History VideoGame / TeamIcoSeries

The Team ICO series is a trilogy of games featuring a SharedUniverse and intuitive ActionAdventure gameplay design. It's not a series in the sense of the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' or ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series, and is more of a universe that three stand-alone games take place in. The games focus on adventurers in barren worlds, working as a team - with one player controlling a hero and the companion controlled by the game, accomplishing things together that they could not do alone. There tends to be few usable objects, and the main character's inventory is highly limited. Most of the puzzles involve creative use of the nearby terrain in an intuitive way. Dialogue is sparse, and the story of each game may seem very minimal, but on later analysis opens itself up to many interpretations.

* ''VideoGame/{{ICO}}'' (2001, Platform/PlayStation2): A boy with horns is imprisoned in an ancient castle. There he meets a girl who is also imprisoned there. The two attempt to escape from the castle.

* ''VideoGame/TheLastGuardian'' (2016, Platform/PlayStation4): A boy goes on a journey with a (colossus-like) horned gryphon and together they mature and become friends.

Although the Team ICO itself would dissolve during the development of ''The Last Guardian'', Fumito Ueda, the head of the team, as well as several key staff members would go on to form a new studio called [=GenDesign=], which would head the completion of ''The Last Guardian's'' development. A new game by them, in the spirit of the Team ICO trilogy, is in the works, with [[https://www.thegamer.com/fumito-ueda-gendesign-next-game-reveal-2023/ hopes for it to be officially unveiled in 2023]].

* ''VideoGame/{{ICO}}'' (2001, UsefulNotes/PlayStation2): A boy with horns is imprisoned in an ancient castle. There he meets a girl who is also imprisoned there. The two attempt to escape from the castle.
* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' (2005, UsefulNotes/PlayStation2): A young man goes on a journey with his trusty horse to revive a girl. He must slay a series of giants called Colossi to do so.
* ''VideoGame/TheLastGuardian'' (2016, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4): A boy goes on a journey with a (colossus-like) horned gryphon and together they mature and become friends.

** In ''TheLastGuardian'', the boy finds a shield that casts a ray of light, Trico fires light from his tail, the armors are possessed by living shadows, and [[spoiler: the Master of the Valley shoots strange light runes and covers itself in liquid darkness]].

** In ''TheLastGuardian'', the boy finds a shield that casts a ray of light, Trico fires light from his tail, the armors are possessed by living shadows, and [[spoiler: TheMasterOfTheValley shoots strange light runes and covers itself in liquid darkness]].

* OncePerEpisode: All the games have at least one sequence that includes RuinsForRuinsSake.