This review contains spoilers
This game is fascinating, it is not like anything else I have ever played.
It has an incredible atmosphere. It's eerie, mysterious, and gorgeous all at the same time! The castle feels like a character in itself and I love how I can occasionally look around and see places that I have already been or will go.
The animation in this game is incredibly impressive for its time! The physics of the link between Ico and Yorda are the first use of inverse kinematics that I am aware of in video games and adds a lot of charm to the experience of exploring the castle together with her.
However, I feel like basic human empathy is what carries my feelings towards Yorda. I unfortunately did not feel a great emotional attachment due to her lack of characterization. I don't need her to speak with Ico in deep conversations like the modern God of War games, but her interacting with the world and Ico instead of standing there like a doll would help me feel more attached to this character and be more invested in the story overall. She does have some small moments but I would have appreciated some more spice.
It is sometimes hard to understand what this game is going for with its story because it's so abstract, but that is what makes it fascinating. It is a great example of how games can be used as an art form, but it has aged significantly in the decades since its release and makes it somewhat hard to go back to in the modern day of games.
I think it mainly falters in its moment-to-moment gameplay. Some of the puzzles are frustrating with how the game communicates its mechanics, but it honestly makes me really appreciate how much Ueda respects his audience to figure shit out.
The combat, however, is just straight-up bad. The enemies all look the same, are complete health sponges, and aren't interesting. I am never looking forward to the next encounter, and that might be by design but I can't ignore it as an aspect I dislike about this game.
I also can not excuse the camera. The camera is great whenever you are not touching it and it frames what you should be looking at for the most part. But as soon as you touch the right stick it is an incredibly unruly mess that genuinely makes me feel sick from time to time. I just want to look around and enjoy the atmosphere of this decrepit castle but the camera actively makes me avoid doing so
Besides the complaints above, I am very glad I gave this game a shot. Ico makes me excited to play Shadow of the Colossus and see how Ueda improves from here on out.
It has an incredible atmosphere. It's eerie, mysterious, and gorgeous all at the same time! The castle feels like a character in itself and I love how I can occasionally look around and see places that I have already been or will go.
The animation in this game is incredibly impressive for its time! The physics of the link between Ico and Yorda are the first use of inverse kinematics that I am aware of in video games and adds a lot of charm to the experience of exploring the castle together with her.
However, I feel like basic human empathy is what carries my feelings towards Yorda. I unfortunately did not feel a great emotional attachment due to her lack of characterization. I don't need her to speak with Ico in deep conversations like the modern God of War games, but her interacting with the world and Ico instead of standing there like a doll would help me feel more attached to this character and be more invested in the story overall. She does have some small moments but I would have appreciated some more spice.
It is sometimes hard to understand what this game is going for with its story because it's so abstract, but that is what makes it fascinating. It is a great example of how games can be used as an art form, but it has aged significantly in the decades since its release and makes it somewhat hard to go back to in the modern day of games.
I think it mainly falters in its moment-to-moment gameplay. Some of the puzzles are frustrating with how the game communicates its mechanics, but it honestly makes me really appreciate how much Ueda respects his audience to figure shit out.
The combat, however, is just straight-up bad. The enemies all look the same, are complete health sponges, and aren't interesting. I am never looking forward to the next encounter, and that might be by design but I can't ignore it as an aspect I dislike about this game.
I also can not excuse the camera. The camera is great whenever you are not touching it and it frames what you should be looking at for the most part. But as soon as you touch the right stick it is an incredibly unruly mess that genuinely makes me feel sick from time to time. I just want to look around and enjoy the atmosphere of this decrepit castle but the camera actively makes me avoid doing so
Besides the complaints above, I am very glad I gave this game a shot. Ico makes me excited to play Shadow of the Colossus and see how Ueda improves from here on out.