#THE LAST GUARDIAN GAMEPLAY LENGTH DRIVER#

And the solutions are never once obvious.

The contrast makes for a seemingly endless amount of puzzles to solve.īecause a word is so rarely spoken, there is almost never direction in what to do next. Trico can leap from peak to peak, while the boy would have to climb for days to make the same advances. This means passages the boy can squeeze through are too tight a fit for Trico. The Trico is a towering beast, while the boy is no more than the size of its paw. And it’s also what drives all of the game’s puzzles. How invested you are in the care and longevity of the boy, and more so, Trico, ups the ante in tense or dangerous situations. Every emotion and thought is worn on its figurative sleeve. You can see the curiosity in its face, feel the pain in its grimace, and sense the worry in its eyes. So many games illustrate real-world animals with extreme likeness, but even with Trico being a completely fictional beast, it is the single most believable and life-like animal in a video game, ever. Trico moves and jumps like a cat, has the eyes and heart of a dog, yet is feathered and packs a set of talons. I believe it’s for that reason, Ueda and his team chose a creature that borrowed elements and features from so many different animals. Everyone who has ever had a pet, or even knows someone who loves their pet, will notice the physical and personality traits in Trico. And it’s impossible to play through The Last Guardian and not feel an air of familiarity in the relationship and interactions between the two. The unspoken understanding of their bond and the inner desire to see the two survive and complete their task comes from the most basic of human emotion. And it was at this very moment, that I realized that my bond was formed with these two characters, and that I found myself more invested in their survival far beyond simply wanting the main characters to ‘win the game.’ Building a Beast There comes a point early on in the game where the narrator provides some rare commentary, pointing out that the boy and the beast had developed a bond. It’s the same understanding you’d see observing a toddler and a puppy playing – there’s an unspoken bond. In The Last Guardian, there’s rarely a word spoken to give clarity to what the boy and the beast are thinking, yet they have the most believable and understood relationship in a video game ever.

#THE LAST GUARDIAN GAMEPLAY LENGTH DRIVER#

Relationships and how they fit within a game’s world can be a major driver in a narrative and the player experience. Instead, it’s this brilliant use of the core relationship that creates unique gameplay situations that have never been experienced before.Īt first, the two look to each other to play to each other’s strengths and weaknesses out of necessity and survival, and while it always remains so, in no time they stay together out of genuine companionship and love toward one another. And it never once is a chore, or gets in the way of the enjoyment of the game. In time, the Trico begins to perk up and respond to the boy’s care.Īmazingly, the regular care and maintenance of the Trico, and how it applies to the world around you makes up the bulk of the gameplay in The Last Guardian. The boy removes spears from Trico’s hind, and sets off in search of barrels to feed the Trico in an effort to nurse him back to health. There’s an understanding that the boy’s innocence compels him to help the Trico, despite how intimidating the at times adorable creature can be. The boy finds an injured Trico on the floor of the ruins and, realizing he’s alone, he tends to the mythical beast.

The last guardian gameplay length