The escort mission, a chinese finger trap for developers. Where games before it would only briefly utilize the escort to limited success, Ico lives, breathes, and thrives by the strength of this mechanic. Heavy theatrics, screenplay-like writing, and complex puzzling be damned. Instead, Ico wallows in the escort mission and any meaning of the game is derived from the relationship forced upon the player through this system. Many games since take clear inspiration from this title, and Naughty Dog hot off of Crash Team Racing may have learned a thing or two playing Ico.