The Last Guardian
Top Critic
Does the successor to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus live up to its lineage? It does so much more.
Top Critic
The divide between the highs and lows of The Last Guardian is staggering. For every wonderful moment of absolute beauty and emotional attachment to its lifelike companion, there's an equal and opposite baffling moment that ruins the mood with frustrating controls and camera angles. But I found myself willing to put up with all of these hiccups if it meant experiencing any of its multitude of incredibly-beautiful moments.
Top Critic
Top Critic
A moving adventure starring an extraordinary companion. Framerate issues intrude, but don't let them stop you from finishing this wonderful game.
Top Critic
Not quite up to the same standards of its predecessors, but this is still an emotionally draining and beautifully realised story of friendship against the odds.
Top Critic
The Last Guardian forges a connection between the player and Trico unlike anything else in gaming. You need to experience it, despite its problems in other areas
Top Critic
The Last Guardian bounces between highs and lows without ever fully living up to its legacy
Top Critic
The Last Guardian's peerless animation and character development bring a fascinating relationship between boy and beast to life.
Top Critic
Eschewing the spare storytelling of previous Team Ico games, The Last Guardian's plot unfolds in a series of easily digestible cutscenes. It's a dark fairy tale that probably isn't quite what anyone expected, but ultimately serves to make the friendship at the core of the game even more remarkable. The Last Guardian is about two lost souls becoming one, and the strength and joy found in that conjunction.
Top Critic
Playing The Last Guardian reminds me a lot of playing Half-Life games: The actual moment-to-moment of working my way through the game involves an enormous amount of frustration and annoyance... but when I look back at it, all I see are the happy memories of the experience. That's due in large part to the incredible design of Trico, and also to the spectacular emotive ending. Make no mistake, though, you will want to tear your hair out throughout your journey with Trico... but patient players will find the payoff justifies the suffering.
