It simply had to be. The Last Guardian epitomises the frustrations and anguish associated with the anticipation of video games, the hype and pure desperation that flows through the gaming consciousness, the antipathy of waiting patiently for a spiritual sequel to arguably one of the greatest games ever created, the PS2 behemoth Shadow of the Colossus. Confirmed to be in development sine 2007, the game was officially announced until 2009 when the gaming community were shown the first glimpses of what the game could evolve into. A stunningly beautiful trailer involving a young boy and a large bird demonstrates action-adventure as well as puzzle elements while also complementing the symbiotic relationship that both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus featured prominently. For a game that was seemed to be in the latter stages of development, very little came afterward, merely mumblings of potential release dates. As time passed the question shifted toward whether the game would see release of the PS3 until the point came where some speculated the game may sadly never see release at all. One of the more believable reasons to the games significant delay was that the structure of development had led to significant bugs that were incredibly problematic and frustrating to fix. August 2012 saw what was to be seen by some as the cementing of the games sad demise when the three year trademark milestone had passed. This, according to journalists, was the point at which the possibility of the games release had to be taken into serious consideration. Since this passing of the deadline, many within Team Ico including Ueda himself have reiterated that game is still in active development and will eventually see release depending on how Sony wish to release it. It would be a tragedy if after all this time the game simply fell away. However, a significant step in the development of the game came when lead designer Fumito Ueda left Sony to work freelance. Since then he has come back to the development team on his own accord to finish what he and his team started nearly seven years ago. If recent interviews with Ueda are indicative of anything it is that The Last Guardian is clearly such an important personal project for Ueda. Not many people would come back to work for the company that you have had complication with. His return as a consultant on the game clearly shows the completion of The Last Guardian is the ultimate goal, and that it's simply too important to walk away from. Despite all the complications that have come from the development of the game, the glimmer of hope must surely come from the passion and commitment that team working on the game clearly has for it. Let's hope that if the game does deservedly get a release it is every bit as magical as we'd expect from Team Ico. Are there any video games stuck in development hell that you'd like to see make it to release? Share your own picks below in the comments thread.
