RiME Gets a Release Date!

     RiME has had a rocky production since its announcement at the at Sony's Gamescom 2013 Press Conference, but Tequila Works' game has finally received a set release date!

     Rime appears to be an amalgam of Journey, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and the Team Ico games and set on a strange Myst-like island.  The story is of a boy needing to find a way off the island and away from its terrible curse.

     What has me most excited is that it sounds like the game has a few procedurally generated elements, or it may change depending on how you play it.  In an interview with Polygon, the game's creator, Raúl Rubio Munárriz, said, "-"Every time you explore this island or islands you are going to experience it differently."  So not only might there be more than just one island, but it changes.
     Going on he says:

     "The island is a paradise, but that does not mean that what you see at the start is the same as what you see at the end. This is not a game about black and white. It is not about good and evil. We are trying to play with what the player takes for granted. This is a puzzle adventure game but that doesn't mean that you are going to enter houses and start gathering stuff. I see this environment, it is beautiful, but something is wrong. Who built this?"

     RiME will arrive on PC, PS4, and XBox One on May 26th, and at a later date for the Nintendo Switch.

     I also wonder if odd capitalization on the name probably has ties to the tower featured in the game.

     For related posts [ Rime ]

RiME: Finally Arrives in May 2017!

     I've had my eye on Tequila Work's gorgeous game RIME since 2014.  Through the last couple years, RiME has gone through some changes behind the scenes and now the game will be coming to more than just the PS4, it'll also be arriving on Xbox One, Steam, and the upcoming Nintendo Switch.  Which is great, a wider audience to share the experience.  RiME looks to be a wonderful amalgam of the games Journey, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Ico all placed on a strange and mysterious island like Myst.

     The 3rd person puzzle-platforming will help the shipwrecked boy unravel the mystery of this island he finds himself stranded on.  You are an interloper on this island, and it will react to your presence- the island IS a character in that way.  To find meaning, you'll need to delve in and try to solve the questions of who built this place, where is everyone else, and how the island changes.

     That last part is what really peaks my curiosity as the game's creator, Raúl Rubio Munárriz, mentioned something that immediately caught my eye in an old interview with Polygon, "Every time you explore this island or islands you are going to experience it differently."  It makes me think there will be an element of procedural generation, and then further question exactly how reactive will the world be.  Will every decision you make really change how the entire world around you functions?  Can you alter how animals populating the island react by changing what you do to them?  Will the island actively try to assist you in doing good, and try to thwart you from harming stuff?  Can the island fight against your goal?  I look forward to seeing if this is truly how the game is built.  A real reactionary world.

     Experience the subtle beauty of RiME in May 2017.

The Last Guardian: Delayed AGAIN?!? Now Releasing Dec. 6th.

     Mere weeks before the game was set to arrive (Oct. 25th), Playstation has announced on their official blog that- surprise, SURPRISE- The Last Guardian is receiving yet another delay.

     SCE Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida himself posted this message:

"Fumito Ueda, gen DESIGN and JAPAN Studio have a wonderful vision for The Last Guardian’s touching, emotional journey of friendship and trust, and we want to deliver the most polished experience possible for our fans who have supported us for so long. A delay is a difficult decision, particularly with this game, but we have encountered more bugs than anticipated while in the final stages of development. To ensure that The Last Guardian delivers on the experience that the game’s creators have envisioned, we need to take the extra time to work on those issues. 

Our development continues to push itself to the fullest and we look forward to revealing new content toward launch. 

We appreciate your continued support."

     Honestly, this is something that is definitely souring my taste for the game.  Announcement after announcement gets followed by disappointment and delay.  Everyone watching the development knows that it began in 2007, was initially announced in 2009, and reintroduced in 2015.  It's getting to the point where the game may not be able to live up to its own hype.
     Team Ico has yet to make a bad game, but this feels like it's going to be too short or too small and might feel like a decade of wasted potential.  Ico and Shadow of the Colossus still stand as two of the most creative and innovative games ever.  Something just feels off about this, and that in itself seems like an ill omen.  Granted, I could be very wrong about this, and The Last Guardian may become the triumphant final installment to the Team Ico saga.

     The Last Guardian's newest expected release date is Dec. 6th.

     For related posts [ The Last Guardian ]

     Source [ PSN BLOG ]

Rime: Coming in 2017 and Possibly to More Than Just Playstation 4

     Back in 2013 a game was announced and a year later at the 2014 GamesCom Press Conference a trailer for Tequila Works' game Rime was released.  It looked to be a wonderful Ico-esque 3rd person puzzle-platforming Playstation 4 exclusive.  Then more recently there was some developmental upheaval that led to Tequila Works and Sony parting ways.

     Now we get some good news, Rime is still set to arrive some time in 2017 with some help from small game publishers Six Foot and Grey Box will help publish it and it might end up coming to more than PS4.
     As Tequila Works' press release states:

"Additional information about RiME, including gameplay and platform availability details, will be unveiled at the beginning of 2017, as Grey Box, Six Foot and Tequila Works ready the title for release later that year."

     This cel-shaded adventure appears to be something well worth following.

     This is going to make a lot of people very happy.  Others might be kicking themselves as not only did Sony break away, but Microsoft had initially passed on the game as well.

The Last Guardian: Release Date & E3 2016 Trailer!

     After nearly a decade, The Last Guardian has now received a release date.  October 25th, 2016.

     Beautiful.  Just beautiful.

     And it looks like there are now more than one of the Trico beasts out there...

The Last Guardian: Update from Ueda Interview in New Edge Magazine

     It's been a very, very long wait for all of Fumito Ueda's fans since the 2009 announcement of The Last Guardian until today's confirmation that yes, it will indeed hit Playstation 4 this year.  With only a month until E3, this has reinvigorated the hype for us.  Sadly, it isn't all great hype.
     In Edge Magazine's issue 294 issue, Ueda himself says, "Since this is the year we will see the game's release, I do have some worries, but I'm also very excited."

     What concerns me is this new mechanic that has been mentioned.  Their preview mentioned the human boy character using a mirrored shield while Trico (the bird-cat-beast) fires a beam of red lightning from its tail at what you aim the shield towards.  It's stated that it'll be used for puzzle solving mechanics, and presumably as an attack at some point.
     There's just something slightly off-putting about the tail beam.  I get the shield.  Previous games had magic swords, so having some kind of magically imbued shield would be plausible as well.  But the creatures shooting lightning from their tails is something that feels a bit too strange.  I won't judge it yet though, because with Ueda still on board, I'll wait to see how it's handled in game.

     What does keep me highly excited is Trico itself.  As Yorda from Ico was independant and would frustrate players as well as help, Trico has been modeled as its own being, with its own will and wants and desires.  Ueda goes on in the interview to say,

     This creature isn't like the cute pets that exist in other games, or an ally that's really useful. The role of the creature is ambiguous; that's something we wanted to express in the game, and it doesn't always do what you ask it to do. That's one of the themes of The Last Guardian. It's something that's difficult, and completely different. I want to create the next thing - an experience that people have never had before.

     I find it so amazing that we'll be getting a character that will be doing things for itself, and not just what we want it to do.  It'll follow its own nature and do what it wants, and that's a very refreshing take on companion characters.  That's also coming from someone that at times wanted to shove Yorda off a ledge for her stubborn refusal to follow where I needed her to go.  It was a chore just to even convince her to sit on a save couch so I could save the damn game.

     For my related posts [ The Last Guardian ] [ ICO ] [ Shadow of the Colossus ]

     Source [ EDGE Twitter ] & [ IB Times ] via [ Gematsu ]

The Last Guardian: Has Been Officially Re-Introduced and it is Breathtaking (Releasing in 2016)

     Well, Sony kicked off their E3 2015 press conference with The Last Guardian, the spiritual successor to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, and it was well worth the wait.  The graphics have been cranked up, and the movements and animations are so much better than the last time we saw footage years ago- in 2009.

     The footage looks to be actual in-game footage and it is spectacular.

     The Last Guardian will be shipping in 2016.

The Last Guardian: May be "Re-Introduced" at E3 2015

     The UK paper The Guardian has posted an interesting item in their "Most Anticipated E3 2015 Games" list, it lists long-awaited spiritual successor to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus- The Last Guardian as possibly being shown at E3 next week.


Will The Last Guardian finally make an appearance?

     Obviously, this game has been in development limbo since 2007 and not seen again since E3 2009- so I'll be taking this as rumor until it is actually shown.  There's been only a trickle of official information released over the years and this might amount to nothing... 
     ...though this is written on the site:

"Yes, we know it has been in development hell since 2007, but we have it on very good authority that this will be the year that Team Ico finally presents its follow-up to much loved classics Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Whether it’ll bear any relation to the game last shown at E3 in 2009 is anyone’s guess."

     Over at Gamnesia, they mention that the author recognized and acknowledged one mistake in the article and corrected it, but left The Last Guardian untouched- so does this author truly have some good intel on the game finally making a reappearance into the world?  And if it does, how different will it be from what we last saw?

     Will Sony and Team Ico finally re-introduce The Last Guardian at E3 2015 next week?

     Source [ The Guardian ]

The Last Guardian: "Still in Development" Sony Reassures Us

     After Monday's news that Sony had apparently abandoned The Last Guardian trademark again some people were worried.  I wrote a small piece about it and figured they were possibly renaming it to avoid the long term negativity tied to the title.  But, as they had previously "abandoned" it and revived it, there really wasn't much to worry about.

Still Holding On

     The continually troubled development period The Last Guardian has suffered has been nerve wracking, but Sony has assured us that it is indeed progressing.  Creator Fumito Ueda has said that his part of the game was done long ago, but the game is currently undergoing something in "completely new conditions."  That may have been a hint towards giving the game a complete overhaul and bringing it to the Playstation 4, being a potential change from the 2009 announcement that it would be for the PS3.  This is insinuated from the wonderful way Sony deflects and dodges comments when asked the console question.
     Personally, I think they might have something much better in store for us.

     Source [ Gamespot ]

The Last Guardian: Sony's Trademark Abandoned... Again

     Today, we get some outwardly sad news about Team Ico's long awaited project The Last Guardian.  As of today Sony has let the trademark lapse and they have decided not renew it.  And if I recall correctly, this happened previously in 2009.

     [ Official Trademark Page ]

     Fortunately for us, Sony has made it very clear on numerous occasions that the game is still in the works- according to Sony Worldwide's President Shuhei Yoshida, with the added comment that it is being "re-engineered" and that they are waiting to "re-introduce" it.  Could the reintroduction include a new working title?  I would definitely think so.  Giving the The Last Guardian a new name might be a good idea because of all the issues it has been suffering of for more than the past 6 years.

     Sony must see something still in this long term investment to keep sinking time and effort into it.  After years and years of perpetual delays, and an official "on hiatus," there must be something really magical in there for it to continue.  We also know that Fumito Ueda is still on board in a way and still tied to his created universe.  Speculation is rampant as both parties seem to be elusive and always deflect comments in secretive ways.  I, for one, am eager to see what eventually becomes of this project.

     For more posts [ The Last Guardian ]

The Last Guardian: Progress: Dec. 11, 2014 News Update

     It's a strange thing to still hold high hopes for The Last Guardian.  The production woes it has had since the original announcement at E3 in 2009 are huge.  In late 2011 both the executive producer (Yoshifusa Hayama) and the Team ICO founder and director Fumito Ueda left the project.  But the game is still progressing.

     Sony's worldwide President Shuhei Yoshida has confirmed many times that the game is still coming.  But it has been the slowest burn possible.  Today we get some decent news that makes the wait much more tolerable.  Well, at least a little bit easier.  I've always said I'd rather wait for a heavily delayed good game, than a rushed pile of crap.

     According to creator Fumito Ueda, The Last Guardian is not only still being developed, we get a curious new statement to explain the long years of delays.  He says that the progress is "under completely new conditions."

     Ueda had this to say to Kotaku Australia:

“Talks with Sony Computer Entertainment on The Last Guardian have been ironed out, and we’re making progress under completely new conditions. I’m also working on some other things that I’ll hopefully be able to show in time if progress is smooth.”

     I can only speculate here, but I've long thought they have been cranking the graphics up as far as possible and porting it to PS4, with perhaps a multiplayer function with the PS Vita.  I've mentioned it in plenty of other posts, I just wish we'd get a little more information.

     Some other posts [ The Last Guardian ]

     Source [  Dengeki PlayStation via Kotaku via IGN ]

The Last Guardian Update: Big Surprise: Won't be at Tokyo Game Show

     This game should be retitled "The Lost Guardian" due to its inability to seen anywhere despite Sony's repeated assurances that is still on the way.

     Eurogamer questioned Sony Worldwide Studios' Shuhei Yoshida if we might catch a glimpse of this elusive beast at the 2014 TGS.  We of course get a no- but with the extra comments:

     "When we are ready. I cannot confirm any timing because we are waiting for it to be in a state where we are happy that this is the game. We have a certain time frame in our mind, and the team is making great progress, but still not to the point that we can say that, here you go."

     A mere 5 years after being first announced at the 2009 E3, it has been in a perpetual state of delay.  I don't mind because if Sony has enough faith in Team Ico's game, it must be something amazing.

     A part of me hopes they'll incorporate some elements like Journey's multiplayer, or that the world of The Last Guardian will make Shadow of the Colossus' map look like a single room.  In a long shot- if they ported this to the PS Vita, sales would skyrocket for the portable wonder.

     Why all these setbacks?  Yoshida commented on that as well.

     "The technical issues on PS3 and the way it was engineered didn't work.  It worked to some extent, that's why we had a date in mind."

     "That was a mistake," Yoshida admitted, "but at one time it was looking possible. It has been totally re-engineered. They're still working on it. I've been seeing the progress."

     The reason behind all the postponements does make sense as it sounds like they completely rebuilt the game.  While infuriating to have to wait, the next time we see The Last Guardian it may be a whole different game- better graphics, better system, and much more than we originally thought we were going to get.  But can that compete with our expectations?  We shall see.

     Source [ Eurogamer ]

The Last Guardian: Amazon Lists Placeholder and Release Date

     I saw this last night, and have been thinking a lot about it.  After being in developmental hell for something like 7 years, Amazon has put up a placeholder site and lists a release date as December 31, 2014.  I know many stores previously had placeholders like Gamestop, but they refunded my money for it long ago, so I take this new one lightly.

     Because there's been so much trouble and a huge lack of any real information about the game I think many gamers have lost hope or have severely reduced expectations for it.  Even Ueda's rare comments about how it's still coming and Sony's assurances haven't really helped either.  If this is shown at E3 and is coming then I'll prepare to fangasm over it.

     Personally, if this is really true, I hope they've fully updated the graphics to be PS4 level quality, a complete overhaul to make use of the new system (which would help explain at least some of the years of delays) and have it be staggeringly beautiful, otherwise we might get a horribly underwhelming release.  No one that's waited this long wants it to be a disappointment, so we can only hope for now.

     Source [ Amazon ]

The Last Guardian: Release Date News: Soon...

     Ever since Team Ico's The Last Guardian was announced in 2009 at the E3 Expo, fans have been kept in the dark about this game.  Rumors abound causing speculation that will it be ported to PS4, or might be officially cancelled.
     Fumito Ueda and Sony have both stated many times that it is "absolutely" still coming, leaving us fans anticipating this game forever without news or pictures.  Any news is sort of good news, even if it would be that it got cancelled- at least we'd know.

     Well, I think that Sony will play their "Re-introduction" card at this year's E3 show.  Famitsu Weekly claims that Sony might be ready to release information "soon."  If I recall correctly they announced upcoming news for The Last Guardian before and failed to deliver anything.  So hopefully we get something, anything really- screens, a new trailer, anything!- but until Sony officially announces something I'll be keeping my hopes low.  The only things we have really gotten info about is the fact it's still in active development and is awaiting the right time to be reintroduced.

     We can only guess at what has become of, or changed with, Team Ico's Last Guardian.  If they can pull off even a part of the magic they had with Ico or Shadow of the Colossus they'll have something great.


     Source [ Famitsu via GameRant ]

The Last Guardian Update: Still Absolutely Being Made

     Since it was first revealed at the 2009 E3 by Team Ico, The Last Guardian has been one of the most highly anticipated games ever.  Due to many delays including team founder Fumito Ueda leaving (but maintaining creative direction of a sort).  

     Now IGN has gotten at another small answer in an interview with Scott Rohde of Sony:

     When asked whether it was still a PlayStation 3 game or if it’s migrated to PlayStation 4, Rohde said that he’s “not going to announce what platform it’s coming on, who’s working on it, who’s involved. But that is still a title that’s absolutely in the mix at Worldwide Studios. That’s the most you’re gonna get.”   

     So- we are getting the most minimal information possible.  Essentially it's something that's already been confirmed by Ueda himself as well as Sony's Shuhei Yoshida saying it was making progress, and we already heard Sony was waiting to to "reintroduce" the game.  But, hey, at least we know it's still on the way.  The likely thing is as many have thought is that the game is being ported to PS4.

     Source [ IGN ]

The Last Guardian: Ueda feels "Terribly Sorry" for the Delays

     Fumito Ueda, the brilliant mind behind Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, had an interesting small interview with Edge magazine.  In it there is a pertinent question about the continually delayed Last Guardian.

Given your impatience, how taxing have the past eight years been on you as a creator? 

Putting aside the short-term output, more than anything I feel terribly sorry that for various reasons I have kept my audience waiting for such a long time.

     And a slightly longer, more informative answer:

How do you keep your team motivated over a production cycle of five years or more? 

Maintaining motivation is all about producing something great. A hobby or alcohol might help to refresh you temporarily, but they won’t motivate creativity. Also, the original staff members on Ico and SOTC are just as fussy over details as I am. I always want to create quickly, and I always want to increase the rate of production. In the case of The Last Guardian, my creative work was mostly finished a long time ago, but the details of when, where and how it will be completed are beyond my control.

     So these answers sound like Sony is holding something back, but for what secretive reasons we don't know.  I also read somewhere that Sony's worldwide president Shuhei Yoshida has mentioned the game was being "re-engineered" and that he has played it.  No mention, however, of what platform (PS3, PS4, or maybe even the Vita???) the game would be released on.
     Considering the fact that Sony is still waiting for the "right time" to "reintroduce" the game, I wonder what has become of the original game we were shown footage of 5 years ago- and how it has grown and changed during the span between.  Surely the magic of his creation won't be lost.


     And this last thing has me very curious indeed:

What are you working on now? 

The Last Guardian and the rest is secret.

     Could he have some more small work already started for the wonder filled universe he created?  Could there be a multiplayer/co-op PS4 to Vita remote play content added to The Last Guardian?



Source [ Edge ]

Sony to "Reintroduce" The Last Guardian

     After years of speculation and getting only the most vague answers, we've been let in on small updates about the future of Team Ico's The Last Guardian.  Supposedly it was going to be released on the PS3, but with the arrival of the PS4 so close and the fading out of PS3 games, many fans are wondering if we should abandon hopes for seeing this title, but...

     Game Informer had asked Shuhei Yoshida about it and here is his reply:

"With the curtain soon to close on the PlayStation 3 generation, is time for fans to give up hope on The Last Guardian ever coming out? 

The team is still there in SCE Japan Studio, [Fumito] Ueda-san is still there, but we are still waiting for the time to reintroduce it."

     So we know for sure that Ueda is still working on it.  We know it's on it's way and with the word "reintroduction" we may be getting a completely overhauled game.  I've mentioned plenty of times how I believe that the graphics may be given a massive increase and it'll probably be ported to the PS4.
     We're only assured that it is still on the way, but will it live up to the years of anticipation and hype?


Source [ Game Informer ]

The Last Guardian News: Fumito Ueda Comments: Still in Progress

     Over a decade after Ico and almost as long after Shadow of the Colossus, we fans are still wondering about any news of the much anticipated, yet nearly cancelled (rumored) title- The Last Guardian.  We want to be fully immersed in this beautiful and tragic world again.  So what's going on?

     On the good side, we know it's currently being worked on, in quite possibly the slowest development ever:

"It's under earnest development," Ueda said. "However, SCE Japan Studio, who's working on The Last Guardian, also has titles like Puppeteer and Knack, and those are only the ones currently announced. Those are taking priority right now."

     Which, considering what Team Ico at SCE's Japan Studio is capable of is a good sign, but on the down side no one wants this to turn out like Aliens: Colonial marines or Duke Nukem Forever which suffered greatly from production hell.  It's just super disheartening to know it's been so long that it may not be able to live up to it's own hype.
     And if I recall correctly, Scott Rohde (Sony Senior VP of Product Dev.) said that the game will ship "when it is absolutely ready" with no deadlines listed way back at 2012's E3.  So while it's continuing on the path to release, it has no end in sight.  Or at least a stated release date.

     The only things that would keep me going here is giving the graphics a massive overhaul, this has to look far better than the videos we saw years ago.  Put it on PS4, make this as beautiful and amazing as the new console will allow.  Push the envelope and make the game like 100 hours long.  It doesn't have to be fully open world, but at least vastly explorable.  Wonder, mystery, intrigue.  These are the experiences we want to feel in the game.

     In a Polygon article, Ueda mentions The Last of Us as a great way of working with companion characters like Ellie and:

"We don't want to lose out to them, and we're working on The Last Guardian so it works in similar ways." 

     So- we know it is still on the way, we know Ueda is still involved, we know Sony has control of it, and now we know that they are reworking the boy and beast's companion system.  The team needs to make this a grand slam, not just a home run.  Make this happen.  And maybe make it happen on the PS Vita while they're at it.

Source [ Polygon ]

E3: The Last Guardian- Confirmed "On Hiatus."

     Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO Jack Tretton confirmed the "on hiatus" status of the long awaited The Last Guardian to video game journalist Geoff Keighly from GameTrailers TV.

The Last Hiatus.

     Team Ico at SCE Studio Japan originally announced it as a PS3 game during the 2009 E3 show.  Much speculation had many believe it would be pushed to the PS4.  After all these years of setbacks will the game get the overhaul and enhancements needed to compete with the staggering competition growing in the mean time?  I hope so.

     Each bit of news dashes what little hopes I have remaining for this.

     They should hire another company to just boost the visuals, as they are starting to lag behind- not unexpected as the game is 5 years old even before a release date is set.  

     Seriously, at this rate it'll be out on the PS11 some time in 2038.

The Last Guardian Appears on the Official E3 Site

     Ever since hearing about Ico and Shadow of the Colossus's creator Fumito Ueda's newer game Last Guardian in 2009 announcement, we've been on a downward spiral of setback after setback.  Years of delays and the disappointment that comes with it. 

"The image above was grabbed from the E3 Insider, a site operated by the ESA, the organization behind E3. Of course, don't take it as anything close to confirmation for the time being."-Jeff Cork (Game Informer)

     After years of anticipation, we now get news that it may arrive at E3.  I've been thinking for a while that, Sony was saving it for PS4. (Click to see other Last Guardian posts)  If this is true, and it does show at E3- I hope all the secret work they've been doing is graphical enhancements and a porting it to the PS4 as a launch title.

     My last blog post about it was about Ueda's own blog where he says:

"While it’s been a long time coming, THE LAST  GUARDIAN remains under my creative supervision and is still in development by an incredibly talented team.

I should also mention that details regarding THE LAST  GUARDIAN's release is solely decided by Sony Computer Entertainment, not myself. Please keep an eye out for their official announcement."

     Is this the actual announcement we've waited 5 years to hear?  I certainly hope so.

[Source]