What do you think?
Ico was a 2001 PlayStation 2 platformer with puzzle elements and a meditative aesthetic then unknown to video games.
Mechanically, it resembled a 3D version of Prince of Persia, in which players had to solve puzzles and execute complex maneuvers with precision, but Ico‘s story involved a young boy, buried alive by his own villagers because of a physical abnormality (tiny horns).
Escaping the tomb, players explored a strange castle, eventually encountering a captive girl held prisoner by her mother. While the game’s basic maneuvers (jumping, climbing, pushing and pulling objects) were simple enough, the real challenge involved leading the girl by hand and protecting her from harm — left alone, she’d be attacked (and consumed) by sinister shadow creatures.