YMMV / The Last Guardian

• Awesome Music:
  • The soundtrack is absolutely stunning. Special mention goes to "Finale II: Escape", "End Titles" and "Epilogue".
  • "Finale I: Apex" playing at the climax battle sounds like it came straight out of an epic war movie.
• Broken Base: Trico will sometimes not respond to the player's commands. Is this realistic animal behavior and a compelling example of an AI companion who's more than just an extension of your will, or the game bugging out and an exercise in frustration as progress is frequently thwarted when it takes several minutes for Trico to do whatever clear, simple action he needs for you to keep moving? As a result, whether you'll enjoy the game depends on how patient you will be for a realistic/unresponsive animal AI.
• Fanfic Fuel: The post-credit scene revealing that Trico is still alive and sensing the now-adult boy's shield naturally resulted in fanworks to have the two reunite.
• Franchise Original Sin: The most notable criticism of the game is how finicky and messy the controls can be. Many players find platforming and climbing extremely frustrating due to the way the game's physics and hit detection works. On top of that is how unresponsive Trico himself can be towards commands. The team's previous two games, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, had very similar physics and controls, but they were less of an issue due to the more controlled nature of the gameplay, not involving a companion colossus.
• Narm Charm: The boy's running-in-place animation is kinda silly, but also really adorable.
• Scrappy Mechanic: The tutorial messages, which take up entirely too much of the screen to explain how to perform actions you've been doing for the entire game. These appear during every single puzzle, and can't be turned off. It completely clashes with the rest of the game's minimalist aesthetic and as a result feels like the developers were forced to include it by last-minute Executive Meddling.
• Tough Act to Follow: While still considered great in its own right, The Last Guardian hasn't gotten near the amount of acclaim and praise as Team ICO's previous game in the series.
• Ugly Cute: Trico is one freakish-lookin' beast. But damn if listening to those puppy-like grunts don't make him adorable. Of course some just think he looks cute, which can lead to some Narm when he is called a ferocious beast or supposed to be threatening but instead looks like an overgrown puppy.
• Unintentional Uncanny Valley: Trico is rendered much more realistically than the other characters seen in the game. As a result, a few people have mentioned it makes him look rather off next to the main protagonist, who's rendered in a semi-cel-shaded style.
• Visual Effects of Awesome:
  • The E3 Trailer shows exactly why the game has been in development so long. It looks gorgeous. Trico's feather detail in particular is noteworthy as it ornately moves and flexes with his body, giving it a very fluid and natural motion.
  • Tokyo Game Show 2015 didn't have a playable demo of the game, so they made up for it by having a huge, virtual Trico that responded to fans' movements!

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