E131: Ico

Director Fumeto Ueda has been hailed by many as somewhat of an auteur of the gaming landscape. A creative whose style embraces minimalist desolation. Known best for his work on Shadow of the Colossus, Ueda's directorial debut took place in 2001 with Ico, a boy-meets-girl action-adventure released for the PlayStation 2. Born with horns in a small village, Ico was seen as a great misfortune and was locked away in an eerie castle across the sea. Just as Ico settled in to his stony tomb, an earthquake strikes, freeing him and beginning the long journey to freedom. Along the way Ico meets Yorda, the daughter of the evil shadowy queen who rules over the land and the two work together to escape.

While the premise was simple the game was considered by many to be a success, and has been cited by many prominent directors as an influence in their games. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Uncharted, Dark Souls, The Legend of Zelda, Metal Gear Solid 3, you name it, Ico as certainly left its mark on the world.

But is it still fun to play today?
On this episode, we discuss:

Puzzle Solving.

Ico often presents the player with simple diagetic puzzles that make use of the environment.
Unlike many other games, it makes almost no attempt to guide the player.
Is this too harsh, or is the lack of handholding refreshing in the moden era?

Combat.

Despite its claim to fame, Ico's combat has very little going for it.
What exactly makes it so unsatisfying and could it be improved?

Yorda.

An enscort quest that lasts an entire game would surely raise eyebrows if released today.
Did the team at Sony Computer Entertainment manage to bring Yorda to life?
Or is she simply a frustrating Key for the player to drag about the gameworld?

We answer these questions and many more on the 131st episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Ico OST: Michiru Oshima

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Is Ico worth playing in the year 2025 and beyond? Are escort quests inherently unfun design? Does Patrick just hate fun or is James too easily impressed ? Come let us know on our community discord server!

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