The Ico debate
What the community thinks of Ico, ordered by reader support. Agreeing, translating and reporting a message need no account.
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48 comments
What the community thinks of Ico, ordered by reader support. Agreeing, translating and reporting a message need no account.
48 comments
RachelleLegend
It's ranked 60th and that still bothers me every time I scroll past it. This game basically invented a whole vocabulary that other studios have been borrowing from for twenty years.
CoopRider
Twenty years of imitators doesn't automatically mean the original still plays as well today.
VinylByte
Everyone acts like holding a hand invented emotion in games. It didn't, not by itself.
BerryRunner
Oh no, not the emotion invented by hand holding argument again, truly groundbreaking analysis we're blessed to witness here today.
Craig_2007
Sure, let's rank a PS2 game with a wonky camera above stuff built decades later with actual budgets, because apparently vibes outrank everything else on this site.
PixelPilot1995
Seeing it still climb duels after two decades feels like proof this whole ranking thing isn't just nostalgia talking.
CosmoHunter49
the castle itself felt like a character to me, more than most actual characters in games from that era. i was maybe thirteen when a friend lent me his copy and i remember just walking around not doing anything for a while, just looking at the place.
gdicki
gameplay-wise it's simple, but the way it uses silence still hasn't been copied right
LootPlayer95
Oh sure, let's put a nineteen year old PS2 game against Assassin's Creed II and act surprised when people argue about mechanics for three pages.
SaveLegend2
Funny thing is I had that exact three page argument with a friend once, mechanics versus mood, we never settled it either.
LuckyHunter
Compared to Portal 2 this feels ancient in terms of mechanics, but compared to Limbo the two almost feel like siblings from different generations arguing about the same idea.
IronDragon41
Ancient mechanics, sure, but Limbo owes it a debt it never really paid back.
RogueLegend
Ce duel avec Limbo revient tout le temps mais franchement le silence n'a pas le même poids dans les deux, ici il sert la relation entre les deux personnages...
PedroHunter
Con Portal 2 al lado ya se nota el paso del tiempo, y con Limbo la comparación tampoco lo favorece tanto como dicen.
VinylAce25
Camera fights back at times.
MertieHunter
Replayed it on an emulator setup a while back and the core idea holds up fine, the hand holding mechanic especially. Where it struggles now is pacing, modern players expect quicker feedback loops.
Turbo_Dietrich
The pacing critique is fair, but the ranking already reflects a game people keep choosing anyway despite that flaw.
GlitchByte51
The camera control is genuinely rough by today's standards and I won't pretend otherwise, but the way the whole thing builds trust between the two characters without much dialogue still holds up better than most modern attempts at the same idea.
Cortez_1998
The trust building works partly because the animation weights feel deliberate, the girl's movement reads as hesitant in a way that never feels scripted (small detail but it sells everything).
FramePlayer
People put this next to Limbo a lot, but where Limbo isolates you completely, this one is built entirely around not being alone, and that changes everything about how it plays.
RetroSniper19
a mi me parece que estos debates de posicion siempre giran en torno a lo mismo, la soledad contra el acompañamiento, y nunca se resuelve nada, cada quien vota segun lo que sintio y ya
Rudolph_2
Its win rate says more than its rank does honestly.
Camille_25
Le taux de victoire c'est bien beau mais je le trouve surtout mal placé, j'ai eu le même réflexe en voyant le chiffre.
mae14
Seeing it still duel this often after all these years is honestly kind of amazing to me! It's punching so far above its weight class!!
RogueNinja97
Not amazing to me, honestly. Just quiet. I remember the quiet more than the punching above weight class part.
ComboLegend
Il faut avouer une chose : ce jeu n'a presque aucun texte, aucun tutoriel, et pourtant tout le monde comprend exactement quoi faire. Moi qui ai besoin d'un mode d'emploi pour allumer ma télé, ça force le respect. Franchement il mérite sa place, même si personne dans mon entourage n'a jamais voulu y jouer avec moi.
Córdoba2003
No creo que sea tan simple, hay estudios que citan otras referencias antes que esta cuando hablan de su propio trabajo.
QuestOwl2008
Was anyone else kind of scared of the shadows the first time, even before understanding what they actually did (I panicked way more than I should have)?
André_20
Pareil, l'ambiance suffisait à faire passer le manque de dialogues.
QuestDragon2008
The lack of hand holding actually needed feels like the whole point, and the lack of hand holding the game gives the player mirrors it perfectly, which is why some folks bounce off it fast.
ArcadePhoenix2
On refait ce débat sans fin, je vote, je passe à autre chose.
leilani_harber
People keep voting out of habit here more than judgment (myself included, if I'm honest), which says more about the fanbase than the game against something like Assassin's Creed II.
Jacques_85
Techniquement il a pris un coup de vieux, la caméra surtout, mais l'ambiance générale reste rare et je comprends qu'on lui garde une place haute.
fatima_barragan
Yo también sentí eso, esos silencios raros de los que habla, y por eso sigo votando siempre a su favor.