An Ode to ICO: The Cult Minimalist Game
A masterclass in minimalist game design, ICO insists that video games are art.
Shaped by its creator Fumita Ueda’s philosophy of design by subtraction, the PS2 game captures a beauty in simplicity which was yet untold in gaming upon its 2001 release. And its influence in the gaming world is vast, wide, and unexpected.
ICO leads you through a unique gaming experience - one where quiet minimalism becomes fused with poetic interactivity. Gameplay is kept simple. You are Ico, a young boy cursed at birth with horns protruding from his skull. After being banished to a faraway castle you must explore your way out by solving puzzles, hand-in-hand with Yorda, an ethereal, glowing girl you are tasked with protecting. With no objectives, guidance, and little dialogue, ICO leaves it to the player to understand the world of the game.
ICO’s true beauty lies in its visual world. With bloom lighting and unique key-frame animation, Ueda creates a dream-like world that also holds true to emotional realism. The camera itself keeps far away from Ico and Yorda, in contrast with the massive scale of architecture. This is amplified by platforms and towers that rise to high heaven, often leaving Ico hundreds of feet above land.
Ueda’s desolate, reflective aesthetic was inspired by Italian art - namely the Neoclassical etchings of Priansesi and the metaphysical paintings of Giorgio de Chirico. The game’s lack of dialogue or score makes way for ocean waves, birds chirping and occasional ambient music to fill out the soundscape. There’s an incredible use of environmental storytelling here that fills in what is often left unsaid.
ICO continues to have a huge influence on game design 20 years on. Alongside being a precursor to indie games such as Jenova Chen’s Journey and Flower, and Phil Fish’s Fez, it has also had an impact on blockbuster titles. Both Hidetaka Miyazaki (Dark Souls, Bloodborne) and Neil Druckmann (Uncharted, The Last of Us) credit Ueda as an inspiration.
A milestone title that reaches the player through hushed environments and silent emotions, ICO really is a minimalist dream.
Written by Daniel L. Mattock & Edited by Thea Jowsey-Cavanagh
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