Ico is an exceptional work of art, and is among the greatest games of all time. There is a magic to Ico that got me to invest heavily in its characters, to feel the thins the characters felt. When the story required me to leave Yorda behind, even if only for a little bit, I was always extremely anxious because I was worried something might happen to her. Ico could be described as a game about what it truly means to care for another person, going out of your way to bond with another to fight against evil forces.
The storytelling of Ico is amazing in its minimalism. There are very few lines of dialogue, but the game suggests so much with its few simple elements. The empty castle invites questions about how it was used, and what it's purpose was. You are invited to think about why the Queen does what she does. Do the spirits work for her, and if so, why? Why was Ico sacrificed? If you pay attention there are small repeated details that aren't enough to form a whole picture, but in suggesting that there are patterns, that the world is deliberately designed, it invites players to think about the castle and what it means for themselves. And the fact that it can convey its story primarily through interactive elements speaks to the strength of Ico's storytelling chops and the potential for games as a whole. "Story" in games is often thought of as all of the stuff that is there to be experienced but not interacted with. Cutscenes, data logs, journal entries, these are what people usually point to when they discuss "narrative" in games, but Ico is light on that. Rather its story is felt in the actions you perform. Its in the tension of a perilous jump from a chain high above a court yard. Its in the terror of watching Yorda get carried away by a bird spirit.
The architecture of the game helps significantly as well. The castle's architecture has a natural sense to it, while also feeling otherworldly and distant. The tall rooves and anxious spires make the protagonists feel small and fragile in the shadow of such a formidable structure. One could break down the architecture in a full video or article, and maybe I will. I'll save that for a future time though.
There are some issues with Ico, some that are quite noticeable, but I find myself very willing to forgive these mistakes. Some are technical. Yorda's AI sometimes is a bit odd and can feel a bit artificial at times as you wait for her to get the idea that she has to jump across a gap to join you. It's not bad because its slow, but it reveals a bit of the illusion that this is just a computer game. However, being on the PS2, this is an understandable issue. Making fully convincing human AIs in games is still hard today, let alone back then. Secondly, there are a decent number of puzzles that I got stuck on, not because I had not figured out the solution, but because I didn't know about a mechanic. I hadn't realized that I could swing on chains, which made one puzzle impassible until I looked it up. Another example is more egregious. After getting the sword you are taught it can cut ropes. Handy. However, there is a part where there is a bridge held open by a rope slightly above Ico's head. It looks like he can hit it with the sword, but swings won't damage it. I assumed I needed a new solution. I was wrong. Instead I just had to get the 3 hit combo to swing my sword in the air for the swing to connect. Even knowing about how to solve the puzzle, it was really finnicky to line up. This puzzle would be no different if you could just hit the rope with a normal swing. Thirdly, there are a few jumps that are really bad. The first is a jump that you have to make in time with a spring machine to launch yourself into the air. I was attempting this for minutes before it worked, and the timing is way too strict. I had the right idea but gave up on it because I didn't think it could throw me higher. Then, right after that the wheel jump onto the bars took me minutes of attempts, and has no right being as precise as it is. Most of the game has pretty generous and forgiving platforming, so these two examples stick out significantly, and could cause some people who would otherwise love the rest of the game to give up because they can't make the jump.
Even with these problems, Ico is a masterpiece and its hard for me to hold them against the game too much. Its easy to see why Ico is such an influence on gaming.
The storytelling of Ico is amazing in its minimalism. There are very few lines of dialogue, but the game suggests so much with its few simple elements. The empty castle invites questions about how it was used, and what it's purpose was. You are invited to think about why the Queen does what she does. Do the spirits work for her, and if so, why? Why was Ico sacrificed? If you pay attention there are small repeated details that aren't enough to form a whole picture, but in suggesting that there are patterns, that the world is deliberately designed, it invites players to think about the castle and what it means for themselves. And the fact that it can convey its story primarily through interactive elements speaks to the strength of Ico's storytelling chops and the potential for games as a whole. "Story" in games is often thought of as all of the stuff that is there to be experienced but not interacted with. Cutscenes, data logs, journal entries, these are what people usually point to when they discuss "narrative" in games, but Ico is light on that. Rather its story is felt in the actions you perform. Its in the tension of a perilous jump from a chain high above a court yard. Its in the terror of watching Yorda get carried away by a bird spirit.
The architecture of the game helps significantly as well. The castle's architecture has a natural sense to it, while also feeling otherworldly and distant. The tall rooves and anxious spires make the protagonists feel small and fragile in the shadow of such a formidable structure. One could break down the architecture in a full video or article, and maybe I will. I'll save that for a future time though.
There are some issues with Ico, some that are quite noticeable, but I find myself very willing to forgive these mistakes. Some are technical. Yorda's AI sometimes is a bit odd and can feel a bit artificial at times as you wait for her to get the idea that she has to jump across a gap to join you. It's not bad because its slow, but it reveals a bit of the illusion that this is just a computer game. However, being on the PS2, this is an understandable issue. Making fully convincing human AIs in games is still hard today, let alone back then. Secondly, there are a decent number of puzzles that I got stuck on, not because I had not figured out the solution, but because I didn't know about a mechanic. I hadn't realized that I could swing on chains, which made one puzzle impassible until I looked it up. Another example is more egregious. After getting the sword you are taught it can cut ropes. Handy. However, there is a part where there is a bridge held open by a rope slightly above Ico's head. It looks like he can hit it with the sword, but swings won't damage it. I assumed I needed a new solution. I was wrong. Instead I just had to get the 3 hit combo to swing my sword in the air for the swing to connect. Even knowing about how to solve the puzzle, it was really finnicky to line up. This puzzle would be no different if you could just hit the rope with a normal swing. Thirdly, there are a few jumps that are really bad. The first is a jump that you have to make in time with a spring machine to launch yourself into the air. I was attempting this for minutes before it worked, and the timing is way too strict. I had the right idea but gave up on it because I didn't think it could throw me higher. Then, right after that the wheel jump onto the bars took me minutes of attempts, and has no right being as precise as it is. Most of the game has pretty generous and forgiving platforming, so these two examples stick out significantly, and could cause some people who would otherwise love the rest of the game to give up because they can't make the jump.
Even with these problems, Ico is a masterpiece and its hard for me to hold them against the game too much. Its easy to see why Ico is such an influence on gaming.