As a loose adaptation of the novel Journey to the West, the game is set 150 years in a future post-apocalyptic world following a global war.

Players play as Monkey, who must combat enemies using his staff from a third-person perspective, engage in different platforming challenges and solve puzzles.

TV series Life After People influenced world settings, while the video game Ico inspired the dynamics between the two protagonists.

The player takes the role of "Monkey" in a third-person perspective, using a variety of combat moves and platforming skills to overcome obstacles.

Monkey can perform a finishing move on them when they are low on health, such as tearing the gun off a turret or throwing an explosive foe at other combat mechs.

[4] Monkey's other abilities include a force shield that can block a certain amount of damage before requiring a recharge, and the "Cloud" device that manifests as a hover board for gliding across water and land at great speeds.

[5] They allow the player to learn new moves and abilities for combat and devices, increase overall health and shields, and the damage that can be inflicted on enemies.

[6] Players can command Trip to use her different skills like scanning the surrounding area revealing land mines or mechs on standby, and project a temporary hologram as a decoy to draw the enemy's attention.

The game opens with the main character, Monkey (Andy Serkis), awakening in a containment cell aboard a slave ship.

When Monkey regains consciousness after landing, he discovers Trip has placed a slave headband on him, which forces him to follow her orders; a Termination Trigger will kill him if she dies.

Assuming there are no survivors, Trip refuses to remove Monkey's headband, explaining her intent to find and kill the person responsible.

The man introduces himself as Pyramid (Serkis) and explains that he lived before the war, and that he offers the slaves solace from the cruel world by sharing with them his memories of a happier era.

[18] After completing Heavenly Sword, Ninja Theory intended to develop a sequel but contractual terms with Sony Computer Entertainment forced them to halt the game's production.

A number of publishers were shown a detailed design document and a two-minute CGI trailer and the team received enthusiastic responses from them.

[17] Mike Ball, CTO of Ninja Theory, revealed that the initial idea for the game came from Heavenly Sword, in particular, the relationship between the protagonist Nariko and her companion Kai.

However, after watching Life After People, the team decided to set the game on Earth, one that was peaceful as nature reclaimed it after humanity's disappearance.

[28] Chief of development Nina Kristensen described protagonists Monkey and Trip as opposites at first whose relationship evolves as they learn to rely on each other in the hostile setting.

For instance, a mechanic which allows players to break the circuitry of a mech in first-person by pressing buttons like a music game was cut because it was not well-implemented.

[23] Lindsey Shaw was selected from some 60 actresses to provide performance capture for Trip at a casting session held in Los Angeles.

According to Sawhney, the soundtrack's main theme was primarily based on "journey, transition and resolution", which also reflects the two protagonists' dynamic relationship.

Sawhney's said his second collaboration with Ninja Theory was more fluid and smooth as he had more materials like an early script and animation to use as references, while he composed the score.

[37] HMV released the Talent Pack, which came in exclusive presentation packaging and included the official soundtrack and a copy of Garland's novel The Tesseract.

This version, also known as the Premium Edition, bundles the base game with the Pigsy's Perfect 10 downloadable content (DLC) and several character skins.

Instead, he utilises a mechanical grappling hand attached to his own to reach higher places and swing over obstacles and large gaps.

Matthew Keast of GamesRadar applauded the game's world for being original and imaginative, though he thought the title needed more time before release for further polishing.

[50] Justin McElroy of Joystiq however, noted that the game had several technical issues, such as a low frame rate and occasionally clunky controls.

McShea noted that the unlikely pairing of Trip and Monkey provided a great driving force for the story and enabled players to relate and connect to them.

[51] Gibson called the game's opening hour clichéd and subpar, but he strongly praised Garland's script for avoiding needless exposition.

[8] Keast commented that the combat is more "tactical" and "methodical", though he noted that it was not as complex as other titles like God of War or Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

[63] In 2014, Tameem Antoniades stated, speaking of the game's poor sales "I'm not sure if the fantasy elements were a turn-off, the gameplay mix, or the lack of visibility.