The Last Guardian - Review

The Last Guardian spent years in development, and for a while, it seemed like it may never be released but finally, in 2016 it happened.  The Last Guardian is a game that has been on my 'to play' list for some time, so after I saw it come up on the PlayStation Store for under €20 I thought it was finally time to play it.


Stew.  Stew is a great way to make a cheap meal, it contains lots of vegetables, and a healthy portion of meat to make a kind of thick soup.  My mum used to make it growing up, she made it with dumplings which were really nice fluffy pieces of heaven.  That all being said I never really liked stew, I liked the meat, I liked the dumplings but the overall concept just never did it for me.  Playing The Last Guardian I found myself asking was it really tasty or was it just another stew?

Story


There is nothing worse than waking up, not knowing where you are and finding a giant cat/dog/bird-like creature beside you, unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to little Timmy (no clue what his name is, but unlike Kratos, I couldn't just call him 'boy').  Once Timmy wipes away the cobwebs he starts to look for an exit but quickly realises he is going to need help, cat/dog/bird-like creature seems the natural (and only) choice.  The first thing to do is grab a couple of barrels of Wicked and feed them to his new friend Trico (don't know how he came up with the name but is easier to say than cat/dog/bird-like creature) before trying to escape together.  The story, at its core, is about Timmy and Tricos relationship and getting to see it develop.


Similarly to Shadow of the Colossus, there is a certain lack of story, you get small fragments here and there but a lot is left up to you to figure out and fill in the blanks.  While I liked the relationship between Timmy and Trico, I didn't like the feeling of directionless in the overall story.  I was hoping the ending would at least be a little more satisfying than the rest of the story, but nope it wasn't to be.  Overall I didn't like the lack of story and the small amount there was just wasn't very engaging.

Visuals


I found the visuals, for the most part, to be pretty underwhelming.  There are old ruins all around and nature has started taking over, in theory, this should have looked great but instead, it just looked dull.  Perhaps this was done to help you better appreciate Trico's design which was really different and interesting.  There were some sections later in the game which were a little more visually engaging.  Overall I felt the visuals were lacking, especially when you compare those Japan Studio used in Shadow of the Colossus.



Music


The music is definitely one of the strongest elements of the game.  It has a large soundtrack that is well suited to a game about exploration, while I was listening to the score again parts of it reminded me of the Netflix TV series House of Cards.  The score was created by Japanese-American composer Takeshi Furukawa.  He has helped create the music for ad campaigns for Apple, Sony, and Canon, outside of this he has also worked on TV series such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Trek Enterprise.


The soundtrack runs a little over an hour and has many great tracks, my favorites being 'Falling Bridge', 'Hanging Gardens', 'Sentinal II', 'Victorious', 'Alone', 'Final I Apex',  and 'Final II Escape'.  Overall a really solid soundtrack which is almost equal to that used in Shadow of Colossus.




Gameplay


The Last Guardian is a third-person puzzle game, the only weapon Timmy has is his shield and Trico.  In the early part of the game, Timmy has no real control over Trico but as you progress you can issue basic commands.  The commands work, sometimes, not really.  Trico sometimes feels like a puppy, occasionally it will listen, other times it just pees on the floor.  The more the game progressed the more I became frustrated at Trico not carrying out the command, more than once I had to check a walkthrough in case I was being dim, I wasn't. 


Occasionally you will have to separate from Trico, which always felt sad as he cries out for you.  Little Timmy will often have to climb up and pull a lever so Trico can follow you, this can be a little frustrating.  Do you remember the early Assassin's Creed games?  There would be a ledge just above Altair/Enzio's head, you would press the button to jump up, they would then slowly turn their head smile at you, jump away from the ledge shouting weeeeeeeeeee as they fell to their death.  This happened to me on more than a few occasions while controlling Timmy, it was mildly infuriating.


Something that really drove me bananas (why don't we use that term more it's so fun) were the camera angles.  I can't tell you how many times the screen went black as the cameraman went for a coffee break, eventually, he would return and all would be okay - ish.


The best part of the gameplay was the relationship between Timmy and Trico, there were some real bonding moments between the two of them.  I realised something about Trico halfway through the game, he needs barrels of Wicked to get him going, and green smoke to relax him, basically, he is a party creature.


In honesty there is a lot more I can say about the game but almost all of it would be negative.  Overall the gameplay itself was quite poor, most of which could have been improved by a few relatively minor fixes.




Final Thoughts

After just over fifteen hours, how did I feel?  Relieved.  I was glad that the game was over.  While I liked the dynamic between Trico and Timmy and the great soundtrack almost everything else was seriously lacking.  Perhaps this is my stew, lots of people gave it rave reviews but for me, The Last Guardian is not something I will be revisiting, this one gets 2 out of 5

Bloodborne - Review

Well, it's been a while since I last did a review, this is due to a few reasons; I have been sick for over a week, visited London and made some new friends (shoutout to Katie and Ger), and have been slowly working my way through Bloodborne.  Anyone who plays a lot of games knows that it can be quite expensive.  I would love to buy all my games brand new, the moment they are released, but unless you have a ton of loose cash it's just not possible.  What's a gamer to do?  You need to be smart, buy second hand, share games between friends, or even go halves on a game, this is exactly what Siniša, and I decided to do with Bloodborne.


I'm not a big breakfast person, but every now and then I fancy something like a bacon sandwich, mini breakfast, or even some cereal.  On occasion, I even feel like having porridge.  The thing about porridge is that it is hard to eat, even a small amount fills you quickly, and can rest heavily on your stomach.  It's doesn't look very appealing either, dress it up any way you like it's still not going to look very enticing.  Finishing a bowl, while challenging can be quite nice, and there is a feeling of fulfilment.  Playing Bloodborne I found myself asking was I really in the mood for porridge, and did I feel fulfilled?

Story


What's the one thing none of us want to wake up to?  A creepy old guy in a wheelchair looking at you?  That's pretty bad, but imagine you are on a less than clean medical table, you are having a blood transfusion, and you are seeing demons.  It's clearly time to stop drinking and get off the drugs. It turns out you are now a demon hunter of sorts and need to, well, kill demons.


The story is really hidden, you are given small tit bits, here and there but nothing major.  According to the writer this was purposefully done, and all the answers are in the game you just need to piece it together.  I needed to check a few forums, and got the answers I was looking for, it sounded quite interesting.  Now don't get me wrong I don't need my hand held through a story but the way it was told in Bloodborne just felt lazy.  Some people seemed to really like the way it was hidden and cryptic,  but it didn't do it for me, which is a shame because after checking online it seemed that story itself was quite interesting.

Visuals


The visuals in the game are amazing and are really where it shines.  The town of Yarhnam is bleak, and devoid of all hope, the enemies are terrifying and are straight out of a horror movie.  There are of course your crazy townsfolk, but for me something that constantly freaked me out were the carrion crows.  They are really large crows, that look like they have been bitten in half, and often only make their presence know once you step on them.  There are some really great looking bosses, two of my favourites with Mergo's Wet Nurse, and Vicar Amelie.  Mergo's Wet Nurse looked liked the Grimm Reaper, but with multiple arms each with scythes in them. Vicar Amelie looks like a beast, but unlike the others it looks like she is pain, huge amounts of hair, and horns on her head.  While almost everything is dark there was one area of serenity, the Hunter's Dream.  It is your home base, and is a beautiful garden/graveyard.  The picture above shows the Messengers who you can buy weapons, and items from.


There are number of complaints I had with this game, but when it comes to the design, and overall look of it I had nothing but praise for it.


Music


The soundtrack suits the game perfectly, it is dark, eerie, and there is a real unsettling feeling throughout.  There is harsh uses of stringed instruments, and there is a choir who are featured heavily, especially during boss battles.  The score was crafted by a slew of artists including:

Ryan Amon, an American Movie and Video Game Composer, he has worked on;  Assassins Creed Unity, Elysium, and Blackhat.

Tsukasa Saitoh, a Japanese Video Game Composer, who has worked on a number of titles including; the Armored Core Series, Eternal Ring, and Kings Field IV.

Yuka Kitamura, a Japanese Video Game Composer, who's works include; DarkSouls II and III, and Armored Core: Verdict Day.

Nobuyoshi Suzuki, a Japanese Video Game Composer, who worked on; Super Mario Oddessy, and Dark Souls III.

Cris Velasco,  an American Composer, who worked on a number of big titles including;  Overwatch, Injustice: Gods Among Us, God of War, Borderlands 1 and 2, and lots more.

Michael Wandmacher, an American Movie and Video Game Composer, who has a really varied background, his works include; Underworld: Blood Wars, Ben 10: Alien Swarm, Tokyo Pig, Twisted Metal.

The original soundtrack runs at just over ninety minutes, it a great score with many chilling pieces, my favourites included: 'Omen', 'Bloodstained Beast', 'Hail The Nightmare', and 'Darkbeast'.

Gameplay


Onto the blood chunks that is the gameplay!  The game starts with you designing your character, there are quite a lot of options which is really fun, in the end I settled on a professor look, and called him Professor Tim.  There are different back stories you can choose for your character, which all effect your initial stats, my favourite was called 'waste of skin', the description was 'you should never have been born'.


Bloodborne had one of the best save areas in a game, the Hunter's Dream was a nice tranquil place, despite all the graves.  It has a storage area which was really great, anytime you collect too many excess items they automatically get transferred there.  When you are in the Hunter's Dream you can purchase items, weapons, and armor, along with levelling up.  The currency in the game is blood echoes, they are used for everything, at times this can be tough as you need to sacrifice levelling up to ensure you have enough healing vials, or other items.


The are a multitude of weapons in the game, but being honest I only found a few that were worthwhile, most notably the Axe, which I found to be Axe-tastic!  It has two modes, one handed (close range), and two handed (long range), and could be changed at a moments notice depending on the enemy you had to take on.  The combat as a whole is similar to Dark Souls, roll, roll, roll some more, and occasionally hit an enemy.  The targeting had a lot to be desired, and I found on a number of occasions my weapon did not make contact.  The armor was very underwhelming in the game, and did not get much better which was a little disappointing.


The gameplay focuses on you working your way to the next boss, some were okay, others were bordering on the ridiculous.  The two most straight forward to me were, The One Reborn and Amelia, mostly due to the fact that by careful dodging, and not being afraid to hack at an enemy they were easily beatable.  Then you had bosses like Blood Starved Beast, everything would be going fine, dodging out the way, taking cover, using antidotes, and then all of sudden you just can't get away from him, the difficulty kept spiking like crazy.  Being honest the bosses in the game nearly made me walk away from it a few times, sometimes it felt like you won due to skill, other times luck.


The gameplay for the most part was good enough, but some poor weapons, and armor, some frustrating boss fights, and poor targeting stopped it being all it could be.




Final Thoughts

So after forty hours plus how did I feel? Conflicted.  The visuals and music were impressive, the story was valed for the most part, the gameplay, and difficulty spiking varried between fun, and frustrating.  So many reviewers game it ten out of ten, and being honest I really can't see why because it has multiple issues.  I struggled scoring this game, but in the end, I can only give it 3 out of 5