Ask almost any video game fanatic to name one of the most artistic and innovative developers in the industry, and they’ll more than likely point to Fumito Ueda. The visionary director behind the landmark titles The Last Guardian and Shadow of the Colossus, he has whisked players away to distant worlds full of wonder, that drip with originality and host jaw-dropping narratives as subtle as they are impactful. It’s no surprise, then, that news of Ueda working on a new title has many people excited, ourselves included. We couldn’t help but put together a list of five things we want to see from Fumito Ueda’s next game.
Ways Fumito Ueda Can Deliver a Generation-Defining Experience Again
More Straightforward Gameplay
For all of the praise that The Last Guardian received, there was equal criticism for one key aspect of its gameplay: Trico’s responsiveness, or more specifically, how well he responded to commands from the player.
In an intentional move by Ueda, the game’s lovable baby monster was designed to interact with the player and the game world like a baby animal. For all of it’s adorable quirks and youthful curiosity, there is an equal amount of confusion at commands or understanding what it is told. This is most evident at the start of the game. It is unfocused and easily distracted, taking commands from the player at random intervals before a crumbling rock or falling temple wall draws its attention.
While this was an interesting idea and captured the frustration and joy of teaching a baby animal to to listen to you, it also made for some poorly paced and confusing gameplay. Having no idea if or when Trico would take your command to solve a puzzle, or how to get him to listen to you in the early hours of the game, made for some frustrating and boring early hours that turned some off from the experience entirely.
In Ueda’s next game, we’d like to see gameplay that is more intuitive and less experimental. Sure, we want him and his team to try new things, but we also want to play a game that doesn’t bring the pace to a screeching halt with a new idea that doesn’t translate well to the medium. A return to the more action adventure oriented gameplay of Shadow of the Colossus, or even a stronger focus on the exploratory and puzzle solving elements of The Last Guardian, would be welcome improvements, and would still leave room for Ueda to experiment with different ideas and elements through the narrative.
