Ico is the type of game I dread to play, critically acclaimed, landmark classic of the medium, influenced various games and designers I love. I dread playing those because of a fear I have, a fear that's come true : I don't like ICO, in fact, I think I might hate ICO. And now I will have to carry that like a millstone around my neck, "that asshole who doesn't like ICO". Its not even really that external disapproval I dread, its the very reputation that causes me to second guess my own sincerely held opinions. I thought I liked minimalism in game design, and cut-scene light storytelling and relationships explored through mechanics but I guess I don't. There's some kinda dissonance, cognitive or otherwise reading reviews by friends and writers I respect and wondering if there's something wrong with me or if I didnt get it or played it wrong or any other similar foolishness that gets bandied around in Internet discussions. "I wish we could have played the same game" I think, reading my mutuals' reviews of ICO. Not in a dismissive asshole way of accusing them of having a warped perception, but moreso in frustration that I didnt have the experience that has clearly touched them and countless others.
But enough feeling sorry for myself/being insecure, what is my problem with ICO exactly? I don't really know. Genuinely. I wasnt even planning on writing a review originally because all it would come down to as my original unfiltered reaction would be "Playing it made me miserable". Thankfully the upside of minimalism in game design is that its easier to identify which elements didnt work for me because there are few in the game. I think the people who got the most out of ICO developed some kind of emotional connection to Yorda, and thats one aspect which absolutely didn't work for me. As nakedly "gamey" and transparently artificial as Fallout New Vegas' NPCs (and Skyrim and F3 etc) locking the camera to have a dialogue tree, they read to me as infinitely more human than the more realistic Yorda; for a few reasons. Chief among them is that despite some hiccups and bugs the game is known for, you are not asked to manage them as a gameplay mechanic beyond your companions and well, my main interaction with Yorda was holding down R1 to repeatedly yell "ONG VA!" so she'd climb down the fucking ladder. She'd climb down, get halfway through and then decide this was a bad idea and ascend again.
ICO has been to me a game of all these little frustrations piling up. Due to the nature of the puzzles and platforming, failing them was aggravating and solving them first try was merely unremarkable. It makes me question again, what is the value of minimalism genuinely? There was a point at which I had to use a chain to jump across a gap and I couldnt quite make it, I thought "well, maybe theres a way to jump farther" and started pressing buttons randomly until the circle button achieved the result of letting me use momentum to swing accross. Now, if instead a non-diegetic diagram of the face buttons had shown up on the HUD instead what would have been lost? To me, very little. Sure, excessive direction can be annoying and take me out of the game, but pressing buttons randomly did the same, personally. Nor did "figuring it out for myself" feel particularly fulfilling. Thats again what I meant, victories are unremarkable and failures are frustrating. The same can be said for the combat which, honestly I liked at first. I liked how clumsy and childish the stick flailing fighting style was, but ultimately it involved hitting the enemies over and over and over and over again until they stopped spawning. Thankfully you can run away at times and rush to the exit to make the enemies blow up but the game's habit of spawning them when you're far from Yorda or maybe when she's on a different platform meant that I had to rely on her stupid pathfinding to quickly respond (which is just not going to happen, she needs like 3 business days to execute the same thing we've done 5k times already, I guess the language barrier applies to pattern recognition as well somehow) and when it inevitably failed I would have to jump down and mash square until they fucked off.
I can see the argument that this is meant to be disempowering somehow but I don't really buy it. Your strikes knock these fuckers down well enough, they just keep getting back up. Ico isnt strong, he shouldnt be able to smite these wizard of oz monkeys with a single swing, but then why can they do no damage to ICO and get knocked down flat with a couple swings? Either they are weak as hell but keep getting remotely CPRd by the antagonist or they're strong but have really poor balance. In the end, all I could really feel from ICO was being miserable. I finished the game in 5 hours but it felt twice that. All I can think of now is that Im glad its done and I can tick it off the bucket list. I am now dreading playing shadow of the colossus even harder, and I don't think I ever want to play The Last Guardian, it just looks like ICO but even more miserable. I'm sure I've outed myself as an uncultured swine who didnt get the genius of the experience and will lose all my followers but I'm too deflated to care. If there is one positive to this experience is that I kept procrastinating on finishing the game that I got back into reading. I read The Name of the Rose and Rumble Fish, pretty good reads. Im going to read Winesburg Ohio next I think.
But enough feeling sorry for myself/being insecure, what is my problem with ICO exactly? I don't really know. Genuinely. I wasnt even planning on writing a review originally because all it would come down to as my original unfiltered reaction would be "Playing it made me miserable". Thankfully the upside of minimalism in game design is that its easier to identify which elements didnt work for me because there are few in the game. I think the people who got the most out of ICO developed some kind of emotional connection to Yorda, and thats one aspect which absolutely didn't work for me. As nakedly "gamey" and transparently artificial as Fallout New Vegas' NPCs (and Skyrim and F3 etc) locking the camera to have a dialogue tree, they read to me as infinitely more human than the more realistic Yorda; for a few reasons. Chief among them is that despite some hiccups and bugs the game is known for, you are not asked to manage them as a gameplay mechanic beyond your companions and well, my main interaction with Yorda was holding down R1 to repeatedly yell "ONG VA!" so she'd climb down the fucking ladder. She'd climb down, get halfway through and then decide this was a bad idea and ascend again.
ICO has been to me a game of all these little frustrations piling up. Due to the nature of the puzzles and platforming, failing them was aggravating and solving them first try was merely unremarkable. It makes me question again, what is the value of minimalism genuinely? There was a point at which I had to use a chain to jump across a gap and I couldnt quite make it, I thought "well, maybe theres a way to jump farther" and started pressing buttons randomly until the circle button achieved the result of letting me use momentum to swing accross. Now, if instead a non-diegetic diagram of the face buttons had shown up on the HUD instead what would have been lost? To me, very little. Sure, excessive direction can be annoying and take me out of the game, but pressing buttons randomly did the same, personally. Nor did "figuring it out for myself" feel particularly fulfilling. Thats again what I meant, victories are unremarkable and failures are frustrating. The same can be said for the combat which, honestly I liked at first. I liked how clumsy and childish the stick flailing fighting style was, but ultimately it involved hitting the enemies over and over and over and over again until they stopped spawning. Thankfully you can run away at times and rush to the exit to make the enemies blow up but the game's habit of spawning them when you're far from Yorda or maybe when she's on a different platform meant that I had to rely on her stupid pathfinding to quickly respond (which is just not going to happen, she needs like 3 business days to execute the same thing we've done 5k times already, I guess the language barrier applies to pattern recognition as well somehow) and when it inevitably failed I would have to jump down and mash square until they fucked off.
I can see the argument that this is meant to be disempowering somehow but I don't really buy it. Your strikes knock these fuckers down well enough, they just keep getting back up. Ico isnt strong, he shouldnt be able to smite these wizard of oz monkeys with a single swing, but then why can they do no damage to ICO and get knocked down flat with a couple swings? Either they are weak as hell but keep getting remotely CPRd by the antagonist or they're strong but have really poor balance. In the end, all I could really feel from ICO was being miserable. I finished the game in 5 hours but it felt twice that. All I can think of now is that Im glad its done and I can tick it off the bucket list. I am now dreading playing shadow of the colossus even harder, and I don't think I ever want to play The Last Guardian, it just looks like ICO but even more miserable. I'm sure I've outed myself as an uncultured swine who didnt get the genius of the experience and will lose all my followers but I'm too deflated to care. If there is one positive to this experience is that I kept procrastinating on finishing the game that I got back into reading. I read The Name of the Rose and Rumble Fish, pretty good reads. Im going to read Winesburg Ohio next I think.
I'm an unapologetic cynic when it comes to artsy indie games. Games that attempt to conjure some sense of wonder by having you stand atop a sacred monument, so you can float and glow as you acquire your new power-up. It's shallow and insincere. A painting you bought at B&Q. Fucking... products. I know where it comes from, and it's fucking ICO.
This isn't a game that's dated. It's always been this unique and defiant of trends, but I think people tend to overlook its strengths on the criteria of a standard videogame. It's like a surreal, somewhat realistic version of Zelda. Like a regular kid actually had to go through all of that, panting and wheezing through every climb and fight. It's not a game that gratifies, but it's so much more tangible and relatable for that. Puzzle pieces are obscured by the imposing scale of these giant halls and walkways. You're very small, weak and unsure of where to go. You'll enter a room you don't belong in, and you feel unwelcome. That's something everyone has felt before, and the game is so effective in conveying that emotion.
ICO is a real credit to the group at SCEI that would later be known as Japan Studio. The cutscene animator from Enemy Zero on the Saturn walked in with an experimental pitch video he'd put together and they supported his project from PS1 prototype to complete overhaul and eventual release on PS2. It's no wonder that when Uncharted 2 turned Sony's fortunes around and determined the trajectory that the company would radically shift towards, would they fire every member of corporate responsible for that decision.
The game runs on a consistent sensation of weight and frailty. The boyish tug at Yorda's hand. The sense of dread whenever you have to separate. The distrust of yourself before attempting a perilous jump that might be the route forward, and the subsequent fear when you have to ask the emaciated Yorda to do the same. Ico, reassuringly holding out his hand to catch her, but shaking in fear at the uncertainty. The relatable tangibility in all of that massively benefits from Ueda's background in visual art and animation. This game is a keeper.
Ueda has described his approach as "design by subtraction". ICO was seen as shockingly sparse and minimalist in its day. Even its most influential and daring contemporaries like GTA3 and MGS2 were still utilising floating power-ups, on-screen status bars and detailed objectives, and it was strange to see a game without them. Picking up an old save today, there's an almost instinctive search for a map screen as you try to recall your bearings. Ueda has frequently cited Another World as a primary influence, and it wouldn't be right to suggest that this style of game design was entirely his invention, but for a game with this level of nuanced interaction and free movement, it was quite daring. There's no old RPG mechanics holding this thing together. You're not looking at numbers and trying to determine the best strategy you can afford. It feels physical. If you need an item, you have to go find it and pick it up. You're not told what state the protagonists are in, or how strong the enemies might be, and there's a fear in the ambiguity.
I expect this is basic knowledge to anyone with a similar attitude towards games, but so much has been lost in the utilitarian homogenisation of camera systems today. The right stick swivelling around the playable character as its constant centre. It's so boring and limiting as a design principle. Back in the early days of game design, there was real thought put into what a screen needed to show. That one screen was your whole game, so it better be good. Predetermined camera angles have as much potential to games as they have to films. It's also good when your artists don't have to piss around texturing every pebble from every conceivable angle and just focus on making each moment look as good as possible. In ICO, you're always looking down at the characters. Ico and Yorda are always very small, and the full dimensions of the giant, suffocating castle are difficult to discern. In the action scenes, you don't always know where the shadowy figures are. Yorda might turn her head towards them, as a subtle warning, but that aide is gone if she's ever taken away, and it's a scramble to determine where she is. The emotion in the game wouldn't resonate nearly as effectively if it played like Ratchet & Clank.
Then there's the sofas. A surreal sight in the middle of these stone ruins. Ico and Yorda sit side by side on them and you can save the game. They don't exist in the scenario's logic. I don't know if I even want to recognise them as canon. They're brilliantly symbolic, though. A small home comfort in this desperate, lonely situation. You don't have to suffer through this. You save and return when you want to come back. Ico and Yorda sit side by side. There's no implication of romance or anything, just mutual trust, respect and devotion. The castle is intimidating, but there's nothing to distrust in these two.
The rigid, uniform, endless brickwork you find yourself trapped within, and the rare glimpses of the boundless, vibrant forest beyond. The catharsis you feel whenever you work against the castle's symmetrical, straightline logic.
Sometimes, I like to keep the game paused and let the ambience take over. The rolling waves and birdsong. There's a mood that envelops the room whenever I turn on ICO.
ICO is in no ways a perfect game. It's easy for current fans to overlook how obtuse an old favourite can be, or even admire it for that very quality, but it's not really an aspect of game design to be applauded. Anyone who has played an old adventure game will know the frustration of not knowing how to progress, rummaging around in desperation and fighting off the growing desire to quit. A first-time ICO playthrough has plenty of those moments to offer. They add to that important sense of powerlessness, sure, but you feel you need to be very gentle in recommending the game to potential players.
I sometimes talk about the frustration and anguish in ICO's combat. How that complements the setting. You know - I'm not confident it's fully intentional. With as much as folk love ICO, we tend to forget the scene it came out of. Have you played any of those late-90s hack n slashes recently? When was the last time you had a go on T'ai Fu or Ninja: Shadow of Darkness? I'm not confident that they're a million miles away from ICO's punishing repetition. This game was made by a small, somewhat inexperienced team, and it's probably a little pretentious to suggest that everything in the game was done with great insight and intent. When there's something really great in this game, you can typically attribute that to Ueda and not the handful of software specialists under him.
The surprising thing is that ICO remains very gamey. You solve puzzles by sliding big blocks onto platforms and lighting giant Tom & Jerry bombs. Puzzles are self-contained and utilise a small selection of playing pieces. Core Design-era Tomb Raider climbing and Pikmin 1 partner management. It's good. We like games.
Ueda has frustrated interviewers who have attempted to pry into the game's setting and lore with a down-to-earth, utilitarian attitude. He insists the ruins aren't intended to suggest anything. They were just a good match for the gameplay he wanted to explore. I don't think he's being dishonest. ICO is first and foremost a video game, and seemingly, any abstractions on top of that are only intended to guide the player's emotion. I've always enjoyed reflecting on the out-there ceremonial purpose of each location in the castle, but that's really just me seeing what I want to in this series of elaborately decorated puzzles. There isn't a fantasy novel behind this, though Ueda's never deterred audiences from their interpretations. ICO is just a distinctive, ambitious artist trying to make his own version of Kula World. If this was all a serious, dour exploration of the nature of trust, do you think he'd have put a hidden lightsaber in this thing?
Even though I haven't played through the original PS2 version since getting my CRT, I found myself sucked into the PS3 HD remaster this time. What can I say? I'm weak. I like wireless controllers and an internal hard drive. There are arguments to be made against the purist approach, though. Ueda was deeply involved in the remaster, and the level of detail in some of the more ornate texturework is really something to admire. It's still his vision, even I have my reservations about the sharp, high-contrast tiling covering every floor. I think a washed-out, foggy presentation really benefits ICO's atmosphere, and if there was ever a PS2 game to play on a CRT, this is probably it (please stick with me here, Silent Hill 2 fans), but there's appealing qualities unique to the PS3 release too. Don't get too high and mighty about it. It's a fine way to play. And no matter which revision you play, jumping on that piston always blows.
ICO is just a very different idea of what games can be. What we thought they might be when the PS2 came out. It's so richly evocative of that promise. The launch-era dream that makes me cherish my Horizontal Stand so dearly. The quiet before the Vice City boys got in, and Sony went full boar on getting themselves a Halo Killer. I couldn't put my finger on what was missing from them at the time, but the market's influence on this year's Zelda and Pikmin sequels really made me appreciate another run through ICO. No matter which direction the industry goes in, this game will still exist. The dream goes on.
This isn't a game that's dated. It's always been this unique and defiant of trends, but I think people tend to overlook its strengths on the criteria of a standard videogame. It's like a surreal, somewhat realistic version of Zelda. Like a regular kid actually had to go through all of that, panting and wheezing through every climb and fight. It's not a game that gratifies, but it's so much more tangible and relatable for that. Puzzle pieces are obscured by the imposing scale of these giant halls and walkways. You're very small, weak and unsure of where to go. You'll enter a room you don't belong in, and you feel unwelcome. That's something everyone has felt before, and the game is so effective in conveying that emotion.
ICO is a real credit to the group at SCEI that would later be known as Japan Studio. The cutscene animator from Enemy Zero on the Saturn walked in with an experimental pitch video he'd put together and they supported his project from PS1 prototype to complete overhaul and eventual release on PS2. It's no wonder that when Uncharted 2 turned Sony's fortunes around and determined the trajectory that the company would radically shift towards, would they fire every member of corporate responsible for that decision.
The game runs on a consistent sensation of weight and frailty. The boyish tug at Yorda's hand. The sense of dread whenever you have to separate. The distrust of yourself before attempting a perilous jump that might be the route forward, and the subsequent fear when you have to ask the emaciated Yorda to do the same. Ico, reassuringly holding out his hand to catch her, but shaking in fear at the uncertainty. The relatable tangibility in all of that massively benefits from Ueda's background in visual art and animation. This game is a keeper.
Ueda has described his approach as "design by subtraction". ICO was seen as shockingly sparse and minimalist in its day. Even its most influential and daring contemporaries like GTA3 and MGS2 were still utilising floating power-ups, on-screen status bars and detailed objectives, and it was strange to see a game without them. Picking up an old save today, there's an almost instinctive search for a map screen as you try to recall your bearings. Ueda has frequently cited Another World as a primary influence, and it wouldn't be right to suggest that this style of game design was entirely his invention, but for a game with this level of nuanced interaction and free movement, it was quite daring. There's no old RPG mechanics holding this thing together. You're not looking at numbers and trying to determine the best strategy you can afford. It feels physical. If you need an item, you have to go find it and pick it up. You're not told what state the protagonists are in, or how strong the enemies might be, and there's a fear in the ambiguity.
I expect this is basic knowledge to anyone with a similar attitude towards games, but so much has been lost in the utilitarian homogenisation of camera systems today. The right stick swivelling around the playable character as its constant centre. It's so boring and limiting as a design principle. Back in the early days of game design, there was real thought put into what a screen needed to show. That one screen was your whole game, so it better be good. Predetermined camera angles have as much potential to games as they have to films. It's also good when your artists don't have to piss around texturing every pebble from every conceivable angle and just focus on making each moment look as good as possible. In ICO, you're always looking down at the characters. Ico and Yorda are always very small, and the full dimensions of the giant, suffocating castle are difficult to discern. In the action scenes, you don't always know where the shadowy figures are. Yorda might turn her head towards them, as a subtle warning, but that aide is gone if she's ever taken away, and it's a scramble to determine where she is. The emotion in the game wouldn't resonate nearly as effectively if it played like Ratchet & Clank.
Then there's the sofas. A surreal sight in the middle of these stone ruins. Ico and Yorda sit side by side on them and you can save the game. They don't exist in the scenario's logic. I don't know if I even want to recognise them as canon. They're brilliantly symbolic, though. A small home comfort in this desperate, lonely situation. You don't have to suffer through this. You save and return when you want to come back. Ico and Yorda sit side by side. There's no implication of romance or anything, just mutual trust, respect and devotion. The castle is intimidating, but there's nothing to distrust in these two.
The rigid, uniform, endless brickwork you find yourself trapped within, and the rare glimpses of the boundless, vibrant forest beyond. The catharsis you feel whenever you work against the castle's symmetrical, straightline logic.
Sometimes, I like to keep the game paused and let the ambience take over. The rolling waves and birdsong. There's a mood that envelops the room whenever I turn on ICO.
ICO is in no ways a perfect game. It's easy for current fans to overlook how obtuse an old favourite can be, or even admire it for that very quality, but it's not really an aspect of game design to be applauded. Anyone who has played an old adventure game will know the frustration of not knowing how to progress, rummaging around in desperation and fighting off the growing desire to quit. A first-time ICO playthrough has plenty of those moments to offer. They add to that important sense of powerlessness, sure, but you feel you need to be very gentle in recommending the game to potential players.
I sometimes talk about the frustration and anguish in ICO's combat. How that complements the setting. You know - I'm not confident it's fully intentional. With as much as folk love ICO, we tend to forget the scene it came out of. Have you played any of those late-90s hack n slashes recently? When was the last time you had a go on T'ai Fu or Ninja: Shadow of Darkness? I'm not confident that they're a million miles away from ICO's punishing repetition. This game was made by a small, somewhat inexperienced team, and it's probably a little pretentious to suggest that everything in the game was done with great insight and intent. When there's something really great in this game, you can typically attribute that to Ueda and not the handful of software specialists under him.
The surprising thing is that ICO remains very gamey. You solve puzzles by sliding big blocks onto platforms and lighting giant Tom & Jerry bombs. Puzzles are self-contained and utilise a small selection of playing pieces. Core Design-era Tomb Raider climbing and Pikmin 1 partner management. It's good. We like games.
Ueda has frustrated interviewers who have attempted to pry into the game's setting and lore with a down-to-earth, utilitarian attitude. He insists the ruins aren't intended to suggest anything. They were just a good match for the gameplay he wanted to explore. I don't think he's being dishonest. ICO is first and foremost a video game, and seemingly, any abstractions on top of that are only intended to guide the player's emotion. I've always enjoyed reflecting on the out-there ceremonial purpose of each location in the castle, but that's really just me seeing what I want to in this series of elaborately decorated puzzles. There isn't a fantasy novel behind this, though Ueda's never deterred audiences from their interpretations. ICO is just a distinctive, ambitious artist trying to make his own version of Kula World. If this was all a serious, dour exploration of the nature of trust, do you think he'd have put a hidden lightsaber in this thing?
Even though I haven't played through the original PS2 version since getting my CRT, I found myself sucked into the PS3 HD remaster this time. What can I say? I'm weak. I like wireless controllers and an internal hard drive. There are arguments to be made against the purist approach, though. Ueda was deeply involved in the remaster, and the level of detail in some of the more ornate texturework is really something to admire. It's still his vision, even I have my reservations about the sharp, high-contrast tiling covering every floor. I think a washed-out, foggy presentation really benefits ICO's atmosphere, and if there was ever a PS2 game to play on a CRT, this is probably it (please stick with me here, Silent Hill 2 fans), but there's appealing qualities unique to the PS3 release too. Don't get too high and mighty about it. It's a fine way to play. And no matter which revision you play, jumping on that piston always blows.
ICO is just a very different idea of what games can be. What we thought they might be when the PS2 came out. It's so richly evocative of that promise. The launch-era dream that makes me cherish my Horizontal Stand so dearly. The quiet before the Vice City boys got in, and Sony went full boar on getting themselves a Halo Killer. I couldn't put my finger on what was missing from them at the time, but the market's influence on this year's Zelda and Pikmin sequels really made me appreciate another run through ICO. No matter which direction the industry goes in, this game will still exist. The dream goes on.
a little quaint but very much a beautiful work of art that i adore. i had a conversation with a friend about how brain rotting fortnite is and it deeply depresses me that hardly anyone touches this masterpiece. the puzzles are challenging but never impossible, even an idiot like me was able to complete it without a single use of any guide. playing it made me realize this must be an amazing game to experience as a kid; puzzle solving, keeping track and caring for another that helps your patience and to completely immerse yourself in a mostly quiet ambience. some moments of silence that is elevated with a rush of ocean wind should not only be much appreciated in video games but also in todays world especially with how chaotic everything has been (i sound dumb as hell but i hope my point comes across).
sexy mutyumu recommended this to me as part of this list thanks dude
de chirico has always been one of my favorite artists of all times and even though i connect a lot with the evocative and dramatic use of chiaroscuro in passionate baroque fashion by caravaggio the surrealist and almost mentally exhausting paradise of nonsense that brimmed with symbolism in dalì or even the impossible geometry and perspective of timeless beauty by picasso among many many others of great painters sculptors and whatnot de chirico still shines of a genius that to this day feels even wrong to talk about in this manner
in the most pure and plain form the metaphysical works of the italian painter show desolate sceneries adorned with strong and sharp lights and shadows that gently embrace everyday life mixed with mythology (trains and statues mannequins and towers modern and ancient objects) and stripped down perspective to evoke a sense of estrangement and emptiness and yet also freedom and power
clearly when i looked at ICOs box art i had a hunch that de chirico strongly inspired the style and composition of this cover and the fact that director Fumito Ueda painted it himself echoing La Nostalgia dell’Infinito made me realize that the game would have the same exact feeling of a de chirico painting and now that i finished it im 100% convinced thats the case
ICO is about a boy that grows horns for some reason that isnt explained here and he is then locked inside of a humongous fortress to rest in peace forever i guess because his home village wanted him the fuck out even though those horns kinda look sick i want them too tbh the villagers were just envious
that being said ico escapes gets a mystical cute girl of some kind that looks like shes made of pure light out of a cage and the two begin this longass trip through this incredibly complex architecture
lemme just put out of the way the stuff that i didnt like so i can go on to talk about the things that made me love this game so much to the point that in this moment im not so sure as to what score i should give it lets see how it goes
i dont like playing this game . here i said it
personally i got frustrated too many times during this experience because of janky as fuck platforming movement that got me falling into the abyss more than one time and deleting like 20 mins of progress honestly this game is a test of patience and i barely passed it
the combat also sucks which ranges from enraging in the first part of the game (poop ass controls enemies that dodge every fucking time and yorda getting kidnapped every 3 seconds) and pointless later when you get the sword or the mace or whatever when you kind of one shot them but they still manage to take yorda away somehow
puzzle games arent for me honestly ive never really gotten into them and will never be able for the life of me to enjoy them as much as id want to because im 1 stupid 2 impatient 3 traumatised so this game was setting itself up for failure in my eyes
and somehow it ended up being an experience like nothing ive ever touched in my life the sheer beauty of every single scenery and architecture is mind blowing for a game like this the castle is intrinsically against you theres traps cliffs rocks bombs waterfalls (very sexy waterfalls and mountainous paths in the later parts id say) everything is trying to kill you (and managed to many times) and it keeps twisting in itself in a labyrinth fashion and still it feels breathing humming and feeling the same dread and longing for freedom that ico and yorda are experiencing
in your escape through this interconnected wonder of architectural might you have to care for yorda in every and any moment she cant jump cliffs or climb ropes or even fight so you have to be there for her 24/7 youre basically her eyes her arms her brain (for a girl locked up in a cage all her life its kind of expected) all together for the entirety of the game and you cant even leave her behind because shes essential to unlock puzzle doors that require her magical powers (apart from the fact that shadows getting her into the dark splotches trigger a game over)
this sounds like a fucking dumb and stressing situation and in some ways it kind of is but it never feels like that i ended up caring for yorda toooooo much i became emotionally attached to her to the point that i would just take her hand every time because i just didnt want to lose her in any way and this sort of sentiment happened throughout the many dangers of the game (when she jumps in the void waiting for you to catch her its so psychologically drenching to me every time i was shaking even tho i knew fair well that its an animated sequence and that she couldnt just fall like that) to the point that i would sometimes just chill with her on the sofa safe point listening to the atmospheric music
this kind of relates to the relationship that these kids share . even tho this is very boy meets girl tropey theres this invisible barrier that separates them theyre 2 completely different beings they dont speak the same language and they have no knowledge of what the other person is like or has been through and somehow they still bond through their similar fate and hardships and cooperate to get the fuck out of this dark and cruel environment and it feels so genuine and so real its just UGGHHHHHHH great i love them this is great they share minimal interactions minimal dialogues minimal everything and they still feel like they cant live without their counterpart and thats just how i felt with yorda i couldnt just leave her alone for more than 3 seconds or id feel physically sick
theres a very important moment during the story where yorda is weakened by the castle dark energy or whatever and so when you walk hand in hand with her again if you pick up the pace too much she cant holp up anymore and falls to the ground . at that point i just took her and gently walked with her because if i made her fall again i would cry and thats just how emotionally fastened to yorda the game made me and this is after like 3 dialogues and 3 hours of wandering in the castle with no sound at all
thats also another interesting aspect of the game . in its goal to make this experience as lonely as possible the music department is stripped to the minimum (currently i can only remember the save point music and the final boss music both excellent soundtracks id say) and all the immersive work is left to astoundingly evocative SFX that really push the experience further into its dreamlike atmosphere
in cooperation with this the glimpses of the world surrounding the fortress enchant and scare you equally youre on a deserted side of the land where a towering castle sits on top of a hill and no way to get to the forest around it but a single bridge that youre trying to unlock and yet it looks breathtaking and youre struck with the beauty of what awaits you after this journey ends
the introduction of the story that i made is literally the entire story i wish i could be joking but thats basically the whole point of the entire narrative + you add a brutal and villainous queen whos trying to nurture yorda as the new vessel for her body and thats the full description so i am gonna talk about the more spoiler ish stuff even if its things kind of foreshadowed from the beginning of the game basically
after you unlock the bridge ico and yorda get separated (i was fidgety as fuck not having yorda around was lethal for my well being) and ico falls to apparent death in a river below soooo he just goes back to the castle sees that yorda got every life sucked out of her and decides to beat the shit out of the bitch queen with a new magical sword
so you go there beat the queen allegedly save dark matter yorda but get in a coma like state because of an intense damage to the head that also breaks icos horns and then seeing him lifeless and almost killed by the ruins falling off of the now collapsing castle yorda decides to put his life before everything else finally take action and save him on a boat and then says goodbye and thank you and then i cry like a fucking baby because shes an entity deeply entwined with the castle and cant leave
then ico gets on a shore and gets watermelon and yorda is there happy ending lets eat watermelons under the scorching sun or something
still deeply traumatized me tho
now that i think i said everything i needed to say do i think ico is an objectively great game ? the fuck not it was tedious as hell almost frustrating and mechanically theres more that i dont like instead of stuff that i like but do i think this is a thematically and atmospherically great game ? absolutely and it probably will feel like that even if other games try to emulate this kind of vibe
i cant explain how this works but this is the closest a game has ever been to a de chirico painting at this point i just know Ueda completely understood the hidden art of the artist and tried to put it into a full length videogame project like nothing else
in all those architectural geometries contrasting shadows and lights lifeless environments and imposing dreads resulting in a feeling of solitude and alienation you are still able to find warmth and familiarity like youve always been accustomed to and still feels like its a completely new experience
now you tell me if this is a description of ico or a de chirico painting
THAT WAS LONG OK ended up playing and logging the ps3 version that has hd graphics or whatever but first and foremost i did that because this page has the ueda cover art and not the highkey unbearable NA version so yeah
ICO good i will be playing shadow of the colossus next and that game looks sexy as fuck can i just say that
also tbh partly liked it this much because it gave me some dangerous the legend of zelda twilight princess vibes which is one of my fav games of all times so you know i may be biased i thought i would hear midna going incomprehensible fictional language and now i want to play tp again thats great
maybe i just do love games with invented languages
anyway the shadow enemies designs were great i loved them they were kind of hot can i say that is this legal
if that cover art were in a national gallery i wouldnt know a thing its just compositionally amazing i cant get enough of it also i did see the shadow of the colossus art concept in the same style of this cover and while i do think its also stellar the ico one is just something else entirely i swear to god i might cry rn
boy do i love ICO overall 11 mins ost
de chirico has always been one of my favorite artists of all times and even though i connect a lot with the evocative and dramatic use of chiaroscuro in passionate baroque fashion by caravaggio the surrealist and almost mentally exhausting paradise of nonsense that brimmed with symbolism in dalì or even the impossible geometry and perspective of timeless beauty by picasso among many many others of great painters sculptors and whatnot de chirico still shines of a genius that to this day feels even wrong to talk about in this manner
in the most pure and plain form the metaphysical works of the italian painter show desolate sceneries adorned with strong and sharp lights and shadows that gently embrace everyday life mixed with mythology (trains and statues mannequins and towers modern and ancient objects) and stripped down perspective to evoke a sense of estrangement and emptiness and yet also freedom and power
clearly when i looked at ICOs box art i had a hunch that de chirico strongly inspired the style and composition of this cover and the fact that director Fumito Ueda painted it himself echoing La Nostalgia dell’Infinito made me realize that the game would have the same exact feeling of a de chirico painting and now that i finished it im 100% convinced thats the case
ICO is about a boy that grows horns for some reason that isnt explained here and he is then locked inside of a humongous fortress to rest in peace forever i guess because his home village wanted him the fuck out even though those horns kinda look sick i want them too tbh the villagers were just envious
that being said ico escapes gets a mystical cute girl of some kind that looks like shes made of pure light out of a cage and the two begin this longass trip through this incredibly complex architecture
lemme just put out of the way the stuff that i didnt like so i can go on to talk about the things that made me love this game so much to the point that in this moment im not so sure as to what score i should give it lets see how it goes
i dont like playing this game . here i said it
personally i got frustrated too many times during this experience because of janky as fuck platforming movement that got me falling into the abyss more than one time and deleting like 20 mins of progress honestly this game is a test of patience and i barely passed it
the combat also sucks which ranges from enraging in the first part of the game (poop ass controls enemies that dodge every fucking time and yorda getting kidnapped every 3 seconds) and pointless later when you get the sword or the mace or whatever when you kind of one shot them but they still manage to take yorda away somehow
puzzle games arent for me honestly ive never really gotten into them and will never be able for the life of me to enjoy them as much as id want to because im 1 stupid 2 impatient 3 traumatised so this game was setting itself up for failure in my eyes
and somehow it ended up being an experience like nothing ive ever touched in my life the sheer beauty of every single scenery and architecture is mind blowing for a game like this the castle is intrinsically against you theres traps cliffs rocks bombs waterfalls (very sexy waterfalls and mountainous paths in the later parts id say) everything is trying to kill you (and managed to many times) and it keeps twisting in itself in a labyrinth fashion and still it feels breathing humming and feeling the same dread and longing for freedom that ico and yorda are experiencing
in your escape through this interconnected wonder of architectural might you have to care for yorda in every and any moment she cant jump cliffs or climb ropes or even fight so you have to be there for her 24/7 youre basically her eyes her arms her brain (for a girl locked up in a cage all her life its kind of expected) all together for the entirety of the game and you cant even leave her behind because shes essential to unlock puzzle doors that require her magical powers (apart from the fact that shadows getting her into the dark splotches trigger a game over)
this sounds like a fucking dumb and stressing situation and in some ways it kind of is but it never feels like that i ended up caring for yorda toooooo much i became emotionally attached to her to the point that i would just take her hand every time because i just didnt want to lose her in any way and this sort of sentiment happened throughout the many dangers of the game (when she jumps in the void waiting for you to catch her its so psychologically drenching to me every time i was shaking even tho i knew fair well that its an animated sequence and that she couldnt just fall like that) to the point that i would sometimes just chill with her on the sofa safe point listening to the atmospheric music
this kind of relates to the relationship that these kids share . even tho this is very boy meets girl tropey theres this invisible barrier that separates them theyre 2 completely different beings they dont speak the same language and they have no knowledge of what the other person is like or has been through and somehow they still bond through their similar fate and hardships and cooperate to get the fuck out of this dark and cruel environment and it feels so genuine and so real its just UGGHHHHHHH great i love them this is great they share minimal interactions minimal dialogues minimal everything and they still feel like they cant live without their counterpart and thats just how i felt with yorda i couldnt just leave her alone for more than 3 seconds or id feel physically sick
theres a very important moment during the story where yorda is weakened by the castle dark energy or whatever and so when you walk hand in hand with her again if you pick up the pace too much she cant holp up anymore and falls to the ground . at that point i just took her and gently walked with her because if i made her fall again i would cry and thats just how emotionally fastened to yorda the game made me and this is after like 3 dialogues and 3 hours of wandering in the castle with no sound at all
thats also another interesting aspect of the game . in its goal to make this experience as lonely as possible the music department is stripped to the minimum (currently i can only remember the save point music and the final boss music both excellent soundtracks id say) and all the immersive work is left to astoundingly evocative SFX that really push the experience further into its dreamlike atmosphere
in cooperation with this the glimpses of the world surrounding the fortress enchant and scare you equally youre on a deserted side of the land where a towering castle sits on top of a hill and no way to get to the forest around it but a single bridge that youre trying to unlock and yet it looks breathtaking and youre struck with the beauty of what awaits you after this journey ends
the introduction of the story that i made is literally the entire story i wish i could be joking but thats basically the whole point of the entire narrative + you add a brutal and villainous queen whos trying to nurture yorda as the new vessel for her body and thats the full description so i am gonna talk about the more spoiler ish stuff even if its things kind of foreshadowed from the beginning of the game basically
after you unlock the bridge ico and yorda get separated (i was fidgety as fuck not having yorda around was lethal for my well being) and ico falls to apparent death in a river below soooo he just goes back to the castle sees that yorda got every life sucked out of her and decides to beat the shit out of the bitch queen with a new magical sword
so you go there beat the queen allegedly save dark matter yorda but get in a coma like state because of an intense damage to the head that also breaks icos horns and then seeing him lifeless and almost killed by the ruins falling off of the now collapsing castle yorda decides to put his life before everything else finally take action and save him on a boat and then says goodbye and thank you and then i cry like a fucking baby because shes an entity deeply entwined with the castle and cant leave
then ico gets on a shore and gets watermelon and yorda is there happy ending lets eat watermelons under the scorching sun or something
still deeply traumatized me tho
now that i think i said everything i needed to say do i think ico is an objectively great game ? the fuck not it was tedious as hell almost frustrating and mechanically theres more that i dont like instead of stuff that i like but do i think this is a thematically and atmospherically great game ? absolutely and it probably will feel like that even if other games try to emulate this kind of vibe
i cant explain how this works but this is the closest a game has ever been to a de chirico painting at this point i just know Ueda completely understood the hidden art of the artist and tried to put it into a full length videogame project like nothing else
in all those architectural geometries contrasting shadows and lights lifeless environments and imposing dreads resulting in a feeling of solitude and alienation you are still able to find warmth and familiarity like youve always been accustomed to and still feels like its a completely new experience
now you tell me if this is a description of ico or a de chirico painting
THAT WAS LONG OK ended up playing and logging the ps3 version that has hd graphics or whatever but first and foremost i did that because this page has the ueda cover art and not the highkey unbearable NA version so yeah
ICO good i will be playing shadow of the colossus next and that game looks sexy as fuck can i just say that
also tbh partly liked it this much because it gave me some dangerous the legend of zelda twilight princess vibes which is one of my fav games of all times so you know i may be biased i thought i would hear midna going incomprehensible fictional language and now i want to play tp again thats great
maybe i just do love games with invented languages
anyway the shadow enemies designs were great i loved them they were kind of hot can i say that is this legal
if that cover art were in a national gallery i wouldnt know a thing its just compositionally amazing i cant get enough of it also i did see the shadow of the colossus art concept in the same style of this cover and while i do think its also stellar the ico one is just something else entirely i swear to god i might cry rn
boy do i love ICO overall 11 mins ost
Ico has the guts to do what everything else in its kin is deathly afraid to do
No, it wasn't the minimal dialogue which contributes to an air of mystery.
No, not the constant wonderful set pieces that while largely sharing the same assets I could remember each room in the game regardless.
No, not an ACTUALLY GOOD on-rail camera which contributes to the environment feeling even more grand and mysterious.
No,
Ico turned the HUD off.
I say that only partially joking, but I yearn for more games to attempt this. The problem is that they'd have to be designed in a way that's intuitive, and the way Ico uses context sensitivity is careful and brilliant; it got a little shaky in the last leg of the game when I had to wonder "can I actually make that jump?" but the previous 5hrs had taught me to simply trust the game's direction, so I carefully lined myself up, pressed triangle, and cleared it. The game mostly does a fantastic job of making it clear enough where you can and can't traverse without making the environment look stained with neon "CLIMB HERE" platforms.
You control a boy born with horns, scorned by his village and sacrificed or sold because of his deformities; he's locked up for a while, before tremors all around knock over and break his coffin, freeing him. On the way out, he finds a girl named Yorda, whom's as pale as snow and speaks in a tongue he does not understand. Despite this, he grabs her hand and guides her along and vice-versa, revealing she has an innate ability to open the ancient fortress's sealed pillar doorways. This is where Ico begins, and where any detailed talk of the story from me ends.
The environments, while samey most of the time, are nonetheless captivating and beautiful throughout; wrought with sweeping winds bellowing over the abandoned city-fortress, accompanied only by its machinations creaking as they idly work, and seagulls finding a familiar home along the cliff-like, decrepit ledges of the fortress above the vicious sea that hammers menacingly against the base and rocks far below.
Traversal feels incredibly heavy and clunky, but not in a way that outright controls bad; I did just about everything I wanted to do without much fuss over inputs other than some careful movement, like you would if you were realistically traversing perilous scaffolding and ancient aqueducts. A pessimist would call Yorda a glorified leg shackle in this regard, and while I'd be inclined to agree in only the coldest objective sense, you could argue bringing any persons on a trip you have to wait for just makes them dead weights; is that how you evaluate your friends or loved ones? By how you may have to accommodate them on your journeys? I don't think so, not for me anyways. Do you think Yorda, who knows how the fortress is layed out, feels even a little burdened by the bumbling boy figuring it out himself since she can't explain due to the language barrier? She might, but she shows grace in allowing the boy the agency to solve it himself; only after quite some time, at most, standing in a vague direction and calling to him as a hint forward. It's a beautiful symbiotic relationship of mutual patience and understanding that allows them to communicate despite not knowing a single word from each other's tongue.
Everything about this speaks to me on a primal level.
Compassion before frustration. Understanding before knowing. Empathy before sympathy.
That is Ico.
No, it wasn't the minimal dialogue which contributes to an air of mystery.
No, not the constant wonderful set pieces that while largely sharing the same assets I could remember each room in the game regardless.
No, not an ACTUALLY GOOD on-rail camera which contributes to the environment feeling even more grand and mysterious.
No,
Ico turned the HUD off.
I say that only partially joking, but I yearn for more games to attempt this. The problem is that they'd have to be designed in a way that's intuitive, and the way Ico uses context sensitivity is careful and brilliant; it got a little shaky in the last leg of the game when I had to wonder "can I actually make that jump?" but the previous 5hrs had taught me to simply trust the game's direction, so I carefully lined myself up, pressed triangle, and cleared it. The game mostly does a fantastic job of making it clear enough where you can and can't traverse without making the environment look stained with neon "CLIMB HERE" platforms.
You control a boy born with horns, scorned by his village and sacrificed or sold because of his deformities; he's locked up for a while, before tremors all around knock over and break his coffin, freeing him. On the way out, he finds a girl named Yorda, whom's as pale as snow and speaks in a tongue he does not understand. Despite this, he grabs her hand and guides her along and vice-versa, revealing she has an innate ability to open the ancient fortress's sealed pillar doorways. This is where Ico begins, and where any detailed talk of the story from me ends.
The environments, while samey most of the time, are nonetheless captivating and beautiful throughout; wrought with sweeping winds bellowing over the abandoned city-fortress, accompanied only by its machinations creaking as they idly work, and seagulls finding a familiar home along the cliff-like, decrepit ledges of the fortress above the vicious sea that hammers menacingly against the base and rocks far below.
Traversal feels incredibly heavy and clunky, but not in a way that outright controls bad; I did just about everything I wanted to do without much fuss over inputs other than some careful movement, like you would if you were realistically traversing perilous scaffolding and ancient aqueducts. A pessimist would call Yorda a glorified leg shackle in this regard, and while I'd be inclined to agree in only the coldest objective sense, you could argue bringing any persons on a trip you have to wait for just makes them dead weights; is that how you evaluate your friends or loved ones? By how you may have to accommodate them on your journeys? I don't think so, not for me anyways. Do you think Yorda, who knows how the fortress is layed out, feels even a little burdened by the bumbling boy figuring it out himself since she can't explain due to the language barrier? She might, but she shows grace in allowing the boy the agency to solve it himself; only after quite some time, at most, standing in a vague direction and calling to him as a hint forward. It's a beautiful symbiotic relationship of mutual patience and understanding that allows them to communicate despite not knowing a single word from each other's tongue.
Everything about this speaks to me on a primal level.
Compassion before frustration. Understanding before knowing. Empathy before sympathy.
That is Ico.
One of the most astonishingly realized and atmospheric titles; washed in an over saturated and ethereal hue of blinding light and a sparing soundtrack that is no less heavenly and unsettling in equal measure. The game's antiquated and old fashioned structure, its occasional repetition in enemy encounters and frustratingly shoddy platforming, left me a bit cold for slim stretches at a time but there's no denying just how effective and integral and timeless the player's relationship with Yorda is. Despite it all, that finale leaves me speechless and moved. Ico realizes the universal vision of emancipation from powers beyond your understanding and control. The developers craft this twisting labyrinth of a castle to navigate this newfound maturity and responsibility that befalls Ico. There are few games that openly test the patience of its player by simply testing their capacity to be an empathetic human being; guiding someone helpless to shared freedom through an uncommon unity. Exquisite yet maddening in its approach, but are those not the qualities that encompass the trenches of childhood? Ico is modest fantasy as dreamlike nostalgia.
Elegance.
Peace.
This is the kind of game that grounds you back into the earth. Any kind of frustrations I had with the platforming, on account of both the camera and controls, feels meaningless after Yorda, for the first time in her life, takes the initiative. She was born into this world to die. To never have any life of her own. We, the player after spending this journey with her, witness for the first time her freedom. She acts in her own faith after spending her entire life locked away and being told what to do. She makes the choice and it's to save your life. That's the kind of moment that shows this artform at it's highest.
And then there was some more platforming after that moment that annoyed me to no end, but after that it all ends perfectly. Wonderful game.
Peace.
This is the kind of game that grounds you back into the earth. Any kind of frustrations I had with the platforming, on account of both the camera and controls, feels meaningless after Yorda, for the first time in her life, takes the initiative. She was born into this world to die. To never have any life of her own. We, the player after spending this journey with her, witness for the first time her freedom. She acts in her own faith after spending her entire life locked away and being told what to do. She makes the choice and it's to save your life. That's the kind of moment that shows this artform at it's highest.
And then there was some more platforming after that moment that annoyed me to no end, but after that it all ends perfectly. Wonderful game.
Definition of masterpiece.
My fascination with Ico started when I stumbled across its gorgeous ps2 cover for the Japan/Europe region. There was something entrancing about the emerald turquoise sky which slowly faded into the cliffs of the background. The two figures of Ico and Yorda holding each other's hands as they roam across the giant yellow plane and to the right are architectural landmarks with one brick red ladder. The gorgeous windmill centered towards the right of the cover being a main feature of attraction and the arch behind it forming a bridge leading into a single doorway. It quickly became one of favorite covers of any media as it captured something so beautiful about its environment. Moving on, I decided to try out Ico and took my time as I finished the game in about 1 month, it was one of the most intriguing video game experiences and one I am amazed by.
Ico solely focuses on the relationship between Ico and Yorda. You will find that nearly every gameplay mechanic uses its feature to develop its relationship. Fumito Ueda uses an idea called 'design by subtraction' to rigorously polish until the point where everything that remains is in purpose of serving the focus of the game. Ico focuses on its intimate relationship and Ueda showed that development can be done in the form of no dialogue, this is where video games excel the most. Ico is the story of two young characters facing immeasurable odds but through the gameplay do you start to care about Yorda, an ethereal, fragile girl whose existence was to solely exist as a vessel. When the player explores its intricate and dream-like castle, it introduces mechanics in which the game makes us care about Yorda. For example, the combat exists so our attention as a player remains on Yorda as enemies cannot kill us, the game over state is simply moved to Yorda and through this do we start to give importance to her, leaving her for too long also initiates an enemy to hurt her which subconsciously makes you care about her, or take the example of holding her hand through the dedicated r1 button to help her walk throughout the castle, where we spend more time experiencing its beauty with Yorda. Or how the game designs its save point to only work if Yorda sits down beside you on the stone bench signifying how this journey is not yours alone but also Yorda's as she is given importance.
These are a few examples of how Ico expresses the importance of Yorda and its main relationship. Ico is incredibly appealing because of its ethereal and dreamy world largely due to Ueda's visionary genius. The castle in the mist is one of the most intriguing and well thought video game areas I have ever seen. Every puzzle idea is meshed brilliantly with the castle to make it seem natural and organic. There is this lingering feeling of desolation in the castle as you exhaust every nook and cranny. The world of Ico feels grounded and surreal. Strolling through the castle gates, bridges, courtyards, halls, and large rooms has never felt so engaging with Yorda. Despite the game featuring no characters in its castle for almost all of your playthrough, it manages to suck you into this magical world where you are left in awe as to how interconnected and dense it is. It is aesthetic brilliance as to how Fueda paints his castle with one of the most poetic and dense immersive experiences. The way the characters move feels so childish and fluid, fitting the essence of their characters. The sound design is emphasized heavily precisely because Ico has no flashy combat or heaps of dialogue and lore yet it manages to engage me into its core relationship simply through interactivity. Ico gives you something that other mediums cannot and that is its interactivity with a world that is full of soul. The game closes off thematically by giving an experience filled with connection, learning to think for yourself and the simplicity of becoming human. Ico tells this all through the quintessence of the video game medium, which is why this game spoke more to me than games with heaps of dialogue. Ico is the work of a single idea hammered in through every element of the game. The game is underwhelming if you look at it through the manner of dialogue and cutscenes however it speaks to you a lot more when looked at using the medium of video games.
Ico solely focuses on the relationship between Ico and Yorda. You will find that nearly every gameplay mechanic uses its feature to develop its relationship. Fumito Ueda uses an idea called 'design by subtraction' to rigorously polish until the point where everything that remains is in purpose of serving the focus of the game. Ico focuses on its intimate relationship and Ueda showed that development can be done in the form of no dialogue, this is where video games excel the most. Ico is the story of two young characters facing immeasurable odds but through the gameplay do you start to care about Yorda, an ethereal, fragile girl whose existence was to solely exist as a vessel. When the player explores its intricate and dream-like castle, it introduces mechanics in which the game makes us care about Yorda. For example, the combat exists so our attention as a player remains on Yorda as enemies cannot kill us, the game over state is simply moved to Yorda and through this do we start to give importance to her, leaving her for too long also initiates an enemy to hurt her which subconsciously makes you care about her, or take the example of holding her hand through the dedicated r1 button to help her walk throughout the castle, where we spend more time experiencing its beauty with Yorda. Or how the game designs its save point to only work if Yorda sits down beside you on the stone bench signifying how this journey is not yours alone but also Yorda's as she is given importance.
These are a few examples of how Ico expresses the importance of Yorda and its main relationship. Ico is incredibly appealing because of its ethereal and dreamy world largely due to Ueda's visionary genius. The castle in the mist is one of the most intriguing and well thought video game areas I have ever seen. Every puzzle idea is meshed brilliantly with the castle to make it seem natural and organic. There is this lingering feeling of desolation in the castle as you exhaust every nook and cranny. The world of Ico feels grounded and surreal. Strolling through the castle gates, bridges, courtyards, halls, and large rooms has never felt so engaging with Yorda. Despite the game featuring no characters in its castle for almost all of your playthrough, it manages to suck you into this magical world where you are left in awe as to how interconnected and dense it is. It is aesthetic brilliance as to how Fueda paints his castle with one of the most poetic and dense immersive experiences. The way the characters move feels so childish and fluid, fitting the essence of their characters. The sound design is emphasized heavily precisely because Ico has no flashy combat or heaps of dialogue and lore yet it manages to engage me into its core relationship simply through interactivity. Ico gives you something that other mediums cannot and that is its interactivity with a world that is full of soul. The game closes off thematically by giving an experience filled with connection, learning to think for yourself and the simplicity of becoming human. Ico tells this all through the quintessence of the video game medium, which is why this game spoke more to me than games with heaps of dialogue. Ico is the work of a single idea hammered in through every element of the game. The game is underwhelming if you look at it through the manner of dialogue and cutscenes however it speaks to you a lot more when looked at using the medium of video games.
Um dos jogos mais importantes que existem, e não é atoa. A beleza de Ico se encontra em suas sutilezas, o sentimento de isolamento, de que algo está faltando, e de que a única coisa que realmente importa nesse mundo é proteger e se conectar com essa garota. Cada mínimo detalhe é pensado entorno desse tema, e é tudo belíssimo.
i understand why miyazaki quit his job after playing this
ICO surprised me. It’s simply amazing how a minimalist approach in a narrative can convey such strong emotions. Beautiful, beautiful game, and beautiful looking even with it’s age (especially in this PS3 remaster).
What didn’t age as well, tough, were some aspects of it’s gameplay, like how Ico moves in some parts and Yorda’s A.I., which can be a little frustrating sometimes. But, even so, I’m in this very weird situation in which I think some of this clunkyness actually ended up being part of the experience, you know? How it was really supposed to feel.
The puzzles were not the most mind-blowing out there, but offered the right amount of challenge to keep the story going on smoothly and, most importantly, providing a fun time. And, boy, it was FUN to go through these in a game without a HUD, an inventory system, and let alone any menu beside the Pause, game over and game save screens. In this regard, it kind of reminded me of the experience I had whilst playing The Neverhood, so you’ll feel right at home if you enjoy these types of adventure games - but be open minded and wait for the surprises ICO can deliver through the simplicity of it’s unique way of storytelling.
I was in awe during my whole - and short-lived: 5h56m! - playthrough, and I swear I could keep on playing it from beginning to end in a single sitting if I didn’t check on the clock and saw the “4 a.m.” being displayed on it. Super recommended if you’re in for one of the most unique rides in this medium. A little work of art.
What didn’t age as well, tough, were some aspects of it’s gameplay, like how Ico moves in some parts and Yorda’s A.I., which can be a little frustrating sometimes. But, even so, I’m in this very weird situation in which I think some of this clunkyness actually ended up being part of the experience, you know? How it was really supposed to feel.
The puzzles were not the most mind-blowing out there, but offered the right amount of challenge to keep the story going on smoothly and, most importantly, providing a fun time. And, boy, it was FUN to go through these in a game without a HUD, an inventory system, and let alone any menu beside the Pause, game over and game save screens. In this regard, it kind of reminded me of the experience I had whilst playing The Neverhood, so you’ll feel right at home if you enjoy these types of adventure games - but be open minded and wait for the surprises ICO can deliver through the simplicity of it’s unique way of storytelling.
I was in awe during my whole - and short-lived: 5h56m! - playthrough, and I swear I could keep on playing it from beginning to end in a single sitting if I didn’t check on the clock and saw the “4 a.m.” being displayed on it. Super recommended if you’re in for one of the most unique rides in this medium. A little work of art.
[Reposting my old reviews from another site for archive, and updating them if needed]
As somebody who played LTG and SOTC first, I can't believe how good this game is! There's no better example of a game's quality being more than the sum of its parts.
First of all, Bluepoint must have done something with the original controls, because I think this controls way better than both TLG and the SOTC remake. Unlike in those other two games, I never got really annoyed during the platforming parts, and while ordering Yorda around can be a bit finicky, it never gets worse than slowing me down for a few seconds. Same thing about the camera. I was surprised about the fixed cameras at first, but it turned out great. It gave the game a highly cinematic look and feel, without negatively affecting the gameplay.
The castle's atmosphere is top notch. It feels empty/deserted, but in this sinister kind of way. It would have been one of those places that is so uncomfortable for me to explore on my own, because it always feels like something is watching you. It's also backed up by very effective ambiance and a handful of creepy tracks (which also helped with keeping the combat's intensity right till the end). The design of the castle is also great. While each section of the castle has a unique feel, all of them have this sense of dread and loneliness that unites them all, not to mention the incredibly consistent art and level design style. It makes the castle not only feel very interconnected, but also real and tangible.
Story wise, it's definitely Ueda-san's most minimalist work. I really like that Yorda's personality is mostly shown through her mannerisms, like shaking her head frantically when I keep bugging her to follow me up a path she can't take. I also love that I can see the main character and Yorda asleep on the couch whenever I return to the game after loading a save file, it's super cute. It's a masterclass of relationship building through non-dialogue means, and I know this because I always feel like shit whenever she got hurt. I don't usually care for fictional characters that much, but this game certainly did it without breaking a sweat. I definitely see some parallels between this and TLG in this aspect.
I think this is a unpopular opinion, but Ico is easily Ueda-san's finest game for me. I have no noteworthy complaints about it. Absolute masterpiece.
As somebody who played LTG and SOTC first, I can't believe how good this game is! There's no better example of a game's quality being more than the sum of its parts.
First of all, Bluepoint must have done something with the original controls, because I think this controls way better than both TLG and the SOTC remake. Unlike in those other two games, I never got really annoyed during the platforming parts, and while ordering Yorda around can be a bit finicky, it never gets worse than slowing me down for a few seconds. Same thing about the camera. I was surprised about the fixed cameras at first, but it turned out great. It gave the game a highly cinematic look and feel, without negatively affecting the gameplay.
The castle's atmosphere is top notch. It feels empty/deserted, but in this sinister kind of way. It would have been one of those places that is so uncomfortable for me to explore on my own, because it always feels like something is watching you. It's also backed up by very effective ambiance and a handful of creepy tracks (which also helped with keeping the combat's intensity right till the end). The design of the castle is also great. While each section of the castle has a unique feel, all of them have this sense of dread and loneliness that unites them all, not to mention the incredibly consistent art and level design style. It makes the castle not only feel very interconnected, but also real and tangible.
Story wise, it's definitely Ueda-san's most minimalist work. I really like that Yorda's personality is mostly shown through her mannerisms, like shaking her head frantically when I keep bugging her to follow me up a path she can't take. I also love that I can see the main character and Yorda asleep on the couch whenever I return to the game after loading a save file, it's super cute. It's a masterclass of relationship building through non-dialogue means, and I know this because I always feel like shit whenever she got hurt. I don't usually care for fictional characters that much, but this game certainly did it without breaking a sweat. I definitely see some parallels between this and TLG in this aspect.
I think this is a unpopular opinion, but Ico is easily Ueda-san's finest game for me. I have no noteworthy complaints about it. Absolute masterpiece.
I can see why this is considered one of the quintessential ps2 era games. It was a special experience that really sticks out amongst a lot of other games of its time. The story is quite vague, but I loved it regardless.
One of those games that you have to play for yourself to actually "get" it.
This is 'videogames as an art form' done to perfection, and it's apparently considered to be the pioneer of these types of games. I take great shame in waiting this long to play this absolute masterpiece, and all I will say is: play it.
This is 'videogames as an art form' done to perfection, and it's apparently considered to be the pioneer of these types of games. I take great shame in waiting this long to play this absolute masterpiece, and all I will say is: play it.
I haven't played this game since approx. 2003 on the PlayStation 2. My friend Chordata3 wrote a review for this 6 weeks ago about his first time playing the game and it has been on my mind ever since. I haven't played Ico in 20 years yet this game has had a lasting impact on me. This will be more a short retrospective based on my memories than a full review.
Lot's of aspects of Ico are impressive from it's art design to it's atmosphere and wonderful music. What I remember Ico for though is how almost minimalist in it's design philosophy it was to such an extent that it results in a deeper impression in many ways. This game's big impact on me was feelings that still swell up when I think about it now. The relationship of Ico and Yorda the two main characters and how that and their personalities are conveyed through such simple means was truly wonderful and has influenced many games since in game design.
Take the save point, it's usually a functional item or a menu option and nothing more. In Ico it's a two seat couch that Ico and Yorda sit on, it's one of the few locations where music plays and if left long enough the characters will fall asleep together. It performs as so much more than simply a save point but as a vessel for the characters and the atmosphere of the game. The rest of the game uses the silence to amplify the atmosphere of the huge castle and loneliness of our characters trying to escape so these save moments really stands out. When not silent the ambient sounds include birds who Yorda will watch and then chase with an almost childish glee if left to her own devices. When moving around Ico will grab her hand as they run from enemies or move through the castle creating character impressions and a relationship between them with no dialog presented. At the time this was extremely far ahead of what almost every other game I was playing was doing. It made me care for these characters simply through these ideas and it clearly impacted others too. Take this Little Big Planet level It plays an instrumental version of Ico's final theme and to make it play, you have to hold onto Yorda's hand.
Whilst Ico's influence can be seen in many games such as Journey, Rime, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, among many others I still feel in this era of games feeling in some cases too bloated with dialog, icons, features and collectables that at over 20 years old there is still a lot to learn from Ico about subtlety and feeling. An article in Gamerant highlights an interview with the then Team Ico that they intentionally hired staff from outside the game industry at the time and had a "subtracting design" philosophy where any element that interfered with the game's story or theme were simply removed. Whilst not every game should be minimalist, having more isn't always better and Ico at least in character and atmosphere is a perfect example to me of quality over quantity.
A beautiful game that was ahead of it's time. I hope more people go back to experience it with an open mind.
Lot's of aspects of Ico are impressive from it's art design to it's atmosphere and wonderful music. What I remember Ico for though is how almost minimalist in it's design philosophy it was to such an extent that it results in a deeper impression in many ways. This game's big impact on me was feelings that still swell up when I think about it now. The relationship of Ico and Yorda the two main characters and how that and their personalities are conveyed through such simple means was truly wonderful and has influenced many games since in game design.
Take the save point, it's usually a functional item or a menu option and nothing more. In Ico it's a two seat couch that Ico and Yorda sit on, it's one of the few locations where music plays and if left long enough the characters will fall asleep together. It performs as so much more than simply a save point but as a vessel for the characters and the atmosphere of the game. The rest of the game uses the silence to amplify the atmosphere of the huge castle and loneliness of our characters trying to escape so these save moments really stands out. When not silent the ambient sounds include birds who Yorda will watch and then chase with an almost childish glee if left to her own devices. When moving around Ico will grab her hand as they run from enemies or move through the castle creating character impressions and a relationship between them with no dialog presented. At the time this was extremely far ahead of what almost every other game I was playing was doing. It made me care for these characters simply through these ideas and it clearly impacted others too. Take this Little Big Planet level It plays an instrumental version of Ico's final theme and to make it play, you have to hold onto Yorda's hand.
Whilst Ico's influence can be seen in many games such as Journey, Rime, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, among many others I still feel in this era of games feeling in some cases too bloated with dialog, icons, features and collectables that at over 20 years old there is still a lot to learn from Ico about subtlety and feeling. An article in Gamerant highlights an interview with the then Team Ico that they intentionally hired staff from outside the game industry at the time and had a "subtracting design" philosophy where any element that interfered with the game's story or theme were simply removed. Whilst not every game should be minimalist, having more isn't always better and Ico at least in character and atmosphere is a perfect example to me of quality over quantity.
A beautiful game that was ahead of it's time. I hope more people go back to experience it with an open mind.
I was at the rope in the chandelier room early on trying to get yorda to descend with me and quickly got frustrated. she kept noodling about at the top, pacing in place, occasionally looking down at me, and for the life of me I couldn't understand why she can't just climb down (at this point I had seen her climb ladders so I hadn't realized that ropes were off-limits). every so often she would look over to the windows to our left and stare for a bit, and after I had exhausted my options on the lower floor I decided to return to her. what I found was that these windows were actually my key to progressing, and once I had scaled them and explored the collar beams above I soon realized she was pointing me in the right direction all along. that was the moment I transitioned from simply seeing her as just another mechanic to keep track of to trying to respect her autonomy and trust her as an actual companion. there's a point late in the game where she's been weakened and will trip if you drag her along too quickly, and I found myself legitimately gently keeping pace with her arm in arm.
this "design by substraction" methodology interests me because in a lot of ways it's more of a process of substitution. as an early representative title for the ps2, it spends the vast majority of its time playing up the strengths of the hardware's rendering at the expense of its mechanics. this isn't a bad thing at all. these simple environmental puzzles encourage the player to explore each room and contextualize their location in this vast castle that interconnects the more you progress. long sequences of riding elevators or scaling walls are framed with far-off vistas in the background, detailing a sense of time and space that simply couldn't exist in a prior era with poor draw distances. objects bleed together in murky rooms to highlight bloom effects from light streaming from windows, which often higlight where to go next or what objects to examine. the gameplay itself is perfectly functional, and its simplicity enhances the world around it in a way that earlier generations absolutely could not replicate.
while I do like the majority of the puzzles here, it's the platforming that really pulled me out of the fiction and into frustration at multiple points in the adventure. ico has a weird contextual jump that is fickle about when it follows realistic physics, and thus it can be distressing when the dev's design implications don't quite reach the player and expected actions can't be performed. upwards and backwards leaps feel interchangeable at points, and it's tricky to determine forward momentum during certain leaps when it's obvious that they're semi-scripted. the game's final main section is an uncomfortably long platforming challenge that kills the mood at what should be a critical emotional point, and I wonder how my opinion of the game would have changed had this part been shortened or changed to be more puzzle-driven (it doesn't help that the section before this is an abridged and somewhat disappointing redo of the east arena section, which is my favorite part of the game).
I also have to admit yorda is a bit underused in terms of actual puzzle design. at best she serves as a virtual tether on ico; anytime he needs to explore an area without her, it becomes a race to solve the puzzle before she is taken by the shadow creatures. this creates multiple nice parallel puzzles where you are searching both for how to progress through the castle as well as how yorda can follow without navigating the same treachery. other than a few simple puzzles where she must hold down switches for you to get through certain doors early on, she rarely ever actually directly interacts with the puzzles, and as the game progresses more puzzles arise where she can remain by your side constantly and thus is more just there than anything. the shadow creature sections also could have served as tense moments where block puzzles or similar must be quickly solved while keeping yorda away from the creatures. however, in most cases they can simply be extinguished without progressing nearby puzzles, and by the latter half of the game they barely register as present given the power of the sword.
this "design by substraction" methodology interests me because in a lot of ways it's more of a process of substitution. as an early representative title for the ps2, it spends the vast majority of its time playing up the strengths of the hardware's rendering at the expense of its mechanics. this isn't a bad thing at all. these simple environmental puzzles encourage the player to explore each room and contextualize their location in this vast castle that interconnects the more you progress. long sequences of riding elevators or scaling walls are framed with far-off vistas in the background, detailing a sense of time and space that simply couldn't exist in a prior era with poor draw distances. objects bleed together in murky rooms to highlight bloom effects from light streaming from windows, which often higlight where to go next or what objects to examine. the gameplay itself is perfectly functional, and its simplicity enhances the world around it in a way that earlier generations absolutely could not replicate.
while I do like the majority of the puzzles here, it's the platforming that really pulled me out of the fiction and into frustration at multiple points in the adventure. ico has a weird contextual jump that is fickle about when it follows realistic physics, and thus it can be distressing when the dev's design implications don't quite reach the player and expected actions can't be performed. upwards and backwards leaps feel interchangeable at points, and it's tricky to determine forward momentum during certain leaps when it's obvious that they're semi-scripted. the game's final main section is an uncomfortably long platforming challenge that kills the mood at what should be a critical emotional point, and I wonder how my opinion of the game would have changed had this part been shortened or changed to be more puzzle-driven (it doesn't help that the section before this is an abridged and somewhat disappointing redo of the east arena section, which is my favorite part of the game).
I also have to admit yorda is a bit underused in terms of actual puzzle design. at best she serves as a virtual tether on ico; anytime he needs to explore an area without her, it becomes a race to solve the puzzle before she is taken by the shadow creatures. this creates multiple nice parallel puzzles where you are searching both for how to progress through the castle as well as how yorda can follow without navigating the same treachery. other than a few simple puzzles where she must hold down switches for you to get through certain doors early on, she rarely ever actually directly interacts with the puzzles, and as the game progresses more puzzles arise where she can remain by your side constantly and thus is more just there than anything. the shadow creature sections also could have served as tense moments where block puzzles or similar must be quickly solved while keeping yorda away from the creatures. however, in most cases they can simply be extinguished without progressing nearby puzzles, and by the latter half of the game they barely register as present given the power of the sword.
The simple act of holding hands is key to a bond between boy and girl that transcends their language barrier. With no HUD, no life bar, no button prompts, and no tutorials, Ico is the purest experience in all of gaming. You discover everything for yourself, with nothing to break your immersion. The castle the game takes place in is a character unto itself, your prison and biggest obstacle, with such a well thought out interconnected design.
A game absolutely everyone should play to open their eyes to the power of the medium for storytelling, a landmark in gameplay-story integration.
A game absolutely everyone should play to open their eyes to the power of the medium for storytelling, a landmark in gameplay-story integration.
Pretty great game, I like the hand holding physics (take notes dead rising) and the animations. The music was nice too. Give it a try.
…
April fools! What did you really think I, the great one and only elkmane would have just one sentence as my final review before my retirement? No. I’m gonna give a nice good long review.
Ico is a really nice game. It's a video game stripped down to its bare essentials and then stripped down even more. Theres no health bar or weapon switching or hud or prompts or any tutorial of any kind. Which is pretty cool and can lead to moments of discovery in puzzles which are really fun, like when i found out i could swing on chains or something. The puzzles in this game are so simple but can be so much fun. They often span a whole room or multiple, and mix cool platforming in and it always left me wanting to play more.
I did something new while playing this game. You see, the PS3 doesn't have a headphone jack on its controller, and I live in a house with other people who can't rly be quiet. Why don't i get a house for myself? because I live in ontario! FUCK YOU DOUG FORD! FUCK YOU WITH THE FREEST OF SPEECH THIS DIVIDED STATES OF EMBARRASSMENT WILL ALLOW ME TO HAVE! FUCK YOU AND THIS DEMOCRACY OF HYPOCRISY! Anyways, I decided every morning I was free to get up super early in the morning like 5 or 5:30 to play Ico. It was usually dark when I started but the sun rose through my window on the side and it was completely silent aside from the birds chirping both ingame and irl and it was a fun experience. Don't worry about me tho, i'm used to waking up at 5 to commute to uni. THANKS AGAIN DOUG FORD... FUCKING IDIOT. Anyways, the 5am complete silence helped me think a lot about what feelings this game was trying to give me. And I do feel it. It hit me when I, Ico, was trying to solve this puzzle by climbing up on this structure. Yorda was looking off into the ocean and occasionally glancing back at me to see how I was doing (yorda is the girl u escort around.) And I think I understood. This game is trying to recapture the greatest years of our lives, that being grade 3. And maybe 4 if you were lucky and privileged. Because there's such peace in meeting someone within 3 years of your age at a playground and not knowing how to speak the same language but still playing together. Hey let me show you something cool on top of this tree. You wait down there. I don't know, it was really evocative of that time for me. Like the time I was at the park at 9pm and met some guy from my class I never spoke to and we talked about owls while sitting on a tree and he told me owls are spies for demons and I believed him. This has nothing to do with the game, i'm rambling... sorry.. in my old age i've gotten sentimental for the happier days back before doug ford was premier. Maybe its good im retiring after this. im losing my marbles. Let me get back on track. Basically, this game is like meeting a new friend and helping her escape from her evil mom who wants her to stay inside and practice piano or multiplication tables.
the environments were all also great. If you liked undead parish/burg this is that but for like the whole game. Gorgeous visuals and the camera placements make this a very unique looking game. No prop or interactable item has any kind of glow or yellow paint marking that its usable or anything like that. Boxes are boxes, chains are chains, ropes are ropes, ladders are ladders, it has no regard for readability except for the fact that there is so little detail in the environment (which adds to its isolating abandoned castle atmosphere) that it really doesn't feel like a hassle or like there was something that shouldve been interactable. It's cool. The camera placement also highlights where you should go. Stepping onto a ledge brings the bottom tip of a chain into your view, prompting you to move the camera and investigate the room further. Now i'm gonna talk about the combat.
The combat is okay I guess, it's interesting and a fun idea to have the playable character be under no threat at all and have yords (me and yorda are on nickname basis) be the target. Theyll try and knock you away, but theyre going for her. Like ashley in re4 kind of. But it's more like ashley in re4 remake. The problem is theyre kind of slippery and can fly- and you have no air attacks. So, lets say I attack and they fly up. I repeat this like 20 minutes. But- if they grab yords then they stay still for a few seconds which lets you hit them as much as you like til they die. It's like re4 remake because ashley gets kidnapped 10x more in that game than she does in re4, and once she IS kidnapped then the ganado or whatever holding her is open to a stealth attack which is a one hit KO. So in that game, I didn't really mind her getting taken five times a fight because it was kind of beneficial to me. Double edged sword though. On one hand, its a way for your sidekick to be useful in their uselessness, but on the other hand it makes the times they DO get taken way less stressful. Honestly I think I would've preferred if they were just less slippery and didn't fly all the time.
I think thats pretty much all i have to say. The review is over now, so newcomers please feel free to drop your like and be on your way. My following message is for my loyal elksters regarding my retirement from backloggd.
Hey buddies. How's everyone doing? okay? i hope so. I know I'm addressing a crowd of hundreds, but honestly you're all my sons and daughters and children to me. All of you are appreciated by me equally. But I have to go now. Why? well, it's because I had a dream. What was my dream? well, I'll tell you now. I had put my copy of breath of the wild on sale in kijiji. What's kijiji? oh kiddo its like canadian craigslist. I wanted to sell my copy of breath of the wild or trade it for a copy of bayonetta 2. I did this in real life, so its interesting that it carried over in my dream. Anyways, I recieved a message (in my dream) saying they would trade me a copy of starbound for botw. I said no, considering starbound is worth like 15 dollars and I was selling botw for 45. The guy didn't like that. Not one bit. He took to backloggd and he posted something. He somehow managed to find every bad thing I've said on the internet, every weird search i've ever made, every guy i've yelled at on rainbow 6 voice chat. My elksters know I have a dark past. The comments were my beloved elksters; all of them felt so betrayed. Comments like "i cant believe elkmane would do this to us." "i can't support him anymore" "he was my idol." I tried to go back and give him my game, hoping for him to take it down but he didn't budge. It was over. My fans hated me. And that dream made it known to me that i can't be elkmane anymore. It's too much. This role isn't something i can mentally handle. The past 6 presidents of the united states have all gone on record as to saying that their job is 2nd hardest in the world right before being elkmane. And they're right. It is tough. So i've decided to hang up my elk hat and retire. And I know some shit's so hard to swallow, but I just can't sit back and wallow in my own sorrow but I know one fact: I'll be one tough act to follow. One tough act to follow. I'll be one tough act to follow. Here today, gone tomorrow - M.M
Here is my goodbye song!
wait, no. sorry. wrong one.
THIS is my goodbye song.
…
April fools! What did you really think I, the great one and only elkmane would have just one sentence as my final review before my retirement? No. I’m gonna give a nice good long review.
Ico is a really nice game. It's a video game stripped down to its bare essentials and then stripped down even more. Theres no health bar or weapon switching or hud or prompts or any tutorial of any kind. Which is pretty cool and can lead to moments of discovery in puzzles which are really fun, like when i found out i could swing on chains or something. The puzzles in this game are so simple but can be so much fun. They often span a whole room or multiple, and mix cool platforming in and it always left me wanting to play more.
I did something new while playing this game. You see, the PS3 doesn't have a headphone jack on its controller, and I live in a house with other people who can't rly be quiet. Why don't i get a house for myself? because I live in ontario! FUCK YOU DOUG FORD! FUCK YOU WITH THE FREEST OF SPEECH THIS DIVIDED STATES OF EMBARRASSMENT WILL ALLOW ME TO HAVE! FUCK YOU AND THIS DEMOCRACY OF HYPOCRISY! Anyways, I decided every morning I was free to get up super early in the morning like 5 or 5:30 to play Ico. It was usually dark when I started but the sun rose through my window on the side and it was completely silent aside from the birds chirping both ingame and irl and it was a fun experience. Don't worry about me tho, i'm used to waking up at 5 to commute to uni. THANKS AGAIN DOUG FORD... FUCKING IDIOT. Anyways, the 5am complete silence helped me think a lot about what feelings this game was trying to give me. And I do feel it. It hit me when I, Ico, was trying to solve this puzzle by climbing up on this structure. Yorda was looking off into the ocean and occasionally glancing back at me to see how I was doing (yorda is the girl u escort around.) And I think I understood. This game is trying to recapture the greatest years of our lives, that being grade 3. And maybe 4 if you were lucky and privileged. Because there's such peace in meeting someone within 3 years of your age at a playground and not knowing how to speak the same language but still playing together. Hey let me show you something cool on top of this tree. You wait down there. I don't know, it was really evocative of that time for me. Like the time I was at the park at 9pm and met some guy from my class I never spoke to and we talked about owls while sitting on a tree and he told me owls are spies for demons and I believed him. This has nothing to do with the game, i'm rambling... sorry.. in my old age i've gotten sentimental for the happier days back before doug ford was premier. Maybe its good im retiring after this. im losing my marbles. Let me get back on track. Basically, this game is like meeting a new friend and helping her escape from her evil mom who wants her to stay inside and practice piano or multiplication tables.
the environments were all also great. If you liked undead parish/burg this is that but for like the whole game. Gorgeous visuals and the camera placements make this a very unique looking game. No prop or interactable item has any kind of glow or yellow paint marking that its usable or anything like that. Boxes are boxes, chains are chains, ropes are ropes, ladders are ladders, it has no regard for readability except for the fact that there is so little detail in the environment (which adds to its isolating abandoned castle atmosphere) that it really doesn't feel like a hassle or like there was something that shouldve been interactable. It's cool. The camera placement also highlights where you should go. Stepping onto a ledge brings the bottom tip of a chain into your view, prompting you to move the camera and investigate the room further. Now i'm gonna talk about the combat.
The combat is okay I guess, it's interesting and a fun idea to have the playable character be under no threat at all and have yords (me and yorda are on nickname basis) be the target. Theyll try and knock you away, but theyre going for her. Like ashley in re4 kind of. But it's more like ashley in re4 remake. The problem is theyre kind of slippery and can fly- and you have no air attacks. So, lets say I attack and they fly up. I repeat this like 20 minutes. But- if they grab yords then they stay still for a few seconds which lets you hit them as much as you like til they die. It's like re4 remake because ashley gets kidnapped 10x more in that game than she does in re4, and once she IS kidnapped then the ganado or whatever holding her is open to a stealth attack which is a one hit KO. So in that game, I didn't really mind her getting taken five times a fight because it was kind of beneficial to me. Double edged sword though. On one hand, its a way for your sidekick to be useful in their uselessness, but on the other hand it makes the times they DO get taken way less stressful. Honestly I think I would've preferred if they were just less slippery and didn't fly all the time.
I think thats pretty much all i have to say. The review is over now, so newcomers please feel free to drop your like and be on your way. My following message is for my loyal elksters regarding my retirement from backloggd.
Hey buddies. How's everyone doing? okay? i hope so. I know I'm addressing a crowd of hundreds, but honestly you're all my sons and daughters and children to me. All of you are appreciated by me equally. But I have to go now. Why? well, it's because I had a dream. What was my dream? well, I'll tell you now. I had put my copy of breath of the wild on sale in kijiji. What's kijiji? oh kiddo its like canadian craigslist. I wanted to sell my copy of breath of the wild or trade it for a copy of bayonetta 2. I did this in real life, so its interesting that it carried over in my dream. Anyways, I recieved a message (in my dream) saying they would trade me a copy of starbound for botw. I said no, considering starbound is worth like 15 dollars and I was selling botw for 45. The guy didn't like that. Not one bit. He took to backloggd and he posted something. He somehow managed to find every bad thing I've said on the internet, every weird search i've ever made, every guy i've yelled at on rainbow 6 voice chat. My elksters know I have a dark past. The comments were my beloved elksters; all of them felt so betrayed. Comments like "i cant believe elkmane would do this to us." "i can't support him anymore" "he was my idol." I tried to go back and give him my game, hoping for him to take it down but he didn't budge. It was over. My fans hated me. And that dream made it known to me that i can't be elkmane anymore. It's too much. This role isn't something i can mentally handle. The past 6 presidents of the united states have all gone on record as to saying that their job is 2nd hardest in the world right before being elkmane. And they're right. It is tough. So i've decided to hang up my elk hat and retire. And I know some shit's so hard to swallow, but I just can't sit back and wallow in my own sorrow but I know one fact: I'll be one tough act to follow. One tough act to follow. I'll be one tough act to follow. Here today, gone tomorrow - M.M
Here is my goodbye song!
wait, no. sorry. wrong one.
THIS is my goodbye song.
ICO is about video game foundations. Yorda is the tangible representation of your progression in the game, she glows with a supernatural energy that opens locked obstacles so common in video games. Yorda also represents communication. Not only on a basic level, because she and Ico don't speak the same language, but she represents the communication between game designer and player. World and player.
You never maintain a dialogue with your inseparable partner, but Ueda's triumph is precisely to objectify the pillars of game design in a character that is felt by the player as a person. Whether it's the moments she communicates to you by pointing her fingers at things that can help you solve the puzzles, or the simple fact of guiding another being with an action buttom that allows you to hold her hand, which doesn't feel like coupling Yorda to you, rather that the two of you are actually holding hands.
Ueda has already joked that due to its "design by subtraction" philosophy, perhaps ICO's combat has become too simple and repetitive. I agree, but like it or not, for me every confrontation being a repetitive task that happens EXACTLY after solving a puzzle and/or if you leave Yorda alone for too long, it's almost like the game screaming at you your responsibility to protect the video game as a concept. Protect your journey, protect your progression, protect your communication with the world. If you are not interested in doing this, who will?
In addition to the characters, ICO exists within a world. And the world of ICO is meticulously crafted to be the setting for video game situations. What makes all areas of this huge castle so well built that many times, solutions to the puzzles are to find imperfections in the architecture of the environment so that Ico can hang or push a box.
Exploring the imperfections of a virtual world that were purposely left by the creator is part of ICO's proposal. It is part of the proposal to explore what video games do in the first place. It's a game that doesn't underestimate the player, because it never pretends that it's not a video game, it wants to see how much you understand this logic to be able to connect emotionally with an artificial intelligence that, holding your hand, will open the next box of surprises of this castle until you, the player, leave there understanding what makes a game, and your character leaves there free from the claws of its creator.
also i played the game on my playstation 2 but i refuse to log that rotten cover.
You never maintain a dialogue with your inseparable partner, but Ueda's triumph is precisely to objectify the pillars of game design in a character that is felt by the player as a person. Whether it's the moments she communicates to you by pointing her fingers at things that can help you solve the puzzles, or the simple fact of guiding another being with an action buttom that allows you to hold her hand, which doesn't feel like coupling Yorda to you, rather that the two of you are actually holding hands.
Ueda has already joked that due to its "design by subtraction" philosophy, perhaps ICO's combat has become too simple and repetitive. I agree, but like it or not, for me every confrontation being a repetitive task that happens EXACTLY after solving a puzzle and/or if you leave Yorda alone for too long, it's almost like the game screaming at you your responsibility to protect the video game as a concept. Protect your journey, protect your progression, protect your communication with the world. If you are not interested in doing this, who will?
In addition to the characters, ICO exists within a world. And the world of ICO is meticulously crafted to be the setting for video game situations. What makes all areas of this huge castle so well built that many times, solutions to the puzzles are to find imperfections in the architecture of the environment so that Ico can hang or push a box.
Exploring the imperfections of a virtual world that were purposely left by the creator is part of ICO's proposal. It is part of the proposal to explore what video games do in the first place. It's a game that doesn't underestimate the player, because it never pretends that it's not a video game, it wants to see how much you understand this logic to be able to connect emotionally with an artificial intelligence that, holding your hand, will open the next box of surprises of this castle until you, the player, leave there understanding what makes a game, and your character leaves there free from the claws of its creator.
also i played the game on my playstation 2 but i refuse to log that rotten cover.
log this one because it has the good cover
Quando eu comprava jogos de PlayStation 2 em alguma banquinha suspeita por aí e ficava folheando repetidas vezes aquelas capinhas de plástico mole dentro de uma caixa de acrílico - ao ponto de irritar o dono da banquinha -, frequentemente me deparava com a capa de Ico.
A capa europeia/japonesa é uma obra de arte, uma pintura digna de ser colocada em um quadro e pendurada na parede. Por sua vez, capa americana é COLOSSALmente feia. Não vi um 3D tão esquisito nem em filmes da Vídeo Brinquedo. É muito aquém do que o jogo é, do que o jogo entrega. Qualquer print in-game seria mil vezes melhor. Essa capa é considerada como uma das mais feias da história e condenou o jogo a ter vendas fraquíssimas nos lugares que vendiam com ela. Nunca tive a sorte de ver a capa europeia/japonesa e, assim como muitos outros, julguei o jogo pela capa e nunca passei perto de Ico na vida.
Nem me culpo por me afastar e nunca ter dado chance ao jogo e, ao invés disso, ter preferido os mesmos GTAs San Andreas Modificados, o mesmo Resident Evil 4 e os dois God of War de sempre. Acabou que a versão HD de ps3 tirou aquela aberração, não fazendo os olhos de quem vê pela primeira vez sangrar, e colocou essa capa linda que sempre deveria ter sido a definitiva.
Minha primeira impressão, logo de cara, foi "WOW, o quão cativante o jogo é!". O visual dele, a atmosfera desse ambiente gigantesco tanto dentro quanto fora do castelo, com muito espaço aberto, conseguindo explorar razoavelmente tudo, deixa um ar bastante agradável. E isso vai até o fim, é raro ver um mapa e cenário tão bem-feitos assim.
Com poucas linhas de diálogo, já é possível engajar na trama e começar a se fazer perguntas: "Quem são aqueles cavaleiros cobertos de roupa? Que lugar é este que trouxeram o menino? Por que trazem para cá crianças que nasceram com chifres? Como isso protegeria o vilarejo deles? Qual língua essa menina fala e de onde ela veio? Por que prenderam ela nesse lugar, se ela não tem chifres? Por que as sombras a perseguem e tentam tirá-la dali?" etc. Com menos de 10 minutos, sendo a primeira cutscene, a narrativa te acorrenta, te intriga genuinamente, te motivando a querer descobrir mais. Não é nem um pouco comum um jogo causar isso em tão pouco tempo, com a força e competência que foi.
Depois de umas 5 horas de jogo, no entanto, tudo o que eu acabei de falar sobre a narrativa DESAPARECE literalmente. Você conseguiria entender a história de ICO apenas ao ver as cutscenes iniciais e a parte final. Simplesmente mais nada é apresentado nesse meio-tempo, é apenas gameplay. Alguns podem gostar, eu achei uma pena, porque eu amo a forma como o jogo conta sua história, de forma sutil e lenta, deixando partes cruciais subentendidas e mistério maturando com calma.
Depois de cerca de duas horas de jogo, percebi alguns pontos que me desagradaram. Às vezes o jogo reutiliza mal os cenários e outras ele reutiliza genialmente. Em alguns momentos, eu não gosto como o jogo te força a ficar dando voltas pelo mesmo cenário como uma barata tonta, muitas das vezes não sendo particularmente claro - talvez pois eu não gosto tanto de plataforma. Você basicamente fica tentando até dar certo, puzzles assim não dependem da sua habilidade, do seu raciocínio, do seu esforço. É um jogo de advinha bobinho e sem sentido, chegando até a ser frustrante. Aumenta o tempo do jogo dum jeito estranho, desnecessário. Você zera o jogo em cerca de 6-7 horas na primeira vez e em menos de duas horas e meia na segunda. Não foi você que não prestou atenção no design, é só que você não adivinhou o que era pra fazer. Isso me fez largar o jogo com quinze minutos de jogatina muitas vezes, porque em alguns dias eu só queria me divertir um pouco e aparece um bagulho imenso e pouco intuitivo... Acaba que de cabeça cheia você não vai ter saco pra experienciar o que o jogo tem de melhor. Esse definitivamente não é um jogo pra você zerar em dias seguidos, pois em muitas das vezes ele não é divertido a ponto de tu continuar disposto a jogar. Existem as partes que ele engrena, e existem essas que descrevi. Até recomendo jogar ICO em paralelo com outro jogo mais descompromissado.
Olha, provavelmente você vai passar muita raiva jogando, em várias oportunidades. Respire fundo algumas vezes, feche os olhos e conte até 30, tome um chá ou uma água e repita pra si mesmo "o jogo é de 2001". Algumas coisas são datadas e você tem a chance de perder vários minutos se você não salvou ou não achou um save point. Eu mesmo já pensei em desistir várias vezes e ir jogar outra coisa e já deixei de jogar ICO durante alguns bons dias, chegando até a uma semana, mas algo sempre me fez voltar pro jogo para tentar novamente depois de esfriar a cabeça e estar mais calmo.
Não tenha vergonha de usar guias se ficar preso em alguma parte (spoiler: você ficará). Reitero, os puzzles desse jogo e brincar de Advinhe o Que Estou Pensando com seu priminho de 6 anos é a mesma coisa. Fiquei embasbacado com uma parte específica: há uma ponte que precisa ser baixada para Yorda poder passar. Explorando para resolver este puzzle, você encontra uma salinha cheia de bombas e uma fogueira próxima para acender essas bombas. Bem, assim como 2 + 2 = 4, você logo deduz que precisa acender a bomba perto da ponte para que ela caia com o impacto da explosão, e de fato você consegue fazer isso. Quando a bomba explode, no entanto, NADA acontece. Depois de uns 20 minutos tentando novamente isso e outras coisas, eu vi em um longplay que você precisa usar uma corda num cantinho para pular em cima da ponte e ela cair... Espera aí, quer dizer que a ponte desce com o PESO DUMA CRIANÇA DE 8 ANOS, MAS NÃO COM O IMPACTO DUMA BOMBA?????? Tudo bem, eu reconheço minha burrice ao não ter achado a corda que é fácil de ser vista, mas é sério que, mesmo tendo a chance de resolver o mesmo puzzlezinho de outra forma bastante lógica, simplesmente não dá?
Eu ouvi falar no quão influente ICO foi pra indústra em geral. De fato, você consegue reconhecer em ICO coisas que outros jogos também fazem. Por exemplo, uma característica que tanto ICO quanto Dark Souls tem em comum é o fato de você conseguir ver cenários e fases que você já passou, muito tempo depois de ter as passado. Além do fato de os cenários "se encaixarem" entre si dentro de um escopo muito grande: você passa da metade do jogo e libera um caminho para você voltar lááá no início do jogo. Isso enriquece a exploração ao passo que a incentiva. Explorar o castelo é bem satisfatório.
Ainda bem que a Yorda é fofinha e o modo como sua relação com o Ico é bem interessante, porque eu me senti jogando uma versão pesadelo extremo de Resident Evil 4 na qual o jogo inteiro é unica e exclusivamente você escoltando a Ashley e impedindo os ganados levarem ela embora. Definitivamente proteger a Yorda não é a melhor parte, mas pelo menos a dinâmica de ambos falarem línguas diferentes e mesmo assim um querer ajudar o outro - afinal, você precisa da Yorda pra passar de fase - faz valer a pena e você realmente sente a necessidade de protegê-la e dá um incômodo ver as sombras a levando embora enquanto você fica um tempo deitado no chão, por ter levado porrada.
Talvez eu tenha sido bem anacrônico em alguns momentos, talvez isso possa até ser um elogio ao jogo, ele é uma fonte da qual muitos jogos de hoje beberam. Então, julgar um jogo de 2001 comparando com jogos atuais e ainda sim ter uma visão positiva em geral e recomendar, é algo considerável.
A capa europeia/japonesa é uma obra de arte, uma pintura digna de ser colocada em um quadro e pendurada na parede. Por sua vez, capa americana é COLOSSALmente feia. Não vi um 3D tão esquisito nem em filmes da Vídeo Brinquedo. É muito aquém do que o jogo é, do que o jogo entrega. Qualquer print in-game seria mil vezes melhor. Essa capa é considerada como uma das mais feias da história e condenou o jogo a ter vendas fraquíssimas nos lugares que vendiam com ela. Nunca tive a sorte de ver a capa europeia/japonesa e, assim como muitos outros, julguei o jogo pela capa e nunca passei perto de Ico na vida.
Nem me culpo por me afastar e nunca ter dado chance ao jogo e, ao invés disso, ter preferido os mesmos GTAs San Andreas Modificados, o mesmo Resident Evil 4 e os dois God of War de sempre. Acabou que a versão HD de ps3 tirou aquela aberração, não fazendo os olhos de quem vê pela primeira vez sangrar, e colocou essa capa linda que sempre deveria ter sido a definitiva.
Minha primeira impressão, logo de cara, foi "WOW, o quão cativante o jogo é!". O visual dele, a atmosfera desse ambiente gigantesco tanto dentro quanto fora do castelo, com muito espaço aberto, conseguindo explorar razoavelmente tudo, deixa um ar bastante agradável. E isso vai até o fim, é raro ver um mapa e cenário tão bem-feitos assim.
Com poucas linhas de diálogo, já é possível engajar na trama e começar a se fazer perguntas: "Quem são aqueles cavaleiros cobertos de roupa? Que lugar é este que trouxeram o menino? Por que trazem para cá crianças que nasceram com chifres? Como isso protegeria o vilarejo deles? Qual língua essa menina fala e de onde ela veio? Por que prenderam ela nesse lugar, se ela não tem chifres? Por que as sombras a perseguem e tentam tirá-la dali?" etc. Com menos de 10 minutos, sendo a primeira cutscene, a narrativa te acorrenta, te intriga genuinamente, te motivando a querer descobrir mais. Não é nem um pouco comum um jogo causar isso em tão pouco tempo, com a força e competência que foi.
Depois de umas 5 horas de jogo, no entanto, tudo o que eu acabei de falar sobre a narrativa DESAPARECE literalmente. Você conseguiria entender a história de ICO apenas ao ver as cutscenes iniciais e a parte final. Simplesmente mais nada é apresentado nesse meio-tempo, é apenas gameplay. Alguns podem gostar, eu achei uma pena, porque eu amo a forma como o jogo conta sua história, de forma sutil e lenta, deixando partes cruciais subentendidas e mistério maturando com calma.
Depois de cerca de duas horas de jogo, percebi alguns pontos que me desagradaram. Às vezes o jogo reutiliza mal os cenários e outras ele reutiliza genialmente. Em alguns momentos, eu não gosto como o jogo te força a ficar dando voltas pelo mesmo cenário como uma barata tonta, muitas das vezes não sendo particularmente claro - talvez pois eu não gosto tanto de plataforma. Você basicamente fica tentando até dar certo, puzzles assim não dependem da sua habilidade, do seu raciocínio, do seu esforço. É um jogo de advinha bobinho e sem sentido, chegando até a ser frustrante. Aumenta o tempo do jogo dum jeito estranho, desnecessário. Você zera o jogo em cerca de 6-7 horas na primeira vez e em menos de duas horas e meia na segunda. Não foi você que não prestou atenção no design, é só que você não adivinhou o que era pra fazer. Isso me fez largar o jogo com quinze minutos de jogatina muitas vezes, porque em alguns dias eu só queria me divertir um pouco e aparece um bagulho imenso e pouco intuitivo... Acaba que de cabeça cheia você não vai ter saco pra experienciar o que o jogo tem de melhor. Esse definitivamente não é um jogo pra você zerar em dias seguidos, pois em muitas das vezes ele não é divertido a ponto de tu continuar disposto a jogar. Existem as partes que ele engrena, e existem essas que descrevi. Até recomendo jogar ICO em paralelo com outro jogo mais descompromissado.
Olha, provavelmente você vai passar muita raiva jogando, em várias oportunidades. Respire fundo algumas vezes, feche os olhos e conte até 30, tome um chá ou uma água e repita pra si mesmo "o jogo é de 2001". Algumas coisas são datadas e você tem a chance de perder vários minutos se você não salvou ou não achou um save point. Eu mesmo já pensei em desistir várias vezes e ir jogar outra coisa e já deixei de jogar ICO durante alguns bons dias, chegando até a uma semana, mas algo sempre me fez voltar pro jogo para tentar novamente depois de esfriar a cabeça e estar mais calmo.
Não tenha vergonha de usar guias se ficar preso em alguma parte (spoiler: você ficará). Reitero, os puzzles desse jogo e brincar de Advinhe o Que Estou Pensando com seu priminho de 6 anos é a mesma coisa. Fiquei embasbacado com uma parte específica: há uma ponte que precisa ser baixada para Yorda poder passar. Explorando para resolver este puzzle, você encontra uma salinha cheia de bombas e uma fogueira próxima para acender essas bombas. Bem, assim como 2 + 2 = 4, você logo deduz que precisa acender a bomba perto da ponte para que ela caia com o impacto da explosão, e de fato você consegue fazer isso. Quando a bomba explode, no entanto, NADA acontece. Depois de uns 20 minutos tentando novamente isso e outras coisas, eu vi em um longplay que você precisa usar uma corda num cantinho para pular em cima da ponte e ela cair... Espera aí, quer dizer que a ponte desce com o PESO DUMA CRIANÇA DE 8 ANOS, MAS NÃO COM O IMPACTO DUMA BOMBA?????? Tudo bem, eu reconheço minha burrice ao não ter achado a corda que é fácil de ser vista, mas é sério que, mesmo tendo a chance de resolver o mesmo puzzlezinho de outra forma bastante lógica, simplesmente não dá?
Eu ouvi falar no quão influente ICO foi pra indústra em geral. De fato, você consegue reconhecer em ICO coisas que outros jogos também fazem. Por exemplo, uma característica que tanto ICO quanto Dark Souls tem em comum é o fato de você conseguir ver cenários e fases que você já passou, muito tempo depois de ter as passado. Além do fato de os cenários "se encaixarem" entre si dentro de um escopo muito grande: você passa da metade do jogo e libera um caminho para você voltar lááá no início do jogo. Isso enriquece a exploração ao passo que a incentiva. Explorar o castelo é bem satisfatório.
Ainda bem que a Yorda é fofinha e o modo como sua relação com o Ico é bem interessante, porque eu me senti jogando uma versão pesadelo extremo de Resident Evil 4 na qual o jogo inteiro é unica e exclusivamente você escoltando a Ashley e impedindo os ganados levarem ela embora. Definitivamente proteger a Yorda não é a melhor parte, mas pelo menos a dinâmica de ambos falarem línguas diferentes e mesmo assim um querer ajudar o outro - afinal, você precisa da Yorda pra passar de fase - faz valer a pena e você realmente sente a necessidade de protegê-la e dá um incômodo ver as sombras a levando embora enquanto você fica um tempo deitado no chão, por ter levado porrada.
Talvez eu tenha sido bem anacrônico em alguns momentos, talvez isso possa até ser um elogio ao jogo, ele é uma fonte da qual muitos jogos de hoje beberam. Então, julgar um jogo de 2001 comparando com jogos atuais e ainda sim ter uma visão positiva em geral e recomendar, é algo considerável.
I am a massive fan of Shadow of the Colossus, yet I have never gotten around to playing the other games that Team Ico has developed. I own The Last Guardian, but I never got around to playing it, partly because I wanted to play the game that started this unique, lore filled world.
Ico is incredible. For so many reasons. I know it has been praised by many for its art, world, story telling, and so on, even by the likes of Hideo Kojima, Guillermo del Toro, and numerous developers of well known, beloved games.
The game starts with a short cutscene, and after that there is very little dialogue to explain what is going on, but you are constantly piecing things together and you never stop wondering what has happened/gone wrong in this cruel, strange place. And one of the best features of the game is seeing the bond that Ico and Yorda develop throughout the story. They have no reason to help each other, but both being outcasts that are so isolated from others they form a trust for one another, and it’s beautiful.
As far as gameplay, it is 5 percent combat, 10 percent exploration, and 85 percent puzzle solving. Let’s start with combat. It’s… fine. Really you just press the attack button until the enemies are gone. I do appreciate the different weapons you can find, especially the hidden ones that reward you for your exploration! Speaking of, I wish there was MORE exploration involved, because I loved wandering around the massive castle you are tasked with escaping. I don’t know how they could have done it, but I wish there were more items that were placed secretly around the map, or maybe flashbacks that explain a bit more of the story? I don’t know, I just wished there was a bit more here. Finally, the puzzles are super fun. Some very simple, some challenging enough to make you wonder if you are doing the right thing, but never cryptic and frustrating, a perfect combination.
Of course, this game does have its flaws. As with every Team Ico game so far, the controls aren’t the best in the world, but in this game they aren’t too bad. However, the camera is not good at all. I was constantly fighting it, or wishing it would fix itself. Then comes the most frustrating part of this game, the waiting. There isn’t a ton of it, but when it does happen it is painfully slow. Climbing up ladders, turning specific dials, or waiting for Yorda to figure out how to get out of a damn hole in the ground are not fun to sit through. A specific example was a ladder in the west arena, where Yorda couldn’t make up her find and would get halfway down, change her mind and go all the way back up, run around, and then finally come all the way down the ladder.
All that being said, this game is lovely. The ambiance, world, music, and story are all beautiful. And as a side note, I love how this ties directly to the events in Shadow of the Colossus.
This game is a must play for anyone who considers video games to be an art form, and pretty much anyone who likes video games. One more game to play in the Team Ico library!
Ico is incredible. For so many reasons. I know it has been praised by many for its art, world, story telling, and so on, even by the likes of Hideo Kojima, Guillermo del Toro, and numerous developers of well known, beloved games.
The game starts with a short cutscene, and after that there is very little dialogue to explain what is going on, but you are constantly piecing things together and you never stop wondering what has happened/gone wrong in this cruel, strange place. And one of the best features of the game is seeing the bond that Ico and Yorda develop throughout the story. They have no reason to help each other, but both being outcasts that are so isolated from others they form a trust for one another, and it’s beautiful.
As far as gameplay, it is 5 percent combat, 10 percent exploration, and 85 percent puzzle solving. Let’s start with combat. It’s… fine. Really you just press the attack button until the enemies are gone. I do appreciate the different weapons you can find, especially the hidden ones that reward you for your exploration! Speaking of, I wish there was MORE exploration involved, because I loved wandering around the massive castle you are tasked with escaping. I don’t know how they could have done it, but I wish there were more items that were placed secretly around the map, or maybe flashbacks that explain a bit more of the story? I don’t know, I just wished there was a bit more here. Finally, the puzzles are super fun. Some very simple, some challenging enough to make you wonder if you are doing the right thing, but never cryptic and frustrating, a perfect combination.
Of course, this game does have its flaws. As with every Team Ico game so far, the controls aren’t the best in the world, but in this game they aren’t too bad. However, the camera is not good at all. I was constantly fighting it, or wishing it would fix itself. Then comes the most frustrating part of this game, the waiting. There isn’t a ton of it, but when it does happen it is painfully slow. Climbing up ladders, turning specific dials, or waiting for Yorda to figure out how to get out of a damn hole in the ground are not fun to sit through. A specific example was a ladder in the west arena, where Yorda couldn’t make up her find and would get halfway down, change her mind and go all the way back up, run around, and then finally come all the way down the ladder.
All that being said, this game is lovely. The ambiance, world, music, and story are all beautiful. And as a side note, I love how this ties directly to the events in Shadow of the Colossus.
This game is a must play for anyone who considers video games to be an art form, and pretty much anyone who likes video games. One more game to play in the Team Ico library!
gonna tell my kids this was resident evil 4
Haha real funny Bluepoint Games, you didn’t make me get stuck in a room for 20 minutes because I couldn’t see the door because of the low brightness! Great early PS2 game, even has PlayStation Vita Remote Play support if you want a true challenge. I miss her…
yeah i dont know what i was thinking the first time this game is a genuine marvel
it really takes me back to prince of persia sands of time for some reason, it brings forth that "this castle is filled with contraptions that would be relatively easy to operate if you had like a dozen people with you but now everything's deserted so you have to do a fuckton of parkour just to get by while bonding with another character that's the only other living thing in here besides you and the big bad" vibe that i really fuck with
What is destiny?
To some, its the path they seek to forge for themselves, a future that quenches their every desire in life.
Whereas for some others, its the path they have no control of - a fate chosen for them due to circumstances beyond their control, an ending that ultimately leaves them languishing in despair and tragedy.
Both Ico and Yorda fit the latter definition. Initially, at least. Ico, condemned to an eternal prison of misery within the shackles of a tomb, purely because of the two horns on his head; Yorda, bound to the whims of her mother's selfish desire for eternity, born merely to serve a vessel to the Queen's means.
And yet it is also destiny that brings them together. It was destiny that lead to a small tremor that fateful day that released Ico from his prison, and destiny that led him to Yorda's cage in his attempt to escape. From that point onward, their destinies are intertwined.
Ico isn't just a game entirely about trust, or subtractive design, no: it's also a subtly told, well-executed tale of breaking free of destiny. These themes are used in tandem to construct the core foundation of Ico. Without the other beside them, neither Ico nor Yorda can successfully escape the castle, and their mutual trust in one another as well as their individual strengths allows them to constantly punch destiny in the face figuratively. It is their bond that allows them to overcome every obstacle laid before them in the castle. One might even argue that it was destiny that every tool they needed to bypass an area was laid out before them in a visible manner.
Yet, destiny does not relent that easily. Towards the end of the game, the Queen once again interferes with Yorda's fate by turning her into stone, leaving her helpless once again in the strings of her mother's greed. And as Ico rushes back into the castle to save her, he is greeted by the shadows of every child encased in tombs before him, a reminder of his supposed destiny of eternal torture and futility in their efforts to protect a soul they will never truly comprehend. Perhaps, then, is it fitting that Ico slashes them down one by one, as their tombs glow in response. Ico, much like what he did with Yorda, ultimately sets them free from their imprisonment, and saves them from their own destiny.
The story of a hero overcoming their destiny and finding their own path is a tale countless times, Ico does things differently. It allows its subtle animations and the experience of its gameplay tell the entire story, all with barely a line of dialogue from either protagonist. But somehow, by chance, the bond that they share doesn't need that dialogue at all to speak volumes.
All of this makes the ending of the game more rewarding, as Ico and Yorda, whose bond had carried them past the most challenging barriers imaginable, finally reunite on a sandy beach, the shackles of the fates that bound them shattered. Their surroundings are serene, quiet... peaceful. When Yorda awakens from her slumber and sees Ico beside her, we see nothing but a smile.
A smile that promises a future where they can shape their own destiny.
Final rating: 10/10
Focus: The subtle themes of overcoming destiny in Ico
Theme: Destiny.
To some, its the path they seek to forge for themselves, a future that quenches their every desire in life.
Whereas for some others, its the path they have no control of - a fate chosen for them due to circumstances beyond their control, an ending that ultimately leaves them languishing in despair and tragedy.
Both Ico and Yorda fit the latter definition. Initially, at least. Ico, condemned to an eternal prison of misery within the shackles of a tomb, purely because of the two horns on his head; Yorda, bound to the whims of her mother's selfish desire for eternity, born merely to serve a vessel to the Queen's means.
And yet it is also destiny that brings them together. It was destiny that lead to a small tremor that fateful day that released Ico from his prison, and destiny that led him to Yorda's cage in his attempt to escape. From that point onward, their destinies are intertwined.
Ico isn't just a game entirely about trust, or subtractive design, no: it's also a subtly told, well-executed tale of breaking free of destiny. These themes are used in tandem to construct the core foundation of Ico. Without the other beside them, neither Ico nor Yorda can successfully escape the castle, and their mutual trust in one another as well as their individual strengths allows them to constantly punch destiny in the face figuratively. It is their bond that allows them to overcome every obstacle laid before them in the castle. One might even argue that it was destiny that every tool they needed to bypass an area was laid out before them in a visible manner.
Yet, destiny does not relent that easily. Towards the end of the game, the Queen once again interferes with Yorda's fate by turning her into stone, leaving her helpless once again in the strings of her mother's greed. And as Ico rushes back into the castle to save her, he is greeted by the shadows of every child encased in tombs before him, a reminder of his supposed destiny of eternal torture and futility in their efforts to protect a soul they will never truly comprehend. Perhaps, then, is it fitting that Ico slashes them down one by one, as their tombs glow in response. Ico, much like what he did with Yorda, ultimately sets them free from their imprisonment, and saves them from their own destiny.
The story of a hero overcoming their destiny and finding their own path is a tale countless times, Ico does things differently. It allows its subtle animations and the experience of its gameplay tell the entire story, all with barely a line of dialogue from either protagonist. But somehow, by chance, the bond that they share doesn't need that dialogue at all to speak volumes.
All of this makes the ending of the game more rewarding, as Ico and Yorda, whose bond had carried them past the most challenging barriers imaginable, finally reunite on a sandy beach, the shackles of the fates that bound them shattered. Their surroundings are serene, quiet... peaceful. When Yorda awakens from her slumber and sees Ico beside her, we see nothing but a smile.
A smile that promises a future where they can shape their own destiny.
Final rating: 10/10
Focus: The subtle themes of overcoming destiny in Ico
Theme: Destiny.
The soft summer wind that glides through the grass and quietly envelopes you.
Ethereal, misty castle.