Ways Fumito Ueda Can Deliver a Generation-Defining Experience Again
A Bigger Focus on the Setting and Its Lore
In every Fumito Ueda game, one of the most enticing elements is the the world players are dropped into and its lore. Typically set in an ancient land full of mystery and wonder, the settings harbor echoes of those that once lived in them and show traces of what it was like before they disappeared.
Likewise, the games give players tidbits of the lore as they play, with parts which only become more impressive the more you learn about them. For Shadow of the Colossus, it was uncovering the full legend of the forbidden valley and its ancient colossi, each a mountain lumbering peacefully through the valleys and clearings as silent sentinels. In The Last Guardian, it was a looming tower home to a kind creature out of myth and uncovering the evil force of unknown intent that resided within.
They show just enough of what inhabits the world and how it works to pique the player’s interest, and before long, they’re drawn in headfirst and itching to learn more about everything the world they’ve entered has to offer.
With his next game, Fumito Ueda shouldn’t hold back as much as usual. Instead, he should give players a wider glimpse of these ancient locales and allow them to explore some of what he’s hinted at in past works. Being able to examine the people who inhabit the worlds past titles have taken place in, and how they live in worlds ripe with ancient legends and myths brought to life, could be a game all on its own, and if anyone could find a way to make it engaging and thought provoking, it’s Ueda.