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| Wrong kind of companion |
People look at the Team Ico games and try to find connections to prove that they're all in the same universe. They'll talk about boys with horns, art style, etc. There is, however, a common thread in the gameplay which I feel is what makes the stories in these games so powerful, despite the lack of dialogue. Each game features a companion. In this instance, a companion is a character that stays by the main character's side throughout the majority of the game.
Why would they make all of their games this way? I think it's because it really has a powerful effect on the story. In ICO, your goal is to escape from the castle with Yorda, the daughter of the queen of the castle. The Queen plans to use Yorda to extend her own life. Yorda is mostly useless, only occasionally being able to help by magically activating certain doors. When plalying ICO, I felt a strong need to protect Yorda as if she were my younger sister. That's a bond that I never have with the main character of a game, who I'm used to seeing die. That's one reason that I, as a player, got pulled into ICO's story. Yorda's constant presence and vulnerability made me want to protect her, giving me a stronger connection to the universe and its events.
