An action-adventure game in which a boy is abandoned and taken to a massive castle by his people. After exploring it for a while, he meets a girl who speaks a different language than him, then decides to get both of them out of the castle grounds by leading her along, in order to escape the shadow-like creatures that frequently try to kidnap the girl.
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Cautivadísimo por sus vibes pero fuerísima por su loop jugable.
Un poco this could have been an email
Un poco this could have been an email
ico is... really interesting, actually. it took me a few hours to get acclimated with its somewhat archaic control scheme and seemingly shallow premise, but what clicked with me immediately was the general gameplay loop of solving puzzles to advance in an interconnected labyrinth-like world.
early on, you run into a young girl named yorda, who you are tasked with protecting and guiding around the game with you. this is nice when it works, and admittedly, due to this game's fantastic animations (even by today's standards), yorda feels somewhat like a real person; she will get distracted by certain things or wander off when left unattended, which is a nice detail. my only gripe is she moves like a snail and the game basically forces you to literally drag her around and watch as her pathfinding messes up or as she slowly descends a ladder.
ico is filled with antiquated things like that: weird controls, janky half-baked combat, the annoying feeling of being knocked over only to lay on the ground for 10 seconds, awful motion blur, and worst of all, unexplained mechanics such as swinging on a chain. it all made me come to the conclusion early on that this game was an overrated mess which was only appreciated for its fantastic art and atmosphere (i ultimately put gameplay > all else).
thankfully however, i was wrong, as ico plays wonderfully when the stars align and it works. i was slowly enthralled by its simple yet addictive gameplay loop and could finally sink my teeth in. there isn't much of a narrative to be hooked by, but what little worldbuilding is provided is fascinating and just the look of the castle you roam is enough to keep you somewhat engaged.
reviewing this game is hard because it has a metric ton of flaws but i can easily see why this went on to influence so many. it's extremely unique even 25 years later and it being so short and concise results in a really fine-tuned experience not too dissimilar from shadow of the colossus. my main issue with that game was its empty world, but due to the nature of ico, this isn't a problem.
i highly recommend playing it as it's short, very unique, and easily one of the best games of its time. i would argue even with my generous score of 3 stars, i'm being a little too harsh, but the obtuse mechanics didn't gel with me too much for the large majority of my playthrough.
also backloggd, holy shit. just prioritise JP/PAL box arts, they're almost always better.
early on, you run into a young girl named yorda, who you are tasked with protecting and guiding around the game with you. this is nice when it works, and admittedly, due to this game's fantastic animations (even by today's standards), yorda feels somewhat like a real person; she will get distracted by certain things or wander off when left unattended, which is a nice detail. my only gripe is she moves like a snail and the game basically forces you to literally drag her around and watch as her pathfinding messes up or as she slowly descends a ladder.
ico is filled with antiquated things like that: weird controls, janky half-baked combat, the annoying feeling of being knocked over only to lay on the ground for 10 seconds, awful motion blur, and worst of all, unexplained mechanics such as swinging on a chain. it all made me come to the conclusion early on that this game was an overrated mess which was only appreciated for its fantastic art and atmosphere (i ultimately put gameplay > all else).
thankfully however, i was wrong, as ico plays wonderfully when the stars align and it works. i was slowly enthralled by its simple yet addictive gameplay loop and could finally sink my teeth in. there isn't much of a narrative to be hooked by, but what little worldbuilding is provided is fascinating and just the look of the castle you roam is enough to keep you somewhat engaged.
reviewing this game is hard because it has a metric ton of flaws but i can easily see why this went on to influence so many. it's extremely unique even 25 years later and it being so short and concise results in a really fine-tuned experience not too dissimilar from shadow of the colossus. my main issue with that game was its empty world, but due to the nature of ico, this isn't a problem.
i highly recommend playing it as it's short, very unique, and easily one of the best games of its time. i would argue even with my generous score of 3 stars, i'm being a little too harsh, but the obtuse mechanics didn't gel with me too much for the large majority of my playthrough.
also backloggd, holy shit. just prioritise JP/PAL box arts, they're almost always better.
Tudo que eu tenho a dizer sobre esse final é CARALHO
A quite special game. I wonder where the primitive carved stone look came from, you see it in old FromSoft games too.
The masterpiece that gave birth to almost every other masterpiece in gaming history, play this atleast once.
Meet the girl, run with her.
Fight for girl, escape with her.
Leaving her, save the girl.
With a good end and atmosphere.
Fight for girl, escape with her.
Leaving her, save the girl.
With a good end and atmosphere.