Date played: February 17th
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 10/10
Ori and the Blind Forest has been on my radar for a long time, ever since it was announced really. It's a Metroidvania 2D action game starring a furry little white creature named Ori. From what I played, I think he got lost at some point, and was separated from his family. A large cuddly creature named Naru finds Ori in the forest and they quickly become great friends. Actually, it's more like a parent-child relationship, with Naru taking care of Ori. They gather food together, build little bridges and structures and seem to just be very happy together, as a new family.
At one point, there's something that happens, something unclear, and food becomes scarce. In a beautiful montage sequence, we see how they become hungrier and hungrier until one day, the Naru dies quietly. When Ori finds the dead body, it was a very sad and touching event... Ori is left with nothing, so the creature decides to go explore the world, in the hopes of finding food and a reason to live. Or at least, that's what I got out of it.
Unfortunately, without food, Ori is doomed. The creature collapses from exhaustion... Now this is where it got a bit confusing, but basically, the forest's spirit tree uses "magic" and the last of it's strength to revive Ori.
So that's pretty much how the game begins. After that, there wasn't much story, but there was a lot of cool stuff to play. I need to talk about how fucking beautiful everything is... The art is hand drawn and it really shows in the quality of the imagery. This game looks absolutely stunning. Plus, the music is spectacular, fitting the mood perfectly and giving the whole experience some atmosphere.
If you take away the presentation elements, what remains is a pure Metroidvania game that handles like a dream. It's got a nice big map, tons of hidden items, an talent tree, areas gated by abilities and monsters. It's almost like a whimsical version of Axiom Verge in a lot of ways. I played a bit more than an hour and have already found 3 new abilities. I can attack enemies with a short range fire projectile, I can charge it up to destroy larger objects or deal more damage and I can wall jump.
Another key element is the save system. Ori has a special energy meter that is depleted when he uses the charge up attack, but it's also a way to create a custom save point. That's a mechanic that I haven't seen very often in video games and it works very well here. Platforming is also pretty challenging already.
I've dodged fireballs, jumped on narrow platforms over poisonous water, fought evil animals like spiders and frogs, and discovered new areas. I must "restore" the spirit of the forest by finding my way to three different areas, though I don't know what I'll need to do when I get there yet. There's also a big evil owl that seems to be the source of the decay in the forest, though the mystery is still thick...
Platform: PC
Session fun rating: 10/10
Ori and the Blind Forest has been on my radar for a long time, ever since it was announced really. It's a Metroidvania 2D action game starring a furry little white creature named Ori. From what I played, I think he got lost at some point, and was separated from his family. A large cuddly creature named Naru finds Ori in the forest and they quickly become great friends. Actually, it's more like a parent-child relationship, with Naru taking care of Ori. They gather food together, build little bridges and structures and seem to just be very happy together, as a new family.
At one point, there's something that happens, something unclear, and food becomes scarce. In a beautiful montage sequence, we see how they become hungrier and hungrier until one day, the Naru dies quietly. When Ori finds the dead body, it was a very sad and touching event... Ori is left with nothing, so the creature decides to go explore the world, in the hopes of finding food and a reason to live. Or at least, that's what I got out of it.
 |
| Ori and Naru gather food |
So that's pretty much how the game begins. After that, there wasn't much story, but there was a lot of cool stuff to play. I need to talk about how fucking beautiful everything is... The art is hand drawn and it really shows in the quality of the imagery. This game looks absolutely stunning. Plus, the music is spectacular, fitting the mood perfectly and giving the whole experience some atmosphere.
If you take away the presentation elements, what remains is a pure Metroidvania game that handles like a dream. It's got a nice big map, tons of hidden items, an talent tree, areas gated by abilities and monsters. It's almost like a whimsical version of Axiom Verge in a lot of ways. I played a bit more than an hour and have already found 3 new abilities. I can attack enemies with a short range fire projectile, I can charge it up to destroy larger objects or deal more damage and I can wall jump.
Another key element is the save system. Ori has a special energy meter that is depleted when he uses the charge up attack, but it's also a way to create a custom save point. That's a mechanic that I haven't seen very often in video games and it works very well here. Platforming is also pretty challenging already.
I've dodged fireballs, jumped on narrow platforms over poisonous water, fought evil animals like spiders and frogs, and discovered new areas. I must "restore" the spirit of the forest by finding my way to three different areas, though I don't know what I'll need to do when I get there yet. There's also a big evil owl that seems to be the source of the decay in the forest, though the mystery is still thick...
