• News

Director of The Last Guardian won't play his game until 'maybe after a year.'

Director Fumito Ueda has poured blood, sweat, and tears into The Last Guardian. Understandably, it'll be a while before he can bring himself to play it with an open mind.

David Craddock

June 28, 2016 12:27 PM

2

Fingers crossed and knock on wood: at E3, Sony announced a worldwide release date of October 25, 2016, for The Last Guardian, the beleaguered title developed under the auspices of director Fumito Ueda of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus fame. Millions of people will likely jump on the game when it becomes available for PS4 this fall, but Ueda won't be among them.

Speaking with the Guardian (via GameSpot), Ueda explained that he's usually too nervous and subjective to play any of his games before they've had a chance to cool.

"In the week after the release I don't want to look at the game. All I'll see are the flaws. I wouldn't want to see it with that perspective because I don't want to think about regrets. Even seeing tiny bugs I'll think, why didn't we squash that one? But sometime later, maybe after a year, I'll be able to calm down and take a look."

The Last Guardian is expected to focus heavily on relationships between the player-character and his half-aviary companion. According to Ueda, themes in Shadow of the Colossus informed much of the narrative and gameplay around which he and his team built The Last Guardian.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.