Ico (written in all capital letters) is a 2001 action-adventure video game created and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. Fumito Ueda, the game’s designer and director, wanted to make a simple game based on a "boy meets girl" idea. Originally planned for the PlayStation, Ico took about four years to develop. The team used a method called "subtracting design" to remove gameplay elements that might distract from the game’s setting and story, helping players feel more immersed.
In the game, the player controls Ico, a boy with horns that his village sees as a bad sign. After soldiers trap him in a deserted castle, he meets Yorda, the daughter of the castle’s queen. The queen plans to use Yorda to live longer. Ico must help Yorda escape the castle while protecting her from enemies, helping her cross obstacles, and solving puzzles.
Ico introduced several new design and technical features that influenced later games, such as telling a story with little dialogue, using special lighting effects, and employing animation techniques. Though it was not a big commercial success, the game was praised for its art, unique gameplay, and story. It won several awards, including "Game of the Year" nominations and three Game Developers Choice Awards. Considered a cult classic, it is often called one of the greatest video games ever made and is frequently discussed as an example of video games as an art form. In 2006, it was re-released in Europe with Shadow of the Colossus, a game inspired by Ico. A high-definition version of Ico was later included in The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection for the PlayStation 3.
Gameplay
Ico is an action-adventure video game. The player controls Ico from a third-person perspective, meaning the player sees Ico from the side, not from inside his body, as he explores a castle and tries to escape with Yorda. The camera stays in one place but turns to follow Ico or Yorda as they move. The player can also slightly move the camera in other directions to see more of the environment. The game includes many elements of platform games, such as making Ico jump, climb, push, and pull objects. The player must also solve puzzles to move forward in the castle.
Only Ico can perform these actions. Yorda can only jump short distances and cannot climb over tall barriers. The player must use Ico to help Yorda cross obstacles, such as by lifting her to a higher ledge or arranging the environment so Yorda can cross a larger gap herself. The player can tell Yorda to follow Ico or wait in a specific spot. The player can also have Ico take Yorda’s hand and pull her along quickly. The player cannot move forward until Yorda opens certain doors that only she can access.
Escaping the castle is made difficult by shadow creatures sent by the Queen. These creatures try to pull Yorda into black vortexes if Ico leaves her for too long or if she is in certain areas of the castle. Ico can get rid of the shadows using a stick or sword and can free Yorda if she is pulled into a vortex. While the shadow creatures cannot harm Ico, the game ends if Yorda is fully pulled into a vortex. The player must then restart the game from a save point. The player also restarts from a save point if Ico falls from a great height. Save points in the game are shown as stone benches where Ico and Yorda rest while the player saves the game.
In the European and Japanese versions of the game, after completing it, the player can restart the game in a local co-operative two-player mode. In this mode, the second player controls Yorda, with the same limitations as the computer-controlled version of the character. This new mode also adds subtitles that translate Yorda’s fictional language.
Plot
Ico, a boy with horns, is captured by warriors and taken to an abandoned castle. He is locked inside a stone coffin and prepared for a sacrifice. A tremor shakes the castle, causing the coffin to fall and allowing Ico to escape. While exploring the castle, Ico meets Yorda, a girl who is also a prisoner. Yorda speaks a different language and is connected to the castle through magic. She can open gates using white energy that comes from her body, but she cannot protect herself. Ico helps Yorda escape and protects her from shadow creatures. Together, they travel through the castle and reach a bridge that leads to land. When they cross the bridge, the Queen, who rules the castle, appears and tells Yorda she cannot leave. Later, the bridge breaks, separating Ico and Yorda. Yorda tries to save Ico, but the Queen stops her. Ico falls from the bridge and loses consciousness.
Ico wakes up below the castle and finds a magic sword that can defeat the shadow creatures. He learns that Yorda has been turned to stone by the Queen, who plans to take control of Yorda’s body. Ico fights the Queen with the sword and defeats her, but during the battle, his horns break, and he loses consciousness. The castle begins to collapse, but the Queen’s spell on Yorda is broken. A shadowy version of Yorda carries Ico to safety, placing him on a boat that drifts toward the shore. Yorda says "Nonomori," which means "thank you," before Ico drifts away.
Ico wakes up on a beach and sees the castle in the distance, now in ruins. Nearby, Yorda is found washed up on the shore. She wakes up and smiles at Ico.
Development
Lead designer Fumito Ueda created the idea for the game Ico in 1997. He imagined a story about a boy and a girl who travel together, holding hands and forming a bond without speaking. Ueda was inspired by a TV commercial showing a woman holding a child’s hand while walking in the woods. He also drew ideas from the manga Galaxy Express 999, where a woman protects a boy during a space journey. Ueda’s work on the Sega Saturn game Enemy Zero influenced Ico’s animation, cutscenes, lighting, sound, and mature themes. He was also inspired by the game Another World, which used movie-like scenes and showed an emotional connection between characters with little dialogue. Other games, such as Virtua Fighter, Lemmings, Flashback, and Prince of Persia, influenced Ico’s animation and gameplay style.
With help from an assistant, Ueda made a 3-minute animation in Lightwave to show his vision. In this early version, the character Yorda had horns instead of Ico, and robotic creatures attacked the castle. Ueda said this animation helped guide the team during development. He later used the same method for Shadow of the Colossus, the team’s next project.
At the time, Ueda worked for Sony Computer Entertainment Japan. In 1998, he began working with producer Kenji Kaido to develop Ico for the PlayStation. Ueda had his own team, which included two programmers, four artists, and one designer, in addition to himself and Kaido.
The design of Ico was based on three main ideas: making the game different from others in its genre, creating a consistently artistic style, and building an imaginary but realistic world. This was done through "subtracting design," which means removing elements that might distract from the game’s experience. For example, the game had no user interface, such as health points on the screen, and only one type of enemy. Ueda wanted to make Ico feel different from traditional video games, which were often seen negatively at the time.
An early version of the game showed Ico and Yorda fighting horned warriors who had taken Yorda to the castle. The story originally focused on returning Yorda to her room after she was kidnapped. However, Ueda felt this version was too detailed for the game’s technology and changed the enemies to shadow creatures as part of the "subtracting design." Later, he said this approach might have removed too much from the game, and he used a less extreme style for Shadow of the Colossus.
During development, the team faced challenges with the PlayStation’s hardware. They chose to continue working on the game and later used the PlayStation 2’s Emotion Engine, which had better capabilities. Character animation was done using key frame animation instead of motion capture. The game took about four years to complete. Ueda left the ending unclear, not explaining whether Yorda was alive, if she would stay with Ico, or if the story was just a dream.
Ico uses very little dialogue in a fictional language to tell its story. Voice actors included Kazuhiro Shindō as Ico, Rieko Takahashi as Yorda, and Misa Watanabe as the Queen. Ico and the Queen’s lines are shown in subtitles in either English or Japanese, depending on the region. Yorda’s speech is written in a symbolic language with 26 runic letters that match the Latin alphabet. This script was designed by team member Kei Kuwabara. Ueda chose not to translate Yorda’s words to keep the language barrier between Ico and Yorda, which supports the game’s theme of holding hands without speaking. The game originally had 115 lines of dialogue, but only 38 were used in the final version. The unused lines can be found through data-mining.
Many scenes in the game have no background music and only include sounds from the environment.
Release
The game was released in Japan on December 6, 2001, along with Yoake no Mariko, which was developed by another team at Sony in collaboration with Spümcø. The main theme song of the game, "ICO -You were there-," was written by Michiru Oshima. This song was used in advertisements to promote the game in Japan. The game's cover art was inspired by the Italian artist Giorgio de Chirico and his painting The Nostalgia of the Infinite. The creator of the game, Ueda, believed that de Chirico's dreamlike style matched the symbolic world of Ico. This cover was used for the Japanese and PAL region releases. The North American version of the game was released two months earlier. However, due to time limits, it did not include the cover art that Ueda had planned, nor did it have features like a two-player mode. The North American cover has been criticized as one of the worst video game covers, even though the game itself received praise. In 2016, the website Polygon named it one of the worst video game covers of all time. Later, Yasuhide Kobayashi, a Sony executive, said that the North American cover and the lack of an English title may have contributed to the game's poor sales in the United States. He mentioned plans to improve this for the release of The Last Guardian.
In PAL regions, a special edition of the game was released. This version included a cardboard wrapping with artwork from the game and four art cards inside the box. In 2006, the game was re-released in all PAL regions (except France) after the release of Shadow of the Colossus, which is considered a spiritual sequel to Ico. This re-release allowed players to complete their collection.
Despite receiving praise from critics, Ico did not sell well. By 2009, only 700,000 copies had been sold worldwide, with 270,000 of those sold in the United States. Most of the sales occurred in PAL regions. Ueda believed that his design approach, which focused on removing elements rather than adding them, may have made the game harder to market. At the time, video game promotions often relied on screenshots, and Ico did not include a heads-up display, which made it appear less appealing to buyers.
A novel version of the game titled Ico: Castle in the Mist (ICO-霧の城-, Iko: Kiri no Shiro) was released in Japan in 2004. The book was written by Miyuki Miyabe, who admired the game. An English version of the novel was published by Viz Media on August 16, 2011.
Reception
Ico received praise from both players and critics, earning a score of 90 out of 100 on Metacritic. The game has become popular among many fans and is considered by some to be one of the greatest games ever made. In 2007, Edge magazine ranked Ico as the 13th best game, while IGN listed it at number 18 in 2005 and number 57 in 2007. Some critics have called Ico a work of art.
Some reviewers compared Ico to older adventure games like Prince of Persia or Tomb Raider, which aim to create emotional experiences for players. IGN’s David Smith said the game, though simple, was "near indescribable" in its impact. Critics praised the game’s graphics, sound, and puzzle design. Smith added that the visuals, music, and puzzles combined to create something "almost completely unlike anything else on the market." Many reviewers admired the detailed environments, the smooth character animations despite using simple shapes, and the use of lighting effects. The game’s art style was praised for giving it a "dreamy, timeless feel." Alan Wen of NME described the game’s atmosphere as "steeped in the metaphysical." The simple music and small details in the voice acting were also highlighted as strengths.
Charles Herold of The New York Times said, "Ico is not a perfect game, but it is a game of perfect moments." He noted that Ico is different from most games with companions, as players feel a strong connection to Yorda, who is described as "the game's entire focus." Electronic Gaming Monthly mentioned that Yorda is "helpless" but the bond players form with her makes the ending "heartrending."
The game’s combat system is simple and may not satisfy players looking for complex mechanics, according to GameSpot’s Miguel Lopez. However, its puzzles were praised for offering a rewarding experience as players solve challenges on their own. Eurogamer’s Kristen Reed said the game "never tells you what to do, even though it always does." Ico is also considered short, taking about seven to ten hours to complete. GameRevolution called this "painfully short," while G4TV’s Matthew Keil said the game is so strong that many players will finish it in one or two sessions. The North American version lacked features that would unlock after completing the game, which some said reduced replay value.
Francesca Reyes of Next Generation gave Ico four out of five stars, calling it "intensely involving and wonderfully simple" and saying it "deserves to find its niche as a quiet classic."
Ico received high praise from video game critics and was named one of the best games of the year by many publications, even though it competed with popular titles like Halo: Combat Evolved, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Grand Theft Auto III. In 2002, the game won three Game Developers Choice Awards for "Excellence in Level Design," "Excellence in Visual Arts," and "Game Innovation Spotlight." It also won two Interactive Achievement Awards for "Art Direction" and "Character or Story Development" and received nominations for other categories. Ico won GameSpot’s "Best Graphics, Artistic" prize for console games and was one of three titles to win the Special Award at the sixth CESA Game Awards.
Legacy
Several game designers, including Eiji Aonuma, Hideo Kojima, and Jordan Mechner, have mentioned that the game Ico influenced the visual style of their games, such as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Other games inspired by Ico include Papo & Yo, Uncharted 3, Fez, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, and Rime. Marc Laidlaw, a scriptwriter for the Half-Life series, described a scene in Ico where Yorda tries to save Ico from falling off a bridge as "a significant event not only for that game, but for the art of game design." Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creator of the Dark Souls series, said Ico was a key influence that inspired him to work in game development, explaining that Ico "awoke [him] to the possibilities of the medium." Goichi Suda mentioned that Ico's saving method, where players sit on a bench to save the game, inspired the saving method in No More Heroes, where players sit on a toilet to save the game.
Ico was one of the first video games to use a bloom lighting effect, which later became widely used in other games. Patrice Désilets, director of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, mentioned Ico as an influence on its game design. Jenova Chen, creator of games like Flower and Journey, said Ico was one of his biggest influences. Ico was also mentioned as an influence by Josh Holmes, creative director of Halo 4. Naughty Dog, the developers of The Last of Us, said the game was influenced by Ico, especially in how characters are built and interact. Neil Druckmann, a designer for The Last of Us, credited Ico's gameplay as a key inspiration for the game's story.
Film director Guillermo del Toro called both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus "masterpieces" and part of his directorial influence. Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead listed Ico as one of his top ten video games of all time, saying it "might be the best one."
Ico had limited music and sound effects. The soundtrack, titled Ico: Kiri no Naka no Senritsu, was composed by Michiru Oshima and the sound unit "pentagon" (Koichi Yamazaki and Mitsukuni Murayama). It was released in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment on February 20, 2002, and distributed by Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works. The final song on the CD, "ICO -You Were There-," includes vocals by Steven Geraghty, a former member of the group Libera.
On June 11, 2009, a paid add-on pack for LittleBigPlanet was released, featuring costumes (including Ico and Yorda), stickers, and sound effects from Ico. Titled Team Ico, the pack was available for download from the PlayStation Network alongside similar content from Shadow of the Colossus. The pack was teased by the game's developers, Media Molecule, about two weeks before its release. Ico makes appearances in Astro's Playroom and Astro Bot, with Yorda also appearing in Astro Bot.
Shadow of the Colossus was developed by the same team and released for the PlayStation 2 in 2005. It shares similar graphics, gameplay, and storytelling elements with Ico. The game was initially called "Nico" (a Japanese word for the number 2) before its final title was revealed. When asked about the connection between the two games, the creator, Fumito Ueda, said Shadow of the Colossus is a prequel to Ico.
The team's third game, The Last Guardian, was announced for the PlayStation 3 at E3 2009. The game follows a young boy who befriends a large griffin-like creature and must work with it to solve puzzles. Development slowed due to hardware challenges and Ueda's departure from Sony around 2012, along with other team members. Ueda and others continued working on the game through consulting contracts. Development later moved to the PlayStation 4 in 2012, and the game was reannounced in 2015 and released in December 2016. Ueda said the game's "essence is rather close to Ico."
A high-definition remaster of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus was released for the PlayStation 3 in September 2011. The remastered versions included improved graphics, support for stereoscopic 3D, and trophies. The Ico remaster was based on the European version, which included features missing from the North American release, such as Yorda's translated dialogue and a two-player mode. In North America and PAL regions, the two games were released as a single collection, while in Japan, they were sold separately. Both games were later released as downloadable titles on the PlayStation Store. A patch called 1.01 added the Remote Play feature, allowing the game to be played on the PlayStation Vita.