"Yoko Taro Hails ICO as Revolutionary Masterpiece in Gaming"

Yoko Taro, the visionary behind acclaimed titles like NieR: Automata and Drakengard, has shared his insights on how ICO, a 2001 PlayStation 2 game, revolutionized video games as an artistic medium. ICO quickly gained a cult following due to its minimalist design and storytelling without dialogue.

Taro emphasized the game's innovative core mechanic, where players guide Yorda by holding her hand, as a significant departure from traditional gameplay norms. He illustrated this point by stating, "If ICO had tasked you with carrying a suitcase the size of a girl instead, it would have been an incredibly frustrating experience." This mechanic challenged the conventional ideas of interactivity in games, making the act of leading another character a groundbreaking feature.

During the era of ICO's release, successful game design was often measured by how engaging the experience remained even when reduced to basic elements like cubes. However, ICO broke from this trend by focusing on emotional resonance and thematic depth rather than just mechanical innovation. Taro believes that ICO demonstrated that art and narrative could be more than just backgrounds to gameplay; they could be central to the entire experience.

Taro described ICO as "epoch-making," crediting it with altering the course of game development. He lauded the game for showing that video games could convey profound meanings through subtle interactions and atmospheric design.

In addition to ICO, Taro highlighted two other games that significantly influenced both him and the industry: Undertale by Toby Fox and LIMBO by Playdead. These games, he argued, expanded the expressive potential of interactive media, proving that video games could offer deep emotional and intellectual experiences.

For fans of Yoko Taro's work, his appreciation for these games sheds light on the creative influences behind his own projects. It also highlights the continuous evolution of video games as a dynamic and powerful art form.