Video games live and die by popular opinion, attention, and no small measure of luck. Some games, despite their excellence, could be overshadowed by a different one from a more popular franchise and/or developer.
Meanwhile, some games were just so unlucky to not become popular during their initial release despite featuring the best a video game could offer.
One of those games is a Japanese PlayStation 2 game called Ico.
Ico History, Gameplay
Ico doesn't have a HUD that shows Ico's health and position, but its absence lets you appreciate the game's graphics and world more.
Ico is an action-adventure platforming game developed by Japan Studio and Team Ico and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 in 2001, per Forbes. The game centers on the titular character Ico, a young village boy shunned by his village because of his bull horns, as he goes on a quest with a mysterious girl called Yorda to protect her from an evil queen.
Not much goes on in the game. According to IGN, Ico is a short, quiet, and uneventful game with close to zero action. The game has mediocre combat and platforming mechanics that aren't good enough to write home about.
To be specific, the game's combat mechanics consist of a single but simple three-piece combo for the entire game, while the enemies the game offers are the same ones players will encounter in the game's first few hours. Its platforming sequences aren't any good either: there aren't many exciting or difficult jumps or situations where the player must reach a certain point in the game under a timer.
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There is a saving grace, though: according to Retromaggedon, the game's puzzle-solving and exploration were melded together in "an interesting manner." Though the game involves many of the usual activities in puzzle-solving, such as lighting a torch or blowing something up, many of its puzzles have a unique twist and great design for players to enjoy.
However, what the game lacks in these departments, it more than makes up in the experience it offers, or more specifically, its graphics and world. It is similar to games like Journey, Flower, and The Last Guardian; these games should show players what Ico offers: its graphics enhance the game's world, allowing players to lose themselves in it.
Ico Reception, Sales Figures & Failure
What would you have thought Ico would be about if you saw this at your local video game store?
Despite its average performance gameplay-wise, critics and gamers welcomed Ico with open arms. Metacritic gave the game a Metascore of 90 based on 59 critic reviews, thanks to the game's story, pacing, and graphics. IGN gave the game a 9.4/10 due to its graphics and world, which serves as a reward for solving its simple puzzles.
Despite these great reviews, the game didn't sell well because of one mistake: its cover artwork. Gamers who first saw the game probably assumed that Ico features the story of a Viking child who lived in a windmill and attacked passers-by with a piece of two-by-four while his mother looked on, waiting to die.
Yasuhide Kobayashi, Sony Japan Studio's vice president at the time, explained that Ico would have sold more if it had a different cover artwork on its packaging. "In fact, on the internet, many people have said that the Japanese version was better," Kobayashi added.
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