“He was born with horns. For this, they feared him.”

ICO is a captivating adventure game set in an eerie castle where sprits roam freely. You play the role of the boy Ico, who must escape from a castle which seems to have no exit and is filled with many dangers and devices to keep you inside.

First entombed, now imprisoned

You start the game entombed inside a casket, but as fate would have it a gentle earth shudder frees you from your prison. The feeling of freedom is short lived, however, as you soon realize the ancient crumbling castle was built to keep people in as much as out. To heighten the challenge you encounter a peculiar girl called Yorda. She plays a pivotal role in aiding your escape and understandably you need to do everything in your power to protect her from the spirits that are intent on dragging her away. Should you fail to protect her, the spirit world will triumph, signaling the end of the game.

You are confronted by different varieties of spirit minions that annoy more than threaten you. These crawling, bounding and sometimes flying pests constantly heckle at Yorda when you leave her unguarded for too long. They quickly snatch her, dragging her to black portholes in the floor. If you are quick enough you can beat them off her and pull her back from the life sucking portholes.

Who said little boys shouldn’t play with fire?

Ico begins the game unarmed (save for charging with his horns), quickly acquires a pretty harmless stick with which he must protect himself and Yorda. As you progress through the game Ico will learn how to light his stick yielding the protection and usefulness of fire. Ico can only possess one weapon at a time, so depending on the puzzle you are faced with, at times you will be forced to discard the sword, which you eventually acquire, for the stick and vice versa. Ico can also pick up bombs, light them and stand back to create pathways for him and Yorda to follow.

The adventure/puzzle is beautifully rendered with an inspiring architectural style that will captivate you for many hours. It is haunting, but not in the typical dark lighting horror movie style. You will encounter breathtaking vista’s which are haunting in their astounding level of visual detail, hinting to the age of the castle and it’s long past inhabitants. The cracked and crumbling ramparts, catacombs and precipices are inspired, leading to an engrossing, engaging experience. The accompanying music and eerier sounds effects are sparse, but suitable given you are essentially running around a seemingly “deserted” castle, bar the spirits.

The save game mechanic is implemented in an interesting manner whereby you must sit down on a couch and get Yorda to sit down next to you. Once you have accomplished this resting position you can save your progress. The save “couches” are sensibly spaced throughout the levels which is a big plus in my book after recently bludgeoning my controller to death while looking for drinking fountains in another action/adventure game.

Phone a friend

The game often requires you to piece together a puzzle, which when completed will allow you access to another level of the castle. These puzzles are well thought out and intricately designed. I found that playing Ico with my friends was helpful because we could solve the puzzles together, but basically this just meant that I was able to advance quicker through the levels than if I had been playing solo.

Yorda can only follow you into certain places, and often you will have to venture ahead in order to open a path that she will be able to follow. If you take too long doing this, be warned that the spirits will inevitably try to take her. Listen out for ghoulish noises which normally indicate that the spirits are dragging her away. So be sure to be quick and nimble in your endeavours to clear a path for her.

There are approximately 35 levels, and as you play through them the game play basically requires you to protect Yorda while trying to progress further through the castle and ultimately escape from it. This can become rather repetitive. While the puzzles are unique, the mechanism of saving Yorda while figuring these out can become frustrating. Nevertheless it adds to the tempo and ensures you don’t stop to admire the scenery for too long, lest she be captured, again.

If you enjoyed the art style and simplicity of Shadow of the Colossus, you will love this title. It can get a bit annoying having to save Yorda from the seemingly endless army of spirits minions, but the game will leave you satisfied should you press on and escape to freedom.

Pros: Breathtaking architecture/art style; simple game mechanics; short learning curve.

Cons: Replaying scenes when Yorda dies can become repetitive.

Purchase: