Fumito Ueda's grand adventure. Ico! It's simplistic nature and cinematic platforming roots give us unlike anything that come before... maybe since.
This is a game that stripped all of it's flashy parts and only did the bare minimum with it's mechanics. Because it just wants to be a handholding adventure game and just does that. Nothing more, nothing less. If it's mechanics are barebones then why this game is super highly regarded? It's because they used all of their development budget on giving you the VIBES.
It's suspenseful atmosphere, it's dark foreboding loneliness, the feeling that you are in a unknown mysterious place, giving you the feeling that light is your friend, shadows are your enemy. It's masterfully constructs this atmosphere with it's foreboding castle structures, it's cinematic camera angles, it's realistic sound effects. Also it's rare use of music is a super effective choice in this as well. They only come in cutscenes or when you found a save station to make you feel secure(like go and give a listen to Ico: Healing. It's perfect save room music in my opinion).
Only game that come close to giving the same vibes is again another Fumito Ueda game, The Last Guardian, but even that one is more on the hopeful adventurous side in my opinion. This one just in the middle, both suspenseful, both hopeful. It's just perfect vibes.
Now, is this game perfect? No. It does have it's issues like all the other Fumito Ueda games. For example sometimes fixed camera angles obstructs the interactables or doesn't give you a good angle to be able to plan your jump. Our attacks or jumps can't be cancelled nor change their direction after initiating so this adds to the janky feeling a bit. Also our partner Yorda's Ai gets dumb when you are around ladders for some reason(she decides to climb it all the way even tho I am not near it nor I didn't order it to do so sometimes).
Then why 5/5 then? It's hard to explain, but when the atmosphere, the vibes takes you in, I can't help but give it a 5/5. Because there is no other game like it.
This is a game that stripped all of it's flashy parts and only did the bare minimum with it's mechanics. Because it just wants to be a handholding adventure game and just does that. Nothing more, nothing less. If it's mechanics are barebones then why this game is super highly regarded? It's because they used all of their development budget on giving you the VIBES.
It's suspenseful atmosphere, it's dark foreboding loneliness, the feeling that you are in a unknown mysterious place, giving you the feeling that light is your friend, shadows are your enemy. It's masterfully constructs this atmosphere with it's foreboding castle structures, it's cinematic camera angles, it's realistic sound effects. Also it's rare use of music is a super effective choice in this as well. They only come in cutscenes or when you found a save station to make you feel secure(like go and give a listen to Ico: Healing. It's perfect save room music in my opinion).
Only game that come close to giving the same vibes is again another Fumito Ueda game, The Last Guardian, but even that one is more on the hopeful adventurous side in my opinion. This one just in the middle, both suspenseful, both hopeful. It's just perfect vibes.
Now, is this game perfect? No. It does have it's issues like all the other Fumito Ueda games. For example sometimes fixed camera angles obstructs the interactables or doesn't give you a good angle to be able to plan your jump. Our attacks or jumps can't be cancelled nor change their direction after initiating so this adds to the janky feeling a bit. Also our partner Yorda's Ai gets dumb when you are around ladders for some reason(she decides to climb it all the way even tho I am not near it nor I didn't order it to do so sometimes).
Then why 5/5 then? It's hard to explain, but when the atmosphere, the vibes takes you in, I can't help but give it a 5/5. Because there is no other game like it.