Remake Request

There is a novelization of the game though it differs
somewhat in terms of scope and plot

These days I find myself a bit weary of all the remasters, remakes, and reimaginings that dominate big budget media.  Even so, if someone were to ask me what video game I'd like to see get this special kind of treatment there is one title I can think of.  It's an old PS2 title called ICO.

I used to think the correct pronunciation was "eye-ko" or "ai-ko", but based on the original Japanese spelling it appears to be "ee-ko".  Anyway, it's the first in a spiritual trilogy of sorts.  The second entry is Shadow of the Colossus, a game that has been remade three times (on PS3, PS4 and PS5), while the final entry is a PS4 exclusive called The Last Guardian.  ICO, on the other hand, came out not long after the PS2 launched.  It also has some truly abysmal box art for the North American version.  As for the game itself, ICO is a 3D puzzle platformer with some light combat sprinkled in.  What makes it stand out from games made in the same vein is the attention paid to movement and animation.

The game director for the entire trilogy, Fumito Ueda, has (in his own words) had a life-long fascination with kinesthetics.  As such, the protagonist (a boy with a pair of horns sprouting out of his head) moves in an unusually realistic manner.  He will throw up his hands to stop himself from slamming in to walls.  He'll slide and stumble if he suddenly tries to change his direction of movement.  Even pushing, pulling, lifting and falling has a weightiness that the boy clumsily exudes in a believably adolescent way.  Of course, all this has been done in other titles such as Prince of Persia, but what really makes it special in ICO is the addition of a second major character.

As the fairytale-like story goes, all horned boys born in the region are taken as prisoners under escort to a massive mist-shrouded castle on an ocean coastline.  Here they are transported by a small boat to a sea cave entrance and brought up through tunnels to a sacrificial vault.  Fifty-four stone sarcophagus-like containers line the sides of the chamber.  The boy is placed in one, but not long after being sealed away an earthquake sets him free.  His captors have already made a hasty exit so he's presumably all by himself in the castle.  However, after doing some exploring he happens upon a taller (and probably older) girl locked up in a metal cage.  After freeing her, he finds that she seems to be only half-aware of what's happening...like she is being held partially in a magical trance or daze (more on that later).

The Queen claims that Yorda is her daughter, but it is
unclear if this literal or metaphorical

If led by the hand she will follow, but she can also be drawn to the boy by beckoning and the call of his voice.  The difference in movement is interesting to contrast.  The boy often skitters about almost haphazardly, while the girl moves in a much slower and more deliberate manner.  When the two hold hands there's almost a tug-o-war between the characters that must have been a real challenge for the animators to get right.  Naturally, these two want to escape their imprisonment together - each having abilities the other lacks.  However, as it turns out, they aren't alone in the castle.  Worse still, these other inhabitants aren't friendly either.

At first these foes only appear small in size and few in number.  They are shadows of dark vapor given form, each with a pair of pale glowing eyes.  The horned boy only has a stick, or (or later on) a somewhat more formidable sword with which to fend them off.  Blows from weapons don't seem to hurt them so much as dissipate their physical presence until they vanish, eyes and all.  Their appearance is always heralded by the opening of one or more dark portals in the floor which they seek to drag the girl through.  The boy, to them, is only ever a mild annoyance, avoided or swatted aside (by the larger shadow monsters that come later).  As their numbers increase so does their size, and some begin to have bat-like wings, tails or even horns of their own.  Later in the game it is reveled that these creatures are the spirits of previously sacrificed horned boys.  They have been enthralled by the ruler of the castle, a sorceress-queen.  She too lacks a physical form.  Nonetheless, there's some interesting implications regarding her appearance.

The ending of ICO is fairly ambigious to the point that
Fumito Ueda doesn't consider his interpretation
strictly canon 

For simplicity's sake, I'm going to mention that our boy/girl duo are named "Ico" and "Yorda" respectively.  Neither can speak the other's language, though the queen seems to be fluent in both.  Yorda is very pale from head to toe and so is the face of the queen.  However, atop her head and below the neckline she has a shadowy form similar to the monsters that serve her.  It also seems that her power is tied to stone.  The castle has some rather impossible looking architecture which (understandably) collapses once the queen suffers an untimely demise.  During her climatic boss battle she emits waves of energy that can turn the boy to stone.  Incidentally, this magical petrification happens if Yorda is ever dragged through one of the dark portals by a shadow creature.  The implication here seems to be that Yorda is providing a degree of magical protection to Ico.  Between the two, I'd say Yorda is the more powerful which is why the queen is focused on keeping her in an inhibited state.  Conversely, Ico is an amusement to the sorceress or at worst a mild nuisance.  This underestimation is of course the big mistake that proves to be her downfall.

So, after spending all that time reminiscing on ICO we finally come to the question of a remake.  The game was given a slight upgrade on the PS3 with higher resolution, a steadier framerate and some improvements to the AI.  A few puzzles were also modified.  Obviously, all that is well and good, but what benefit would a full-on remake bring?  Simply put, the environments could receive a massive visual upgrade both in terms of textures and set dressing.  The castle could also be shown more fully and explored seamlessly, rather than having to be somewhat divided into self-secluded mini-areas.  One thing I hope any would-be designer leaves well alone is the stone sofas.  They act as save points, but can only be used if both Ico and Yorda sit side-by-side on one of them.  The music accompanying the save menu is also quite nice and, in a way that is hard for me to describe, embodies the overall vibe of the game.  Hilariously, loading in a saved game from the main menu shows that these two have been taking a nap (presumably in the player's absence).  Personally, I have a hard time imagining a couch made of stone being comfortable enough for sleeping, but I suppose if you are tired enough just about anything will suffice.