Ico is different to the other members of his village. Through the inheritance of a set of random genetics - the legacy of generations of his people - Ico has been born with a set of horns jutting from his head. Viewed as a curse by the other villagers, Ico is fated to fulfil an unhappy destiny whereby he is taken from his home at the age of 12 and banished to an eerie fortress to die of hunger and cold.

But Ico has a strong spirit and innate sense of survival. Both inquisitive and industrious, Ico has enough strength for two people - it is this stamina that must ensure his route to freedom.