I haven't been able to buy a lot of the new releases throughout this year, so having this game right on release feels like quite the treat for me. It is my pleasure to talk about Ori and the Blind Forest today. BACKGROUND:
Ori and the Blind Forest was one of those games that I had on my radar for a while, but with the PC version being Windows-only, I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to ever play the game. Then last month, Nintendo announced that the game was getting ported to the Switch, and my hopes went from zero to a hundred. I have a fuckton of games that I want from this year alone, but I just had to put this one near the top of the list, and here we are. PLOT: Ori is a spirit of the forest of Nibel who was separated from the Spirit Tree (who also happens to be the narrator) at birth, and was adopted by a kindly creature named Naru. Ori has a good life with Naru, until Nibel is struck with disaster, and the entire forest falls into ruin. After a string of tragedies, Ori finds their way back to the Spirit Tree, and eventually meets a being of light named Sein. With Sein's help, Ori must venture to the most treacherous parts of Nibel restore balance to the forest. It sounds like a typical "hero's journey/save the world" plot if you go by my description, but there's a surprising amount of depth to it once you get into it. There's a lot of emotional, poignant moments throughout the story, and a lot of them are extremely spoiler-heavy (a few are tied to hefty plot twists), which is why I decided to keep things simple in my summary. The game is mostly focused on Ori and the whole "save the forest" angle, but the most meaningful, touching, and/or heartbreaking moments easily come from the few other characters Ori encounters throughout their journey. While the game does have the occasional cutscene, most of the storytelling is intertwined with the gameplay, with the Spirit Tree cutting in with its bit of narration (in text form) every so often. I like this approach a lot, because as much as I appreciate cinematic cutscenes, something about having control in story-specific gameplay sections feels more meaningful to me. For instance, in a certain story segment, Ori moves significantly slower to convey a certain emotion/state, and having that feeling translate to actual gameplay forged a deeper, more tangible connection between me and the game's story. PRESENTATION: Like most other people, the first thing about Ori and the Blind Forest that piqued my interest was its visuals, and boy howdy does it look absolutely gorgeous. I doubt I could do its picturesque, painterly backgrounds and scenery, dazzling light and particle effects, and polished character/creature models justice with mere words. Many of the game's locations look utterly mesmerizing, and its gameplay permits you to take in the sights for the majority of your time playing. There's also an impressive variety of locales, ranging from the desolate woods, treacherous mountains, hostile volcanoes, and other inhospitable environments. These locations do well in emphasizing that Nibel is in a bad way, and somewhat urge you to do your best to fix the forest. And though the forest itself may be dying, it is far from desolate, as the creepy designs of the many monsters you'll encounter also help sell that things have gone horribly wrong. As you go along the game and restore order throughout Nibel, many locations will start drastically changing. The toxic swamp, for example, becomes a more inviting lake, and other places like zero-visibility caverns go from completely hostile to relatively more welcoming. These restored sections of the forest look absolutely breathtaking, and getting to enjoy these visuals is a decent gameplay reward in itself. The difference is even expressed directly in gameplay, as previously pain-in-the-ass sections become a breeze to navigate once you've restored that area of the forest. If stunning graphics aren't enough, the game also boasts a phenomenal, fully orchestrated soundtrack. The tracks range from ambient music that complements a certain part of the map, to powerful melodies that accompany huge gameplay or story moments. Getting lost in the game's visuals alone is one thing, but paired with the music, you've got yourself a truly immersive package. The big moments of this game definitely look and feel the part, as pivotal moments feel like epic set pieces, complete with unique camera angles, intense music, and impressive effects that make liberal use of foreground elements. Some of the escape sequences Ori goes through have that death-defying feel gameplay-wise, and the presentation does a fantastic job achieving that feeling. GAMEPLAY: Ori and the Blind Forest is a Metroidvania, which means big, open-world map, a ton of exploring, backtracking, secrets, collectibles, and character progression. Let's break down how this game stands out from its brethren. First off, combat isn't much of a focus in this game. While yes, Ori does have an attack in the form of short-range homing projectiles (which is honestly not great), they lend themselves more to a defensive style, as it's often more manageable to retreat while firing instead of going on the offensive. Enemies (with a few exceptions) are placed less as shit you need to fight and more as shit you need to navigate around, and it's often less troublesome to just move past them (this is especially true for the ones that throw projectiles at you). Instead, the game leans more heavily into platforming and puzzle solving to challenge you throughout. There'll be a lot of block-pushing, switch-activating, cycle-based navigating, key-collecting, intense escape sequences, and more, and some of them can get pretty infuriating. It's nowhere near the level of, say, Celeste, but there are more than a few areas that require a bit of trial-and-error to figure out. For the most part, though, the puzzles are clever, and the platforming is smooth and satisfying. The game gets around this potential frustration with a mechanic called Soul Links. This allows you to save practically anywhere on the map, and if you die, it'll serve as a checkpoint. It's pretty much a godsend, especially in a game like this where some platforming sections can get brutal. However, you can't save everywhere (e.g. you can't save near enemies or hazards), and you can only save a limited amount of times (Soul Links cost energy to set), so it's not foolproof. Even then, this feature is a neat thing to have, and is quite the departure from the typical "save point" approach most Metroidvanias have. Of course, it's not a Metroidvania if you can't unlock special abilities. Most of them are traversal-based (wall jumps, climbing, double jumps, dashes, etc.), but some are actually useful in combat situations. One such example is the Charge Flame, which is a charge attack that not only deals massive damage to enemies, but can blow up specific areas. I like it when upgrades have more than one use, and many of the upgrades Ori gets are decently versatile. Ori also has access to a skill tree, which allows them to acquire a ton of useful passive buffs, such as enhancing the basic attack, adding the ability to breathe underwater, labeling secrets on the map, and more. These skills cost Ability Points, which are earned either by collecting enough Spirit Energy from killing enemies, or by acquiring Ability Cells hidden throughout the world. While we're on the subject of collectibles, you can also acquire health upgrades, energy upgrades, Spirit Energy pickups, as well as Map Stone Fragments, which will reveal the map of an area if brought to its respective Map Stone. They're all fairly useful, so going out of your way for a bunch of these items is often worth the trouble. Now, this is the Definitive Edition I picked up, and from what I understand, it adds an entirely new area, new upgrades, some quality-of-life changes (like fast travel), and difficulty options (including a "One Life" mode where if you're dead, there's no coming back). I see no reason to not pick up this version. If you think a Microsoft-published game on a Nintendo console is surreal, get this: you can earn Xbox Achievements with this game. As with Minecraft for the Switch, I can connect my Xbox Live account to the game, and all the achievements I earn while playing are added to my gamerscore. What a wild world we live in that I don't even own an Xbox and I have 1000+ gamerscore. VERDICT: Ori and the Blind Forest was another one of those games where I couldn't stop playing once I turned it on. I played it pretty much nonstop throughout yesterday and today, and just as quickly, I've 100% the damn thing. The story, visuals, and music reeled me in, and the decently challenging, but lenient Metroidvania action kept me hooked. It clocks in at around 10-15 hours (pretty standard for a Metroidvania), and I had a blast all throughout. I'd say that this game a total goddamn package. It gets nearly every aspect damn near close to perfect, and for that, I can't recommend it enough. Whether you're looking for story, a decent (but not too intense) challenge, or just something pretty to look at and listen to, Ori and the Blind Forest is the game to get. I'd also say that this is a great entry-level Metroidvania to play if you're looking to get into the genre, as the Soul Link mechanic helps balance out the more challenging aspects of the game. Get the Definitive Edition on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/387290/Ori_and_the_Blind_Forest_Definitive_Edition/ Listen to the amazing soundtrack on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7xPc1OsC2R0siZKMlzRBIo - end -
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Derryck
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