Video games usually try too hard. They shove waypoints in your face, drown you in inventory menus, and scream plot points at you through endless radio chatter. Then there is Fumito Ueda. If you’ve ever played Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, you know that silence can be louder than an explosion. These two games didn’t just define the PlayStation 2 era; they basically invented a specific type of "gaming melancholy" that developers have been trying—and mostly failing—to copy for over twenty years.
Honestly, it’s kinda weird how well they hold up. We’re talking about software that originally ran on hardware with less RAM than a modern toaster. Yet, the emotional gut-punch of losing your horse or the simple, tactile feeling of holding a girl's hand while running through a sun-bleached castle feels more "next-gen" than most $100 million AAA titles today.
The Design by Subtraction Philosophy
Most developers ask, "What can we add?" Ueda asked, "What can I rip out?" This is what critics call "Design by Subtraction."
In Ico, you don’t have a skill tree. You don’t have a map. You have a stick, a boy with horns, and a girl named Yorda who speaks a language you can’t understand. The genius is in the haptic feedback. When you hold the R1 button, you are physically holding her hand. If you let go, she’s vulnerable. It’s a mechanical representation of companionship that feels more real than any cinematic cutscene. You aren't just playing a game; you’re responsible for someone. It’s stressful. It’s beautiful.
Shadow of the Colossus took this minimalism and applied it to a boss rush. But calling them "bosses" feels wrong. They’re more like moving pieces of architecture. There are no towns. No NPCs. Just you, your horse Agro, and sixteen giants.
The world is empty. It’s supposed to be.
Why the emptiness matters
People complain about "empty worlds" in modern games like Starfield or Ubisoft towers, but in Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, the emptiness is the point. It creates a sense of profound isolation. When you finally encounter a Colossus, the scale is terrifying because you’ve spent twenty minutes riding through a silent valley.
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I remember the first time I fought Gaius—the third Colossus. He’s this massive knight on a floating platform. You have to trick him into hitting a metal plate to break his armor. There’s no "detective vision" to show you what to do. You just have to look at the world and think. It treats you like an adult.
The Moral Weight of the Colossus
Here is something most people get wrong about Shadow of the Colossus: you aren't the hero. Not really.
Every time Wander kills a Colossus, the music shifts. It isn't a triumphant "Level Up" fanfare. It’s a funeral dirge. Black tendrils erupt from the creature and impale you. Wander looks worse after every fight. He gets paler. His hair darkens. You’re watching a man sell his soul in real-time.
Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creator of Elden Ring and Dark Souls, famously cited Ico as the game that made him realize the potential of the medium. You can see it in his work—that "environmental storytelling" where the architecture tells the story better than any dialogue. The bridge in Shadow of the Colossus is a mile long for a reason. It emphasizes the distance between the world of the living and the Forbidden Lands. It makes the stakes feel heavy.
A technical miracle on the PS2
We have to talk about the tech. Ico and Shadow of the Colossus pushed the PS2 to its breaking point. Shadow used a primitive version of HDR rendering and motion blur that shouldn't have been possible in 2005. The frame rate famously chugged, sometimes dipping into the teens, but strangely, that added to the dreamlike quality. It felt like the console was struggling to contain the sheer scale of the Colossi.
When the Bluepoint Games remake came out for the PS4, it was gorgeous, sure. But some purists argue it lost the "haze." The original had this bloom-heavy, over-exposed look that made everything feel like a fading memory.
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The Unseen Connection
Is Ico a sequel to Shadow of the Colossus? Or a prequel?
Team Ico is notoriously vague. But the ending of Shadow basically confirms that Wander is the progenitor of the "horned boys" lineage seen in Ico. The curse—or gift—of the Dormin is passed down. It’s a cycle of sacrifice.
This connection isn't handed to you on a silver platter. You have to earn it by paying attention to the horns on the baby at the end of the game. It’s subtle storytelling that respects the player’s intelligence. It’s why we’re still talking about these games two decades later while we’ve forgotten the plots of most games that came out last year.
Why Modern Games Struggle to Replicate This
Modern games are too loud. They’re afraid you’ll get bored, so they give you a dopamine hit every thirty seconds. Shadow of the Colossus is comfortable letting you sit in silence for ten minutes.
That silence is where the reflection happens. It’s where you start to wonder if you’re actually the villain. It’s where you bond with your horse. Agro’s AI was specifically designed to be slightly disobedient because "real horses aren't motorcycles." Sometimes she won't turn perfectly. Sometimes she gets spooked. That makes the final bridge sequence—if you know, you know—hurt a hundred times more.
Cultural Impact and the "Games as Art" Debate
Whenever people argue about whether video games are art, these two titles are the first ones thrown into the ring. Roger Ebert famously said games couldn't be art, and fans immediately pointed to Ico.
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The games don't rely on tropes from movies or books. They use things only games can do—control, agency, and physical presence—to make you feel something. You aren't watching a boy save a girl; you are the one keeping her safe. You aren't watching a giant fall; you are the one who felt the vibration in the controller when it hit the ground.
How to Experience These Games Today
If you want to play them now, you have a few options.
- The PS4/PS5 Remake of Shadow of the Colossus: This is the most accessible. It looks incredible. Bluepoint Games did a masterful job, though some say the atmosphere is a bit "cleaner" than the original.
- The PS3 HD Collection: This is the only way to play both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus in one package with improved resolution but the original art assets. It’s arguably the "purest" way to see Ueda's vision without the modern sheen.
- Emulation: If you have a beefy PC, PCSX2 can run the original PS2 versions at 4K. It’s a bit of a setup, but seeing the original Ico with sharp edges is a trip.
Final Practical Takeaways for Players
If you’re diving into these for the first time, don't rush.
- Put the phone away. These games rely on immersion. If you’re checking TikTok while riding across the Forbidden Lands, you’re missing the point.
- Listen to the soundscape. The wind, the chirping of birds, and the way the music swells only when a Colossus appears are all deliberate.
- In Ico, pay attention to Yorda's animations. She isn't just an escort mission. She points things out. She reacts to the environment. She’s your guide as much as you are hers.
- In Shadow, explore the edges. There are secret fruits that increase your health and lizard tails that boost your stamina. You don't need them, but they give you a reason to inhabit the space.
The legacy of Team Ico isn't just in the games they made, but in the "empty" spaces they left behind. They taught us that a game doesn't need a thousand icons on a map to be world-class. It just needs a soul.
Next Steps for the Curious Player:
Check your library for the 2018 remake of Shadow of the Colossus. It is often included in the PlayStation Plus Extra catalog. For Ico, you’ll likely need to hunt down a physical copy for PS2/PS3 or look into the premium streaming tier of PS Plus, as it hasn't received a modern native port yet. Start with Shadow if you want spectacle; start with Ico if you want a tight, emotional puzzle experience.