The Last Guardian took everyone by surprise when Sony announced it at last year’s E3, and with good reason – we all assumed the long suffering game was trapped in development hell.
But miracles can happen. Fumito Ueda’s follow-up to PS2 classics Ico and Shadow of the Colossus made the jump from PS3 to PS4, and Edge Magazine have revealed some new details on the game in the lead up to E3 2016.
E294: The fantasy finally becomes reality in our The Last Guardian cover feature, out now. pic.twitter.com/pNvJmo8WCZ
— Edge (@edgeonline) May 26, 2016
For the unaware, The Last Guardian was intended to launch in 2011 for the PS3. The game follows the story of a young boy, and a giant, feathered dog like creature called Trico. Yes, it’s weird.
The biggest news is probably the confirmation that The Last Guardian will still release later this year, despite the fact we’ve seen hide nor hair of it since E3 2015.
Ueda told Edge:
Since this is the year we will see the game’s release, I do have some worries, but I’m also very excited.
Edge also published the first hands-on preview of the title, which has revealed a ton of new details about the game.
For example, players will be able to use a mirrored shield, which can be aimed, prompting Trico to fire a massive beam of red lighting wherever we point.
The demo Edge played only saw this attack being used to solve environmental puzzles, but it could have some useful combat applications.
Trico meanwhile, is described in the article as “one of the most striking video game presences in recent years”, but it’s suggested that the creature may annoy as many players as it charms.
As the game progresses, the relationship between the young boy and Trico will change and strengthen. Apparently Trico will become more responsive to your requests as you get to know each other.
Ueda said of 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.
It certainly sounds like an interesting project, at any rate. Anything that comes from the mind that gave us Shadow of the Colossus is bound to be one to watch.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.