The Last Guardian is utterly beautiful. Though it's also set among desolate ruins, it's less mournful than Ico or Shadow of the Colossus, and bathed in blazing sunlight rather than wreathed in a cool haze. Its move to PS4 hasn't radically advanced its looks - as stylised as they are, it hasn't had to. But Trico's feathery pelt now ruffles fully in the breeze and the game runs with smooth composure as it animates the huge animal and sends towers of brick crumbling into the void from its weight.
"The main experience that I would like players to walk away with is the relationship between the boy and Trico. As the story unfolds... there is a bonding between them," Ueda says. He keeps the mechanics of their relationship mysterious, but from observation it seems to be driven by a vocal cue to call the creature's attention (sometimes it calls yours). There's certainly an emotional tug to the way it follows the boy watchfully with its eyes.
Ueda says Trico's behaviour is governed by a mix of triggers and artificial intelligence, and will adjust over the course of the game as the pair's relationship deepens. The demo comes from around halfway through the game, at which point "there's already an established relationship between the boy and Trico, that's why he'll listen to you. Maybe further down the storyline, that relationship will be stronger, you can communicate better and Trico will react better to you." There are a couple of moments during the demo when the creature seems, quite naturalistically, to take a while to understand what the boy wants it to do.
If you saw the press conference, you'll know that it's an outstanding demo. You may also know that there is little in it that we didn't already know about The Last Guardian, and much about the game that still remains unknown. For now, Ueda is keeping it that way - keeping his pronouncements vague and promising more detail closer to its release (but if I were you, I wouldn't expect too much). On the date of that release - after years of silence - he is still cautious.
"I'd like to close by once again thanking you for your patience - continuously - we very much appreciate it. We are working very, very hard to get this done and we hope to release this in 2016." Asked why the delay has been so long, he says there are many reasons, but picks out the "business decision" to move it to PS4. This will certainly have been a major undertaking. But on its own, it doesn't explain why the game doesn't seem to have moved on meaningfully since 2011. It doesn't feel any closer now than it did then.
It's been a long, long road, and if anything is clear from this demo, it's that there's still a good stretch of it to go before we're playing The Last Guardian. At least we can hope that the rest of the road is in the sunlight, and that we will one day find out what kept it in the shade so long. The Last Guardian looks magnificent. But then, it always has.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-06-17-the-last-guardian-emerges-from-hibernation-unchanged
hach ramsay
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