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.
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.
Ways Fumito Ueda Can Deliver a Generation-Defining Experience Again
A Bigger World
In its day, Shadow of the Colossus was a benchmark in early open world design. From its sprawling fields with birds flying overhead to the craggy rock formations that stretched out upon its edges, it nailed the feeling of a land that had secrets hidden and waiting for the player to find, and that to explore it would offer treasures and rewards to those who took the time to look.
Fast forward to today though, and it feels minimal compared to current open world titles. Yes, the emptiness plays a part in the narrative and portrays the flaws in the main character’s goals, but with titles like Horizon Zero Dawn, The Witcher III, and so many others able to offer open worlds that nearly burst from the amount of detail and content they include, it’s hard not to feel like it could have more to it.
If Fumito Ueda opts for another open world title, we’d want it to feature more content to flesh out the world and make it feel up to snuff. This could mean ancient ruins and temples to explore, easter eggs scattered around that make reference to past titles, or even creatures to interact with along the way to the game’s primary content.
Ways Fumito Ueda Can Deliver a Generation-Defining Experience Again
Better Performance
As stunning as Fumito Ueda’s titles are in their scope and the hauntingly beautiful worlds they introduce players to, they all tend to suffer from a common problem, that being performance issues. At some point during the game, and more than likely around the point when the biggest spectacle or most graphically demanding moments in the game occur, the game will cause the system reading it to stutter, stagger and occasionally fall flat on its face as a result of the demands posed by how much the game wants to do.
On one hand, this speaks to the ambition of Ueda and his team in how far they try to push a console’s technology to its limits. On the other hand, it’s frustrating to drop a load of cash on a title only for it to crash and burn at the most important points.
With that said, ironing out performance issues should be at the top of Ueda’s list for development goals. Sure, it may take them longer to develop the game, but if it means that players can enjoy the breathtaking experiences that his games provide, without chugging frame rates and game crashes, most players will be willing to be patient… to an extent.
Ways Fumito Ueda Can Deliver a Generation-Defining Experience Again
A Shorter Development Cycle
Which brings us to our main want for Fumito Ueda’s next game: We want it to be released in a realistic amount of time. The Last Guardian, while certainly impressive in its final product, was in development or rumored to be in development for seven and a half years. Sure, it would rear its head just enough at the occasional E3 to stoke excitement and remind people that it was still around, but after a while it became a title most believed would never come out at all.
It’s understandable that Ueda and his team would want to make the best game that they could. After all, it’s through this mindset that we’ve received some of the most beautiful works in video games. However, with so many landmark titles coming out every month, there’s only so long players can wait for one experience before they move onto something that is available.
As such, we’d hope that Ueda could, at the very least, wrap up development within five years. It would still be a sizable amount of time to develop a game by today’s standards, but it would still ensure him and his team don’t miss another console generation just to put out one game.
What are some of your biggest wants in regards to Ueda’s new project? Let us know in the comments below, and check out our reviews for The Last Guardian and the recent remake of Shadow of the Colossus.
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