Let me start by saying this...I have been looking forward to the release of The Last Guardian since I heard about it after finally getting around to finishing the amazing Shadow of the Colossus way back when. I only played an hour or two of Ico before I bounced off it, but Shadow is a game I've played through a few times myself and sat and watched friends play through it to vicariously relive playing it for the first time so I guess I had pretty high expectations for this one.

I bought the game yesterday and while I started with high enthusiasm, I've only felt it dwindle as I've continued playing due largely to Trico's behavior. Maybe I'm misunderstanding a fundamental about how to direct it, but getting it to jump across a gap or swim or just go in a particular direction seems an increasingly difficult task.

I've heard people compare it to the horse in Shadow and how it would sometimes ignore your calls, but when I got on the horse and told it to run, it ran; when I move the stick left or right, so would the horse. Trico though...I can point and jump and clap my hands and I feel like I'm MORE likely to get a snort and have it wander in the opposite direction than to actually proceed through the environment/puzzle.

Basically I find myself thinking of other AI buddies you were meant to get attached to, like Ellie I'm The Last of Us. She took cover when the player did (even though enemies were blind to her until they also saw joel) and she never initiated combat or took my ammo or otherwise made me say "goddamit Ellie." I scream "goddamit Trico you asshole, just GOOO!" with regularity.

I'm not a heartless bastard, I swear. Watching it roll around and play in puddles of water or gaze at me expectantly when I have a food barrel is endearing and im lpoking for ward to continuing and compelting the journey. I just find myself cursing more than I'm awwing at this point.

Anyone else have any similar or contrary thoughts?

Edit/update: I posted something similar as a reply below but so it's up here, I just finished the game and the frustration pretty much abated immediately after I continued playing. I'm not sure if thats because of how I was playing the game or if the game played slightly differently toward the secons half but there it is.

Trico and I are now good pals and even though he's not my favorite AI buddy in a game I think he wound up being wsay better than i first thought. I'm not gonna try to replay the game again anytime soon, but I'm gonna hang on to my copy. Would recommend to anyone who knows they like ico games. It took me something less than 15 hours according to the trophy I got, if that helps with an approximate length (FYI I don't think anyone has the platinum trophy yet if anyone cares about that)

Do you have a cat or dog? Everything I have seen of this game makes me think it will have way more of an impact on you if you have pets. I havn't played it yet as I'm waiting to get my pro, But from what I have watched a lot of Trico's mannerisms and behavior remind me a lot of my dog. So I expect this game to have quite the impact when I play it.

The fact he acts like a real animal is what Intrigues me most about the game honestly.

Yah but "interesting" and "fun to play" can often be at odds with one another. Dunno how it is here, I have not played the game myself, but from all the stories and anecdotes I've read it seems to be riding a razor thin line between being an intriguing and organic part of the gameplay, and being downright annoying and a hindrance to progression.

Even if the animal is more "realistic" by having AI that does what you want it to only half the time, it's still a puzzle game. You try a solution, and if it doesn't work, you try something else. If the first attempt was actually the correct answer but the AI just decided to not let you proceed, it just results in frustration until you finally for whatever reason decide to try something you've already done and expect different results.

I'm sure the game would've been an immediate game of the year winner ten years ago, but game mechanics have improved since then, and now it just seems weirdly dysfunctional.

To respond to Mister_V and what Humanity is saying. I don't currently have any pets due to my apartment's rules though I have in the past and now have friends who have pets and I love visiting them. PlaYing fetch is fun and messing around and trying to teach them tricks can be frustrating but in an endearing and fun way. However, I would never try to get a pet to start my car which, metaphorically, is what I feel like The Last Guardian wants me to do.

It could also just be that I just am really misunderstanding some mechanic as in separate spots where I'm required to do a leap of faith with Trico catching me in dramatic and sweeping slow motion I've had hiccups. Once he just stared, tracking my fall with his head as I plummeted into the game over abyss, and another he tried to catch me and flat out missed, causing another respawn at checkpoint (which are actually very plentiful and helpful, you're never far back from where you died).

Once I got so frustrated trying to get it to swim in a certain way, I gave up and looked up a walkthrough only to see that I had been doing the thing the game required me to do to progress, either Trico just hadn't felt like listening to me for the past 15 minutes or I was doing some subtle thing incorrectly...that said I'm still playing and enjoying the story and mysterious world but it's in spite of the Trico mechanics, not because of them.

The entire game is about finding out how to communicate with Trico. It doesn't understand you and you don't understate it.

Yes it gets frustrating but it's an animal. How fascinating it is trumps how frustrating it can get. Personally Trico is the best character AI I've seen in a game. That, combined with its animations and behavior is absolutely astounding to me. Trico isn't just learning what you're trying to tell it, you're learning what Trico is trying to tell you. Pay attention to Trico's behavior. It becomes rewarding late game when he more or less consistently does what you want. Trico isn't just a tool for puzzle solving, it's an animal.

As described by yourself and others, Trico's willfulness seems like a fascinating, daring design choice that could be incredibly frustrating in practice, depending on the person. I'm actually super curious to get the impressions of average consumers, who might approach this stuff differently than the press.

@encephalon: Hearing all this stuff about Trico is making me more excited to play it. It sounds like something I would love but I agree with you, it will be very interesting to see what the average consumer thinks of this.

@pompouspizza: @encephalon:

I'm confused. Aren't we the average consumer? You can read plenty of thoughts about the game on the internet, including here in this thread. The game is out.

By the way I just finished the game and despite frequent button prompts and framerate issues, this was absolutely incredible. It's another Ueda masterpiece.

The ending was one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced, like it's basically Pete's Dragon but or so much better.

@frostyryan: I guess? I don't really see people who frequent video game forums as the "average consumer" maybe that's dumb. Reading what you said has made me want to play the game even more if that's even possible! The game unlocked 40 minutes for me in the UK. I'll be up at the crack of dawn playing.

@frostyryan: that's exactly what I meant. OP is an average consumer, and this thread is their impression. Your comments go into that bucket too, and I'm glad to have them.

@pompouspizza: normally, I'd agree that anyone on a game forum is way too enthusiast to consider "average," but for prestige pieces like Ueda games, which are unlikely to have huge mass market appeal, I make an exception. Random forum impressions is as average as we're going to get.

@frostyryan: I just finished the game and yeah...I definitely agreen that not long after the spot where I decided to post it did get easier to work with trico. Either I got better at it and recognizing cues or something or it just gets easier late in the game? I'm not sure really.

I do know that having just finished it, I definitely don't hate Trico, and I actually feel kind of bad for our earlier misunderstandings (damn you Ueda and your mastery of heartstrings!) I'm not saying I want to start a new game again right now...but I'm definitely gonna hang on to it.

@xpolymorphic said:

Really? I just felt thankful it was over. I feel like it tried to do what Brothers did, except Brothers actually pulled it off.

I have a copy of this game sitting unopened because I'm not sure I can handle an AI character that doesn't do what I want it to do (purposely or not).

If this happened to me, I'd put the game down and never play it again. You're doing everything right but the game just doesn't want to let you proceed. Ugh.

@cameron:

So it's been a few days since I've finished the game and with hindsight I really enjoyed the experience. I was definitely frustrated, really frustrated, frustrated enough to start what's probably my third forum post ever. But apart from one puzzle that has an oddly specific area you need to be in to continue I think I'm good with the rest of the game.

Team Ico games man...they're unique. If you still haven't opened it, I definitely reccommend playing through it rather than returning it or letting it sit on a shelf.

Edit: let me also add that I really appreciate the lack of sign posting the game does. It really just makes you look at the environment and figure something out.

The whole Trico is good in theory but not in practice as stated above. End of the day last guardian is a video game, I shouldn't be frustrated by controls and AI.

Finished it up there, took about 14 hours (I know this based on something it told me). Can't say I ever encountered any section when Trico didn't listen to my commands. I didn't spam commands, I took my time, looked around, figured "That's where we need to go" and told him to go there and he went. I'd like to see footage of how other people are playing were he won't do as he's told. It takes a while at the start because he's weary of you.

Maybe you all need to spend more time giving him pats on the back of the neck and bonding with him

Yeah, I think a lot of the problems come from people rushing things. Trico will actually do a lot on its own if you give it some time. And by looking at what its doing you can even get some hints as to where to go next and such. I sort of agree with the description some people are giving it of more of a pet simulator than a traditional game. Personally it's my GOTY and I love it immensely.

I don't mind him acting like a real animal, but the fact it took me about half an hour to get him to take me through that underwater tunnel seems...extreme. It's the only moment in the game where I had to watch a video online to ensure I was doing the right thing. I was, but he just outright refused to take me through that tunnel.

Loved Trico most other times through.