The Last Guardian Catch-All

Of course I'm disappointed, but as a developer by trade, it kind of makes me happy when I hear about delays. "Oh good, they decided to do it RIGHT instead of probably letting bugs in to meet the deadline." After waiting this long, a couple of months is nothing, and it's not like fall isn't already a rich bounty of exciting new games.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
detroit20 wrote:

I'm not sure that the lesson I would have taken from the launch of 'No Mans Sky' was to avoid a Day-1 patch at all costs.

One of the biggest issues that No Man's Sky ran into prior to release was that leaked copies hit the internet early and also ended up in the hands of reviews. The pre-patch version of the game was significantly worse than the post-patch version, but that's what got shown off to people eager for a glimpse at the game, and it's what a number of "early impressions" articles were based on.

If this is a NMS style Day 1 patch situation, then I'd be even more worried about the game. The previous version of NMS, by all reports, wasn't a worse game than what was shipped. It was a fundamentally different one.

The day 1 patch for NMS wasn't just your normal day 1 patch. Normally, you see final balance issues, high priority bugs like crashes or security flaws, and maybe a pre-load for content that's going live later. You don't see systems reworks or major core gameplay changes in a day 1 patch, because the game shouldn't have shipped in the first place if the team was in a major rework cycle after the gold code freeze.

cube wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
detroit20 wrote:

I'm not sure that the lesson I would have taken from the launch of 'No Mans Sky' was to avoid a Day-1 patch at all costs.

One of the biggest issues that No Man's Sky ran into prior to release was that leaked copies hit the internet early and also ended up in the hands of reviews. The pre-patch version of the game was significantly worse than the post-patch version, but that's what got shown off to people eager for a glimpse at the game, and it's what a number of "early impressions" articles were based on.

If this is a NMS style Day 1 patch situation, then I'd be even more worried about the game. The previous version of NMS, by all reports, wasn't a worse game than what was shipped. It was a fundamentally different one.

The day 1 patch for NMS wasn't just your normal day 1 patch. Normally, you see final balance issues, high priority bugs like crashes or security flaws, and maybe a pre-load for content that's going live later. You don't see systems reworks or major core gameplay changes in a day 1 patch, because the game shouldn't have shipped in the first place if the team was in a major rework cycle after the gold code freeze.

Also, enabling multiplayer which I've seen done with a couple of other games over the years.

Anyways, they've stated they're finding more bugs than they were expecting so it doesn't sound like it's a NMS "hey let's redesign our entire game in a 6-12 week span of time" situation to me.

Yeah.

I'm going with the Occam's razor approach. Probably delayed due to the usual polish, bugs, or just plain old boring publishing details and timing vs another game. Which is super common.

Buncha video from the playable demo at TGS

Watching this now and I do see what they mean about the movement, I also think it is charming in its own way. I think it will be exactly what fans have wanted.

They have the soundtrack available on vinyl, but I'm going to hold off on that. I'm not buying much vinyl these days in an attempt to save money. The music I've heard so far is fine but nothing has really grabbed me in a way that I'd want to listen to it outside of the game.

IMAGE(http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0580/0965/products/TheLastGuardian-Vinyl-Gatefold2_1024x1024.png?v=1477579925)

Weird. They did a CG trailer for it:

Huge "intro" trailer. They show quite a lot of new gameplay in here. Might be spoilery.

"Your Amazon.com order of "The Last Guardian ..." has shipped!"

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/T3o2jSO7mf7Ta/giphy.gif)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/7drHiqr.gif)

The question that I really want to know is: is there more to this game than the one big room and bridge that's comprised essentially all of the preview footage for the last seven years?

The game is here! I can't wait to read impressions.
* after watching the full 25 minutes I can say I will be happy to wait until I can get this used.

Here is 25 minutes of gameplay from Playstation Access.

And here is the Kotaku review.

When do reviews go up?

I hope they pull something special out of the bag, it feels like everyone is waiting for this to be a disappointment & after a legendary amount of delays I don't blame people.

Eurogamer - Essential

Wow did not expect that.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

The question that I really want to know is: is there more to this game than the one big room and bridge that's comprised essentially all of the preview footage for the last seven years?

There's a second room, probably.

Spikeout wrote:

When do reviews go up?

Yeah, looks like embargo went up a little while ago. I expect them to all say "this is cool, but it's broken, but here's a high score anyway". I'm not exactly mad about that.

garion333 wrote:

There's a second room, probably.

In it you choose whether the monster dies, or the boy dies.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

"Your Amazon.com order of "The Last Guardian ..." has shipped!"[/img]

Same. I think I can manage a little FFXV break for this.

Saw this pop up in my youtube subscriptions, might be relevant to some, the game apparently struggles on regular PS4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g48Z...

Kind of sounds like more Ico than SotC. Even though I liked them both I'd prefer more SotC.

JeremyK wrote:

Kind of sounds like more Ico than SotC. Even though I liked them both I'd prefer more SotC.

Same. Ico was amazing at the time but the size and scope of what was done in Shadow was ahead of its time. Nothing Ive seen of this has really impressed me yet and I don't know if going back to an Ico like environment and puzzles can hold my interest at this point. Giant monster or no.

I'm sure I will play this at some point though and hope I'm wrong. Really glad it came out for those that have been waiting for it. Hope it lives up to expectations!

Spikeout wrote:

Eurogamer - Essential

Wow did not expect that.

This was a very interesting review, because while it's filled with effusive praise for the game, it does a very good job of convincing me that I wouldn't like it very much. The impression I've gotten from that piece and others is that if you were able to overlook the significant, glaring flaws in Ico in favor of the unique experiences it offered, then you'll be quite happy with The Last Guardian. If not, you're likely to be frustrated by what's on offer here.

So spoilers obviously. But does anyone have any idea how this links to the other 2 games? Is it in the same world/timeline? I'll play it eventually but I loved how SotC tied in with Ico.

JeremyK wrote:

Kind of sounds like more Ico than SotC. Even though I liked them both I'd prefer more SotC.

I feel the same, but more of either sounds pretty great to me. I'm just hoping the mechanical issues that have been alluded to aren't impactful enough to sour the experience for me.

Count me as one that overlooks the minor issues in Ico and SotC and quite enjoys what these games had to offer. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Orphu wrote:

Count me as one that overlooks the minor issues in Ico and SotC and quite enjoys what these games had to offer. Looking forward to tomorrow.

I tried playing SotC and just couldn't stand how it controlled. I'd love to play this game but I'm wary.

Easy Allies review:

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Spikeout wrote:

Eurogamer - Essential

Wow did not expect that.

This was a very interesting review, because while it's filled with effusive praise for the game, it does a very good job of convincing me that I wouldn't like it very much. The impression I've gotten from that piece and others is that if you were able to overlook the significant, glaring flaws in Ico in favor of the unique experiences it offered, then you'll be quite happy with The Last Guardian. If not, you're likely to be frustrated by what's on offer here.

Yep Ico was a bit of a mixed experience for me to say the least, with frustrating puzzles & awkward controls but it had its moments. That's the main reason I'm cautious of The Last Guardian but I'd like to give it a try nonetheless.

The Last Guardian PS4 vs PS4 Pro Graphics Comparison + Frame-Rate Test

Thanks for sharing, farley3k. Although I hear what he's saying (with a lot of superlatives) and can see the numbers, it turns out that my forty-year-old eyes simply can't tell the difference. I guess I can wait a little longer to upgrade!