Ico (2001)

Developer: Team Ico
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 2
Genres: Platform, Puzzle, Adventure
Rating: 4.3 of 5, 293 player ratings
Main story: about 7.0 hours
Completionist: about 10 hours

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A quiet, aching journey through a vast crumbling castle where protecting a fragile companion feels both tender and desperate.

atmosphericmelancholicslow-pacedlonelyetherealtensecontemplativemysterious

About

An action-adventure game in which a boy is abandoned and taken to a massive castle by his people. After exploring it for a while, he meets a girl who speaks a different language than him, then decides to get both of them out of the castle grounds by leading her along, in order to escape the shadow-like creatures that frequently try to kidnap the girl.

What players say

A haunting, melancholic mood piece about two lost children holding hands through an isolating castle; its minimalist art and quiet emotion are remembered far more than its modest puzzle-platforming. A revered cult masterpiece.

Screenshots

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This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.