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ICO review
Exceptional
by stackjack

Classic shit. Haven’t beaten it tho l u l. Clearly a huge inspiration for Dark Souls. Just amazingly atmospheric and beautiful. Big fan of this vibe

Other reviews5

sometimes you're required to be more precise than it makes sense to within the game system, so that's a bit frustrating. but the atmosphere is great. it's a slow burn.
Clearly outdated, but I enjoyed my time with it. Had some issues with the save game, so I had to gave up halfway through
«Sit back and relax»
«Underrated»
More like an 8.5. If not for the clunky controls and sometimes broken mechanics, this game could be more enjoyable, having said that, I can only imagine the emotions I could feel if I played this as a teenager back in 2001. Ico pulls of something truly incredible and beautiful with Yorda (the girl who is with you in your journey), instead of giving her depth with cinematic cutscenes or heavy dialogue, you gain that depth through gameplay, and by the end of your journey you are not playing with an obstacle or a mechanic, you're playing with an actual being, and for me that's how video games should be.

The story is so cryptic and powerful that you want to give some thought, also playing this in 2018 it seems to me that this game was a heavy influence or inspiration for Dark Souls, from the cryptic and almost non-cinematic story to some of the stages and environment design. I don't think it aged that well or that this is a masterpiece, but I'm sure that this game has to be played by everyone.
«Blew my mind»
«That ending!»