I personally liked the game, but don't believe you have to like a game just because it has a lot of praise. I don't really care for games tons of people LOVE (FF6, 9, Monster Hunter, etc). It just isn't the game for you and thats fine. Don't force yourself to like a game you can't get into.

If you dont like it yet, forget it, its not your style then.
To be honest, i liked it in ps2 times, but, when i bought the reastered version, i sold it after boss 3 or so. It was great back then, as it was different, but now, its over...

In my opinion, it's a great game that is marred by a lot of technical shortcomings. This comes in the form of its horrendous frame rate on the PS2 version and awful motion blur in all the versions.

Additionally, the controls are quite a bit wonky. While I realize why Team Ico went for purposefully making the game difficult to control at times, it's still off-putting at first. I will admit that it's a game that I could never beat, but it's definitely one that I felt had a great deal of character and depth.

It is one of my favourite games and has one of the best soundtracks in my opinion. The game certainly is not for everyone though and it sure has some problems with the controls. You either quit or you get used to it. I like that it stripped off all the filler npc and just epic boss battles as that fits the tone of the game so well.

On the other hand i didn't enjoy Ico. I played both in the HD collection too and i was struggling to complete it but i eventually did.

The HD collection is based on the European version of the game. They had less grip (stamina) in the PS2 iteration of the game. 

The game is as much a game as it is an experience. I would classify it as an "experience" myself.

God yes! The controls and camera are terrible! I have never played past the 3rd boss so I have complete feels for what you are going through.

If the first one didn't instill you with a sense of wonder the likes of which you haven't felt since first booting up Ocarina of Time, give up. It's just not for you.

I hear ya, I have played many Sony games based on hype. Even the ones I like are over rated.

SotC is an interesting game, but it gets tedious rather quickly. This is the kinda game I played while listening to podcasts.

Thank you! I tried to love Shadow and Ico but found them boring as hell. The game for me was wander through a completely barren and dead world, devoid of color and substance, to kill giant QTE battles that go on for far too long, with the most annoying controls I have ever used.

I can understand the love people have for the game, and when they rereleased it, I was hoping for better presentation and controls, but all I got was shinier graphics.

Don't get me started on super escort quest, I mean Ico.