Ico 2017

Ico, a horned boy, is seized by a group of warriors and dragged into an abandoned, desolate castle. He is sealed inside a stone coffin as part of a ritual sacrifice, a grim fate that looms over him. A sudden tremor shakes the tomb, toppling the stone lid, and he miraculously escapes into the dim corridors of the forsaken stronghold.

As he wanders the echoing halls, he encounters Yorda, a captive girl who speaks a language unfamiliar to him. Yorda is mysteriously tethered to the castle itself, and she possesses a strange, almost magical ability to unlock gates—gates forged from statues that bear a striking resemblance to Ico—with a pure white energy that flows from her. Yet, despite this power, she cannot defend herself physically, leaving her vulnerable in a world full of danger and dark forces. The勇 faced by Ico becomes clear: protect Yorda, guide her through the castle, and keep her safe from the lurking shadows that stalk the stone corridors.

Together they navigate the labyrinth, with Ico stepping in to shield Yorda from the shadow-like creatures that emerge from the gloom. Their partnership deepens as they push forward, moving toward a bridge that promises a path to the outside world and freedom from imprisonment. When they reach the bridge, a chilling revelation unfolds—the Queen, the castle’s enigmatic ruler, appears and declares to Yorda that, as her daughter, she cannot leave the fortress. The tension intensifies as, during a later attempt to cross, the bridge buckles and splits, forcing the two apart. Yorda strains to reach Ico, but the Queen’s power intervenes, and Ico tumbles from the narrow span, losing consciousness as the world darkens around him.

When Ico awakens, he finds himself beneath the castle and makes his way back to the upper reaches. There he discovers a magic sword capable of dispelling the looming shadow creatures that haunt the halls. His quest shifts from mere escape to a desperate mission: he must confront the Queen after learning that Yorda has been turned to stone by her. In the throne room, the Queen reveals her plan to restart her life by seizing Yorda’s body. With resolve and the gleaming blade, Ico defeats the Queen, though the battle leaves him battered—his horns shattered and himself briefly unconscious as the castle begins to crumble around him.

Yet with the Queen’s death, the castle exerts its last, furious tremor, and the spell on Yorda is broken. A shadowy version of Yorda survives the destruction, carrying Ico from the collapsing fortress toward safety aboard a boat, and then propels him to drift ashore alone. Her final, untranslatable phrase “Nonomori” lingers as she watches him fade away from the castle’s edge.

Ico awakens on the sunlit shore to a ruined view of the distant castle, which now lies in ruins. Nearby, Yorda—still in her human form—has washed ashore. As she stirs and blinks awake, she smiles at Ico, signaling a quiet, hopeful ending to their perilous journey through shadow and stone.