Ico

Ico built a bond with Yorda by removing everything extra. Fumito Ueda used design by subtraction, cutting extras so the relationship grows through simple acts like holding Yorda's hand and protecting her.

Mark Brown cites this approach in his look at the games that shaped his thinking about design.

Ico's combat roles tell you the relationship without explaining it. Ico is invincible and Yorda is frail, and he saves her at every turn, so the player feels like a protector.

Ueda's The Last Guardian mirrors this by putting the player in the protected role. The boy is weak and Trico is invincible. Mark Brown: "The roles that the characters take in combat tell us so much of what we need to know about their relationship to one another."

Yorda doubles as the save point, which raises tension when she is taken. Yorda lets you save, so when she is taken you must play the next section in one go.