ICO celebrates 20th anniversary with remastered soundtrack

ICO is one of the most well-regarded PlayStation 2 games of all time, with the console exclusive seeing long-term influence while elevating games in new ways. The 6th of December marked the ICOnic game’s 20th anniversary, and in celebration, the title’s emotional and evocative soundtrack has now been remastered.

As mentioned, ICO was first released 20 years ago, and so while the game's soundtrack holds up artistically, its technical specifications leave a lot to be desired. Taking advantage of newer technologies and this major milestone, the game’s soundtrack has now been re-released on music services in a remastered form.

While tech specs were not shared, the soundtrack does in many ways feel more full and is given greater depth to its soundscape. While a re-release of the game on modern hardware (or even a full-on remake) would be appreciated, the game’s soundtrack is one of its best features, and so this new release is welcome.

Alongside this remastered soundtrack, many of the industry’s biggest names discussed their own history with ICO. According to Naughty Dog’s co-president Neil Druckmann (as reported by Famitsu and translated by VGC) the game is “a true masterpiece in the history of video games,” adding that “The central mechanics (the hand-holding) and the design of the puzzles create a sense of bonding that can only be experienced in a video game” and concluding by saying “Ico is a source of inspiration and my favourite game of all time.”

Currently, the only way to play ICO is either on a PS2, or a PS3 through the remaster. The team’s other PS2 game – Shadow of the Colossus – saw a PS4 remake, so hopefully ICO is next. Until then, you can at least appreciate the game’s music.

KitGuru says: What do you think of ICO? What is your favourite game by the studio? Would you like to see a remake of ICO, or a remaster? Let us know down below.

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