Ori and the Blind Forest (2015)

Another game I apparently never wrote a review for! Just did a replay, and it's still one of the greatest metroidvanias ever created. Amazing level design, art, story, music, abilities, platforming, puzzles, exploration, map... Basically everything is 10/10

The onlyyy thing that is pretty bad is the combat. It's essentially button mashing, though there is some platforming strategy with dodging around and parrying projectiles. It still just feels like mostly an afterthought, which the sequel greatly improved.

But there is something about the first game that is stronger than the sequel too. The simplicity and the platforming particularly, whereas the second game took notes from Hollow Knight and tried to do everything at once. I love it, but I also really enjoy this game for what its strengths are.

Everybody should play this game at least once.

The first Ori entry is a visually breathtaking Metroidvania that balances emotional storytelling with demanding gameplay. From the very beginning, the game captures attention with its hand-painted art style, rich color palette, and fluid animations, creating an enchanting forest that feels alive. Accompanied by a deeply moving orchestral score, the presentation alone sets a high standard for immersion and atmosphere.

The MC is called Ori, a small guardian spirit, and Sein, the “light and eyes” of the Spirit Tree, on a journey to restore balance to a forest consumed by decay. Themes of love, loss, sacrifice, and hope drive the narrative, and the opening sequence in particular is both heart-wrenching and memorable, immediately establishing an emotional connection to the world and its characters. It is impressive how the story is able to convey so many things even though it has very little dialog sequences.

Gameplay focuses heavily on precision platforming, with Ori gradually acquiring new abilities that expand traversal options, from wall climbing and double jumps to the ingenious “bash” mechanic that lets you ricochet off enemies and projectiles. These upgrades not only add variety but also encourage exploration, as hidden secrets and upgrades are scattered throughout the interconnected map. Escape sequences replace traditional boss fights, delivering fast-paced challenges where survival depends on flawless execution.

Combat, while secondary to movement, is simple yet effective, relying on spirit flame attacks and clever use of Ori’s mobility. Though compared to other games of the similar genre, the combat is very limited and not really the main point. The game can be unforgiving, with tricky jumps and punishing sequences that may require multiple retries, but its manual save system provides flexibility for you to set your own checkpoints.

Ultimately, this title stands out as more than just a metroidvania platformer. It’s a heartfelt experience that marries artistry with challenge, rewarding perseverance with moments of pure wonder. For people who appreciate beautiful design and demanding yet fair gameplay, it remains one of the most memorable indie titles of its generation. This is truly one of the best games of all time, on each and every aspect it tries to convey, it is a must-play if you like indies to any extent, and a fan-favorite of the metroidvania genre.

Gaming can be a funny thing. Sometimes you look at a title, it has perfect reviews and someone describes to you what it is. You think, "I like those types of games" and maybe you ignore it for a while, forget about it, and randomly stumble across it without knowing WHAT you are actually going to play. This is Ori and the Blind Forest for me.

This game is a Metroid style game. I refrain from saying "Metroidvania" because I feel like there isn't really anything "Vania" about it. It feels like playing Super Metroid again, but in a different (and stunning) style. So you play as Ori, in a classic setting of maze like environment, navigating obstacles, hidden walls, finding new powers and back tracking to get stronger and progress to find even more stuff. Classic Metroid stuff here. There is a story here, loosely I feel but a story all the same. Sometimes I think I am too dumb to fully understand exactly what the story in games like this is supposed to be, or maybe it is just weak. I can't really describe the full intent of the writing, but forest is in distress, angry owl chasing Ori, must save the day. Feels good man. You don't play it for the story though.

As in all games of this style, you start out weak and powerless. You die easily and have to learn how to optimize your skill set to progress. As you get stronger, you become this fluid, unstoppable force, where if you get good enough you can run through the game in a fluid dance of specialty moves, where you are indestructible. Ori controls amazingly, and the controls are incredibly intuitive. Sometimes just running from one area to another feels like treat with how smoothly you can seamlessly transition between areas, putting your platforming skills to the test.

This game is beautiful. Like absolutely stunning. The environments are amazingly designed, with bright colours and a subtle, powerful soundtrack to accompany it. Part of what makes it such a treat to play is running through the environments, which I can only imagine are hand made.

However, let's get one thing straight here. This game is hard. Considering it was designed with speed running in mind (the flow plus having a one life challenge game mode), this ain't gonna be a cutesy cake walk. Your platforming and movement has to be on point and you have to learn how to finesse your abilities to survive. You are going to need some dedication to get through this, however it is incredibly fun to play, easy to learn, and a very fair game that is beatable. Also, there is some serious replay value here just like old NES or SNES games for those that want to speed run, or have a yearly re-visit to run through the game, similar to how you would revisit a Super Metroid, SMW, Castlevania or your favorite SCHMUP.

It is more or less like a Metroidvania. You have your world in 2D with a lot of places, paths and secrets. To go through some of this paths and get this secrets you need some skills you will get advancing in the story.

Beautiful music, art, scenarios, ... and quite challenging in some parts if you play in a hard level.

I totally recommend it if you like this kind of games.

Gameplay: 4/5 Story: 4/5 Presentation: 4.5/5 Difficulty: 3/ 5

Basis:

Story= plot progression, intrigue, characters, world

Gameplay= Mechanics, gameplay options (freedom), repetition, goals, difficulty

Presentation= graphics, animation, environment/character design, Art direction, Script, music

The game is very beautiful with mixed 2d and 3d elements. Mix that with a majestic soundtrack and you are certainly in for a fun journey that is very personal and meaningful. Though only two characters have "dialogue" there is a good amount of depth to the characters. You understand their motivations and want things to work out for them. The gameplay is ever-changing and you never feel like you are doing the same thing for too long as the game continues to add new mechanics. It can be a bit challenging to do some platforming and puzzles, but as long as you keep trying you will soon get used to the repeating the section of a level and it becomes second nature to get through the levels.

Ori and the Blind forest is an exploration platformer that is whimsical, gorgeous, and most of the time fun. I'd say that the difficulty of this game is one notch higher than most modern games in the genre (Guacamelee, Axiom Verge, Dust: An Elysian Tale), which is either a good or bad thing depending on what you're looking for.

Ori and the Blind Forest is an undeniably gorgeous game with bright foregrounds, lush backgrounds, and an enchanting score. None of the game's locations are visually boring, and even dark, abandoned ruins find ways to shine. Ori hops and dashes through these places with a tight set of sound effects, but I have to admit that I changed the sound settings while playing. I pulled the effects slider back a bit so I could hear the music the entire time. I suggest anyone else do that, as those tracks aren't something you'll want to miss.

The game reads like an old fairy tale, with a tear-jerker beginning and a heartwarming conclusion. The story isn't deep or filled with particularly strong characters, but instead shines on implications. The main antagonist is given a very human reason for being the antagonist. Enemies you'll meet along the way have changes of heart. While these changes are quick and shallow, keeping in mind the fable aspect, they work to the game's benefit. Ori and the Blind Forest feels less like a big, full story, and more like one being told to you at bedtime. It skips some of the minor details and character building and instead opts for more dramatic and pointed beats. For a short exploration platformer clocking in at around 7 hours (80% item completion by the end) a story such as this works so much better than the slogs of modern games forcing bad stories where they don't belong.

Playing the game is nothing special, really. If you've played a game in the genre within the past 4 years you've seen most of what Ori and the Blind Forest has to offer. You'll progress through the game, having to backtrack once you've collected necessary moves (like double jump) to collect all of the items and open up new passageways. The one mechanic that stands out is the Soul Link ability. There are very, very few checkpoints in the game, often happening just before a boss encounter or “point of no return.” Not to worry, though. Just create a Soul Link and you'll have your very own custom made checkpoint. The move is on a cooldown timer (albeit short) and uses some of your energy, which can only be replenished by blue pickups. Only a couple times in the early games did I find myself without the necessary energy to create a Soul Link, and when I was short on energy it was easy to find some more to pick up. More often than not, early on, my issue actually came from remembering to use the ability in the first place. I'd die in some way, only to find out that I hadn't placed a Soul Link recently. After making that mistake a few too many times I wizened up and started liberally using it and never had the issue again.

The game can be a little tricky at parts, requiring some decent mastery of platformer mechanics. As such, I wouldn't recommend this as someone's first game in the genre, as it may seem to difficult at points. I have to admit that there were some sequences that were frustratingly difficult. Unsurprisingly, they were all involving sequences in which you couldn't create a Soul Link. There are a few times in the game where you need to flee the place you're in. The first such occasion is when you're fleeing upwards as water is rising. This really frustrated me, and put a real damper on my fun for a while. The final sequence I found so irritating that it ruined my view of the ending. I was too fiery from dying 300 times in a row (and eventually having to look up what to do at the very last obstacle) to enjoy it. Those spikes in difficulty, however infrequent, are truly brought the game down some notches.

Ori and Blind Forest is a good game that occasionally gets in its own way. If you're a fan of the genre play it. If you think it's beautiful, play it but be cautious of the difficulty at points. If you like the music buy the soundtrack. If you don't like the music you're a monster.

This might be one of the best platformers I've ever played. And I do like platform games.

I've picked it up on a sale without knowing almost anything about it and I was blown away.

This game has remarkable visual appearance and the sound score is a gem in itself. The controls are tight and responsive - it's a real pleasure to play this game. Levels are well designed and the character progression is pretty nice. You unlock different moves as you gain experience and unlock new moves that allow you to access places you were unable without them.

The story is pretty good. There is not much dialog but the ambience and the general atmosphere is really good. This is not the easiest game though and some elements involve quite the skill but when you succeed it's very satisfying. And I do think the rather hard difficulty is a good thing in this instance.

As a whole - this game is pretty close to perfection.

Few forces in gaming are more powerful than word of mouth. If the discussion turns on you, look out, because you are in for a proverbial shitstorm of trouble. Bad word of mouth can be largely to blame for the massive head start the Ps4 got over the Xbox One when both consoles launched. It's an immense force, and that's why a game that generates a burst of positive word of mouth is really heading places, and usually for good reason.

Enter Ori and the Blind Forest, a game that I'd heard nigh an unflattering word about heading into my time with it. A game that had been described with exuberant adjectives like stunning, heartfelt, and gorgeous. With a dearth of quality AAA releases we as a community can sometimes get a little hyperbolic when we get too excited about a smaller game, so did Ori live up to the hype?

In my experience, yes. Absolutely. Ori and the Blind Forest is aesthetically nothing short of a work of art. The visuals are mind-blowing. The music is fantastic, and the gameplay is vastly more varied and interesting that I had imagined. On top of all that, Ori starts you off with a prologue sequence that will have you nearly in tears and completely hooked emotionally before you've even really started playing.

Prepare your feelings for a punch in the gut.

When talking to others about this game I've heard many comparisons, most commonly to Super Meat Boy, Dust: An Elysian Tale, and Castlevania/Metroid. All those comparisons have definite merit. All platformers going forward will always be compared to Meat Boy as they rightfully should. Meat Boy set the standard for control tightness in a platformer. Does Ori control as tight as Meat Boy? Absolutely not, but there's a lot of wiggle room there. A game's controls can be worse than Meat Boy and still pretty good. Ori's controls are almost always as responsive as you need them to be. They're not perfect, in many cases I found myself over-shooting very short distance jumps, but they're pretty good overall. It's not really a fair comparison either, because there's much more variety in Ori's gameplay than their was in Meat Boy.

In Meat Boy largely you ran, sprinted, jumped, and slid. That's it. It did those things perfectly, but it did only those things. Ori and the Blind Forest is far more complex than I imagined. Over the course of the game you learn to double-jump, wall climb, wall run, stomp, launch, float, and several more. Once given a new power you're almost immediately required to put it to practical use in very difficult sequences. For all its gorgeous looks, touching story, and cutesy looking characters, this game is actually pretty darn difficult. Things get pretty challenging pretty quickly and only escalate from there.

Sometimes the floor really is lava.

The Catlevania/Metroid comparisons are fairly obvious, this is a classic case of Metroidvania. You go through areas the best you can, but there are doors, ledges, and collectibles you can't reach on your first trip through. Only after having gained a new power or ability will you be able to go back and get everything or access a new area. It's handled well here. They make you work for valuable upgrades to your health and energy, but putting points in certain areas of the ability tree can make tracking these upgrades down much easier. The art is so unique in this game as well that you never feel like you're going through the same bland areas over and over again.

The art is the main thing that reminds me of Dust: An Elysian Tail. It has a similar style, and the fidelity of both almost took my breath away. It's just so sharp and so vibrant. This is certainly an early contender for best looking game of the year, and I wouldn't hesitate to nominate is as one of the best looking games of the decade. Another aspect it shares with Dust is having a rather innocent looking setting, but underneath lies a deep and unexpectedly dark story. I won't get into specifics, but it definitely blurs the lines between good and evil and really makes you consider the motives and justifications of all the characters. It also has some absolutely heart breaking moments.

I have a lot of complicated feelings towards this owl.

In the end, control responsiveness are what holds Ori and the Blind Forest back. It sounds almost ridiculous saying that, because the controls are pretty darn good. When I say they hold the game back, all I mean is they knock it down from Game of the Year favourite to only a serious contender. The story seems like it's missing a couple small pieces to make it feel a bit more complete and the controls are only very good and not phenomenal. Those are the biggest complaints I can make about Ori, a game that I absolutely recommend you give a try.