No, I cannot explain it to you. It\'s beyond my comprehension, but something about this game, just the demo and I\'ve never been big on demos, speaks volumes to me. I think it\'s the character interaction, the immediate immersion into a completely alien setting, the fact that there\'s absolutely no flash/glitter/what-have-you to set the stage or advance the story. It just feels personal from the very beginning.
This is my opinion and I apologize if it mimics anyone else\'s answer, I kinda skipped ahead. Anyway, no, I can\'t explain it to you, I only know that ICO is a great game...