himself and nobody else.



Agreed on all counts. The final hour or so was

Spoiler

gut-wrenchingly tense and the ending managed to somehow be simultaneously uplifting and devastating.

Are you sure? The GenDesign website says they are made of former Team Ico staff that worked on those previous games. I guess someone can compare the credits.

 

[Gbraga]

That was my exact description. That whole set piece was incredible. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I totally understand why Neil Druckmann says it's a masterpiece. It was better than Uncharted!

I'm really glad he enjoys it a lot, hopefully they'll bring some lessons from it to their next games.

Even though he seems to believe otherwise, going by what he said in interviews, not everyone who was disappointed by the amount of downtime in Uncharted 4 comes from a "I just want to shoot things!" perspective. A lot of us have no issue with the idea of combat being less frequent and having more focus on character development and interaction, we just want it to offer meaningful and engaging interaction to the player.

The Last Guardian excels in that. The Last of Us did it much better than Uncharted 4 too, imo.

It's not about the specific act of shooting, it's more that it's by far the most meaningful interaction the game offers. Downtime in The Last of Us is more interesting, since exploring for resources is a fundamental part of the gameplay loop, as well as upgrading your weapons, and you can only do that in downtime. The side stories you find were also more interesting, but that's obviously completely personal.

 

[Bronetta]

Thinking about picking this up but don't want the experience marred by technical woes; is there any word on a patch to help fix the control issues at least? Or are they too deeply ingrained do we think?

The issues are blown out of proportion. I learned early on that the camera reorients itself to show you where to go or to focus on points of interest. People keep fiddling with the camera while it keeps trying to focus on the point of interest and then they go complain online that the camera is broke .

The controls and AI are fine. Unfortunately the narrative has already been established that the controls and camera are broken. Repeat it enough times and people start believing it (like you for example, havent even played the game yet youre convinced theres technical and control issues)

Even if there are issues with the game, they pale in comparison to the positives in terms of world building, narrative, graphics+sound design and the grand journey the player experiences.

 

[sasuke_91]

One thing I am really admiring is how non "game-like" a lot of the spaces are. Often strangely shaped, extremely small, extremely vast, or otherwise just irregular. Rarely do places feel planned from the top down or have any kind of feeling of symmetry. Even though the paths are pre-defined, the way you traverse the world feels organic. The routes you take do not feel artificial or overly convenient like in many other games that rely on traversal.

Oh yeah, I completely agree. In a lot of games, your way forward seems a little out of place. It pops out because it doesn't really fit in with the rest of the environment. TLG really excels in its level design because of how natural everything seems to be put together.

 

[Creamium]

One thing I am really admiring is how non "game-like" a lot of the spaces are. Often strangely shaped, extremely small, extremely vast, or otherwise just irregular. Rarely do places feel planned from the top down or have any kind of feeling of symmetry. Even though the paths are pre-defined, the way you traverse the world feels organic. The routes you take do not feel artificial or overly convenient like in many other games that rely on traversal.

Yeah I always get that feeling in Team ICO games and it returns here. I'm glad more people think the exact same thing. For this game the realization came when I had to crawl through a small crevice/hole. In other games this screams 'crawl here, idiot!', but in this game it feels like a real part of the word. I even thought 'this doesn't look like a game hole' lol. I'm not making sense, but I really agree that the places here feel very natural.

I'm really glad he enjoys it a lot, hopefully they'll bring some lessons from it to their next games.

Even though he seems to believe otherwise, going by what he said in interviews, not everyone who was disappointed by the amount of downtime in Uncharted 4 comes from a "I just want to shoot things!" perspective. A lot of us have no issue with the idea of combat being less frequent and having more focus on character development and interaction, we just want it to offer meaningful and engaging interaction to the player.

The Last Guardian excels in that. The Last of Us did it much better than Uncharted 4 too, imo.

It's not about the specific act of shooting, it's more that it's by far the most meaningful interaction the game offers. Downtime in The Last of Us is more interesting, since exploring for resources is a fundamental part of the gameplay loop, as well as upgrading your weapons, and you can only do that in downtime. The side stories you find were also more interesting, but that's obviously completely personal.

I was one of the people criticising U4 when it came out and I was disappointed that Druckmann shrugged off that critique as 'we want more shootbang!' It wasn't like that... at all. Like you said, the downtime in U4 wasn't engaging at all. I didn't even feel like TLG had downtime, and I think that's the best compliment you can give it. Everything flows from one part to the next.

 

[Gbraga]

Yeah I always get that feeling in Team ICO games and it returns here. I'm glad more people think the exact same thing. For this game the realization came when I had to crawl through a small crevice/hole. In other games this screams 'crawl here, idiot!', but in this game it feels like a real part of the word. I even thought 'this doesn't look like a game hole' lol. I'm not making sense, but I really agree that the places here feel very natural.

The atmosphere in their games is marvelous. From this year, a game that gave me a sort of similar feeling was Hyper Light Drifter. Not surprisingly, both its creator and Ueda mention Nausicaä as a strong influence.

I was one of the people criticising U4 when it came out and I was disappointed that Druckmann shrugged off that critique as 'we want more shootbang!' It wasn't like that... at all. Like you said, the downtime in U4 wasn't engaging at all. I didn't even feel like TLG had downtime, and I think that's the best compliment you can give it. Everything flows from one part to the next.

Absolutely. The pacing is remarkably good. Even in places where it had everything to go off the rails for a bit, it managed to be intense and amazing.

Like, for example, (late game spoilers)

Spoiler

when you finally reach your objective, but meet a ton of the, what are people calling them? I just called them "guardians", for whatever reason. Anyway, so Trico is forced to fly away with the boy. This is the typical "just reached our goal, but something set us back!" situation that is so common in all forms of storytelling, and I personally more often than not find it exhausting. It had everything to be a disappointing break of pace and the kind of situation that makes me think "Ok, enough for today, I'll continue another time".

But in this case, very shortly after it's followed by one of the most intense action sequences I've experienced in a long time, and one that leaves Trico in such a state that, suddenly, none of that matters anymore. You don't give a shit about your goal, you don't care about reaching the top, or returning to the village, you're just worried about your friend. You're incredibly scared that it may actually die, as the game felt like it was approaching its final moments. You also just generally don't want it to suffer, and want to treat it as quickly as possible. It was a brilliant way of breaking the pace while not making it feel like it. Feeding Trico to continue the game in that instance absolutely did not feel like downtime, it was your main objective.

 

[Dimmle]

Like, for example, (late game spoilers)

Spoiler

when you finally reach your objective, but meet a ton of the, what are people calling them? I just called them "guardians", for whatever reason. Anyway, so Trico is forced to fly away with the boy. This is the typical "just reached our goal, but something set us back!" situation that is so common in all forms of storytelling, and I personally more often than not find it exhausting. It had everything to be a disappointing break of pace and the kind of situation that makes me think "Ok, enough for today, I'll continue another time".

But in this case, very shortly after it's followed by one of the most intense action sequences I've experienced in a long time, and one that leaves Trico in such a state that, suddenly, none of that matters anymore. You don't give a shit about your goal, you don't care about reaching the top, or returning to the village, you're just worried about your friend. You're incredibly scared that it may actually die, as the game felt like it was approaching its final moments. You also just generally don't want it to suffer, and want to treat it as quickly as possible. It was a brilliant way of breaking the pace while not making it feel like it. Feeding Trico to continue the game in that instance absolutely did not feel like downtime, it was your main objective.

Last Guardian is brimming with so many of these moments that I found myself yelling, "just let my son have one good day!" at the screen. I think it works, though, and the game as a result feels much less formulaic than the standard three act story structure.

 

[UpDownLeftRight]

I know you set up the preemptive defense against nerdlingers like me but I have a hard time considering the boy's movement as anything other than an artistic decision. The issue had to be a constant refrain during the course of development (I'm sure there was push-back) and there's no way the development staff couldn't have just made the boy move like Wander or Ico if they had wanted to. The very fact that it's a different sort of movement signifies to me that the decision was deliberate and made to evoke a sense of weight.

The camera, on the other hand...

The trick is simply to not fight the camera. It's not ideal perhaps, but it is reorienting itself almost constantly. If you want to change your view it's best to stop. Sure it's no perfect solution and the camera can be a pain, but the main issue seems to be when you try to move it as it's already moving itself, leaving you fighting phantom input.

 

[DieNgamers]

You can manage the camera, though.

What helped me understand it in this and ICO: it's not really centered around the boy. Well it kind of is but only very loose. If you move the camera upwards long enough the boy will go out of sight, for example. I used that to my personal advantage most of the time. It's not as strange as ICO's, now that one was even more focused on the scene instead of the character.

I think if the game had the function to center the camera behind the boy more people would get it.

 

[Dimmle]

The trick is simply to not fight the camera. It's not ideal perhaps, but it is reorienting itself almost constantly. If you want to change your view it's best to stop. Sure it's no perfect solution and the camera can be a pain, but the main issue seems to be when you try to move it as it's already moving itself, leaving you fighting phantom input.

I personally had no big issues with the camera either but I get the complaints. Other than the occasional moment where the camera would recenter with an awkward cut I didn't find myself frustrated with it at all.

 

[Bubble Walrus]

Just finished. Boy, this game was maddening at points. I felt angry and frustrated at the controls sometimes. But even so, I can't help feeling I just played a CLASSIC.

 

[Arkos]

Just finished. I too got really frustrated with the controls and especially the camera at certain points. But I did love the game. So happy I finally got to play it. Definitely a very special experience.

Is the quote in the title actually in the game?

 

[Perineum]

I posted my thoughts in the spoiler thread, but basically I hated the game. 5/10 at best if I'm being kind.

This should've been a PS3 game when it could've been in order to have a real impact on today's games. This year alone had way better games with the same goal/s as this one. Care about an AI companion? Check, better games accomplished this since this was announced, and I didn't care about Trico all the way through. It never built a relationship with me because it never did anything to warrant it.

Puzzles? Tons of better games with puzzles, better puzzles, and ones that work. If I figure out a puzzle solution quickly I shouldn't suffer through shit AI to DO what I need it to in order to complete it for 5-10 minutes because of piss game design.

Visuals? Great most of the game. Loved the boy's art style. No qualms here. Did have pop in issues at times, and texture issues at other time. Nothing to discredit the visuals though.

Soundtrack? Miss. 4-5 tracks I think I heard. 1 track was good, and the rest is meh.

Controls? Ass. Camera? Ass. Overall story/ending payout? Not good enough.

In the end I gave a bigger crap and got a better emotional connection with BT in Titanfall 2 than Trico. If a FPS shooter can do that, then why couldn't Ueda's team pull it off? Protocol 3 and the ending sequences to that game got me in the feels. I cared more about Ellie in the Last of Us, care more about my relationship with Delilah in Firewatch, and the list goes on and on.

TL;DR: This game is past its time to have shined. It should have came out on PS3 in order to have any effect on people in this day and age.

 

[HStallion]

TL;DR: This game is past its time to have shined. It should have came out on PS3 in order to have any effect on people in this day and age.

Your complaints are ones many have stated before but can we cut it with the hyperbole. The game has its issues but for many they weren't a detriment on the overall experience. It wouldn't have a thread like this or be getting so many nods from fellow developers and appearing on so many GotY lists if it didn't have some effect on people. It didn't for you and that sucks but come on...

 

[CHC]

Cleared the game today, after an enjoyably leisurely play though. I have severely mixed feelings. The ending was wonderful and the game, as a whole, really did offer something that can't be had elsewhere. The environments were also breathtaking - the depth and organic nature of the spaces reminded me (and others) a lot of Dark Souls I's Lordran.

All this said, the control and camera issues were borderline crippling. There are, of course, varying degrees of stuff like control issues, most of which fit into the category of "play for thirty minutes and you'll get used to it." The Last Guardian did not fit into this category. The overal presentation was, frankly, frustratingly terrible throughout. So many things that should have been easy were not so... which is a huge shame. Maybe it's different on Pro, but as it stands the experience is marred by so many small problems - wonky camera acceleration, slippy and trippy main character, uncertainly about whether Trico did or did not register commands, etc, etc.

It's not something I would recommend freely, to anyone, but as a fan of Ueda's other work, it's (mostly) worth bearing with the problems. I'm happy it came out - period - and was received well. Frankly I'm a bit surprised it reviewed as well it did, but maybe others aren't quite as sensitive to the issues I had.

 

[deletethis123]

Just got to the place with the second green gas keg, I guess I'm a bit over halfway through?

To be fair, it's been kind of a drag. I feel like this is a game I must play, but it's definitely not my cup of tea, mostly due to controls since it's all just so clunky.

 

[Dartastic]

Just beat it. I'm shook. This game is a masterpiece.

 

[Kup]

Haha, she is HUGE! Looks exactly like my cat back in the days! She used to have that same "I may look relaxed but touch me and I'll kill you"-stare all the time. Cats can look pretty different but yours must be a very distant relative.

Small tipps for next time:
- Try using the direction command (R+analog stick) in most cases, it doesn't matter if Trico needs to dive or jump. This always worked for me.
- Don't use R+X unless you want to cancel an action. Also experiment with the others.
- Take your time, watch and listen to trico closely.
- There are unlockables in your second playthrough. Check the menu for them. ;D
- There are some open questions regarding game mechanics. Maybe you can find some new stuff yourself. I'll try whenever I get the chance. The power supply gave up yesterday ;_; Trico's gonna have to wait a bit.

It's ironic really because she is a very small cat in general!

Thanks for the tips. I'm about to start my next play-through now and I'll take those into consideration.

 

[Dimmle]

I posted my thoughts in the spoiler thread, but basically I hated the game. 5/10 at best if I'm being kind.

This should've been a PS3 game when it could've been in order to have a real impact on today's games. This year alone had way better games with the same goal/s as this one. Care about an AI companion? Check, better games accomplished this since this was announced, and I didn't care about Trico all the way through. It never built a relationship with me because it never did anything to warrant it.

Puzzles? Tons of better games with puzzles, better puzzles, and ones that work. If I figure out a puzzle solution quickly I shouldn't suffer through shit AI to DO what I need it to in order to complete it for 5-10 minutes because of piss game design.

Visuals? Great most of the game. Loved the boy's art style. No qualms here. Did have pop in issues at times, and texture issues at other time. Nothing to discredit the visuals though.

Soundtrack? Miss. 4-5 tracks I think I heard. 1 track was good, and the rest is meh.

Controls? Ass. Camera? Ass. Overall story/ending payout? Not good enough.

In the end I gave a bigger crap and got a better emotional connection with BT in Titanfall 2 than Trico. If a FPS shooter can do that, then why couldn't Ueda's team pull it off? Protocol 3 and the ending sequences to that game got me in the feels. I cared more about Ellie in the Last of Us, care more about my relationship with Delilah in Firewatch, and the list goes on and on.

TL;DR: This game is past its time to have shined. It should have came out on PS3 in order to have any effect on people in this day and age.

But what about the Fun Factor?

 

[Jennipeg]

I was one of the people criticising U4 when it came out and I was disappointed that Druckmann shrugged off that critique as 'we want more shootbang!' It wasn't like that... at all. Like you said, the downtime in U4 wasn't engaging at all. I didn't even feel like TLG had downtime, and I think that's the best compliment you can give it. Everything flows from one part to the next.

In fairness there was a lot of that critisism, I wouldn't have minded another shoot out in the game. It's difficult to know exactly what Druckmann has heard, he's interpreted it as 'they just want more guns' but I don't know what he is basing that on. I loved U4, i'm one of the very few that didn't have pacing issues and liked the down time.

The atmosphere in their games is marvelous. From this year, a game that gave me a sort of similar feeling was Hyper Light Drifter. Not surprisingly, both its creator and Ueda mention Nausicaä as a strong influence.


Absolutely. The pacing is remarkably good. Even in places where it had everything to go off the rails for a bit, it managed to be intense and amazing.

Like, for example, (late game spoilers)

Spoiler

when you finally reach your objective, but meet a ton of the, what are people calling them? I just called them "guardians", for whatever reason. Anyway, so Trico is forced to fly away with the boy. This is the typical "just reached our goal, but something set us back!" situation that is so common in all forms of storytelling, and I personally more often than not find it exhausting. It had everything to be a disappointing break of pace and the kind of situation that makes me think "Ok, enough for today, I'll continue another time".

But in this case, very shortly after it's followed by one of the most intense action sequences I've experienced in a long time, and one that leaves Trico in such a state that, suddenly, none of that matters anymore. You don't give a shit about your goal, you don't care about reaching the top, or returning to the village, you're just worried about your friend. You're incredibly scared that it may actually die, as the game felt like it was approaching its final moments. You also just generally don't want it to suffer, and want to treat it as quickly as possible. It was a brilliant way of breaking the pace while not making it feel like it. Feeding Trico to continue the game in that instance absolutely did not feel like downtime, it was your main objective.

Fully agree, I played this section last night and was honestly blown away. Then I was so worried and just wanted to help. It's amazing how the game elicits such a response from players. Can't Trico just have a break? Poor guy is being put through it. I'd already shed a tear

Spoiler

when Trico thought the boy was dead

. This game is really something. Uncharted 4 was my game of the year almost by default, i've had a few disappointments lately. But this has taken that title for me, it might be the most engaging and emotional experience since the last of Us.

 

[sasuke_91]

I can't really tell if it's hyperbole or if people are actually struggling so much with the controls they can't enjoy the game anymore.

 

[Septic360]

Just finished. Boy, this game was maddening at points. I felt angry and frustrated at the controls sometimes. But even so, I can't help feeling I just played a CLASSIC.

Completed it yesterday and wanted to throw my controller at the wall a couple of times. You need the patience of a saint to enjoy it.

Definitely not a Masterpiece as some are so quick to call it. But its a classic

 

[DieNgamers]

To me it's a masterpiece, no two ways about it. It's nice to have games (or media in general) these days that obviously didn't go through target surveys/board meetings. I think Ueda himself said the game was originally conceived as a game for a limited audience.