E3 2015, Sony re-introduced The Last Guardian, Fumito Ueda’s long-suffering follow-up to PS2 classics Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Now, as we approach E3 2016, the publisher “Edge Magazine” has published the first ever hands-on preview of the game detailing new gameplay details and confirming that the game is still set for a 2016 release.
Issue 294’s cover story (as seen in the image below) includes impressions from a portion of the game, and even more information about the enormous feathered, cat-like creature called Trico.
The preview details a new gameplay mechanic, in which the human boy character wields a mirrored shield. “Holding circle ‘illuminates’ the device,” states the article, “shining what is ostensibly an ornate cross hair onto any surface it’s aimed at Trico (the main protagonist) can fire a devastating beam of red lightning from its tail, and will direct this power wherever we point the mirrored shield.”
This attack was used for environmental puzzles – “one involving the destruction of a rock face, the other the disintegration of a wooden wall”
Back to The Last Guardian’s biggest star, Trico is “one of the most striking video game presences in recent years”
“It would be a lie to stay that I have no worries,” says the game designer Ueda, “but another game where you can completely control a creature wouldn’t be enjoyable for me because there are a lot out there where you can do that. I think I’ve had enough of them.” – This seems like the game is going to be throwing a lot of different mechanics into the mix and have a AI that seems rather in-depth, maybe the reason for development taking so long is to iron out any bugs.
The article later states that as the game progresses, and Trico and the boy’s relationship strengthens, the creature will become more responsive to player requests.
Ueda says about Trico: “This creature isn’t like the cute pets that exist in other games, or an ally that’s really useful. The role of the creature is ambiguous; that’s something we wanted to express in the game, and it doesn’t always do what you ask it to do. That’s one of the themes of The Last Guardian. It’s something that’s difficult, and completely different. I want to create the next thing – an experience that people have never had before”.
“The amount of code is very large compared to AI in conventional games. We’ve given this creature its own desires, so depending on what action it wants to take, that affects everything, including its animation. It’s not like a normal humanoid character.”
For a game that has been in development for over 8 years and been an ongoing joke at E3’s gone by, “will we see it, or won’t we”
However going by this article 2016 could be the year of The Last Guardian to steal the show
The magazine is in UK stores now.
