This feels like a lost game of the ps2-ps3 generation, and it very much is. I remember seeing the trailer for it way back, and being super impressed by the graphics.
However, I only decided to give it a shot now, and here goes.
It’s alright. Painfully so. The worst elements keep it from being “very good” to “great”, but some of the cooler sequences make it worth the play through.
Obviously, the rig of Trico is probably one of the most impressive animal rigs with procedural animation I’ve ever seen. It’s genuinely very cool, and the look of the game wins heavily from it. The overall vibe is also very studio Ghibli-ish, and has a lot of similarities with shadow of the colossus (duh).
The worst part is some of the incredibly tedious puzzles and really poor controls. Trico just keeps not listening to your commands, and it can get frustrating super fast. Some puzzles very heavily rely on your directions to Trico, and oh boy does it suck to wait 2 minutes for the doggy to come back to you, after it decided to go the other way. I guess it can be a part of the experience, animals rarely follow commands , but in this game it was taken a bit too far imo.
Pacing-wise the best parts are the beginning and the place close to the bridge. That’s not too great, and I was considering dropping the game entirely at points, but I’m glad I finished it, since it did pick up the pace back.
tldr cute doggy is cute, but keeps shitting the bed