Ico

The Good
ICO is very unique in the way that it combines graphics and music in order to achieve a wonderful feeling of nostalgia/longing, while being very dark and stressful at the same time. Additionally, it makes an interesting use of the surroundings in order to produce puzzles that fit the game perfectly, not being blatantly easy nor excruciatingly difficult. The use of voices is also very well executed, even if it is used scarcely (which just feels right in the barren, lonesome world of ICO). And of course, the main characters themselves are what makes the game work, with the relationship existing between them being the focal point of the game, and what stood out the most – it is a beautiful portray of friendship, and probably the game’s most appealing trait.

The Bad
The only negative aspects of ICO are really the fact that combat is very plain and simple (even though this is most likely purposeful to fit the mood of the game), and being a relatively short game (despite being slow-paced).

The Bottom Line
While surely not a game for everyone (due to its slow pace and heavy mood), ICO can arguably be considered one of the top - let’s call it “spiritually enhancing” - games ever made. If you let it, ICO grabs you by the hand (pun intended) and takes you along an emotional rollercoaster that you cannot feel disconnected from - both graphics and music contribute immensely in order to make sure your anxiety will leave you on edge, yet totally immersed. And that is probably ICO’s most recognizable trait – it deep-dives you in such a way that you will not want to surface back to the real world. Essentially, that’s what games are really all about.