Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition

Ori and the Blind Forest is a thing of wonder. It was almost like reliving my childhood when I would wait my turn to play Super Mario Bros. at my friend’s house. Ori captured my imagination like Mario did when video games were this amazing new secret thing. (Coincidentally, my son beat the original Super Mario Bros. as I was finishing this game. Nice parallel and memory for me.)

The art direction and level design are undeniably top notch. The environment is just gorgeous and every piece of scenery fits together organically. It’s like discovering a lost world and finding joy in exploring every part. The tempo of the story and unlocking skills to open more parts of Ori’s world kept me hungry for more. The map seems massive but in reality is contained and I felt empowered to go back to previous areas. Equipped with new skills, it was a thrill to unlock earlier mysteries.

The game outdoes itself throughout, especially with the major levels where you have to restore balance to the world. Each is unique and an adrenaline rush in its own way. I was in awe of the deliberate change of playstyle you’re forced to make based on each of these areas. In a word, the three big final areas make you 1-run, 2-take it slow-and-steady, and 3-rely on all your wits and use your skills in concert.

Ori as a protagonist is quite remarkable – from the character’s stature, behavior, exclamations, and skills, she’s a pure joy to play as. No spoilers, but my heart got pounding knowing the adversary I was going toe-to-toe against. Great bad guy and phenomenal storytelling. This game is ultimately about life, love, and loss. BTW, I got a 100% on the game, which I never have time to do, and it’s a credit to the game’s designers for making it a challenge I wanted to try (I only googled two things, I swear!)

If I were to replay a game, this would be it, and that’s the highest praise I can offer. 5/5 stars

Ori and the Blind Forest used to be the best Xbox One exclusive title, until it was ported to other platforms. While some Xbox fans would certainly feel as if they got cheated out of an exclusivity title, this does bring something even more important and, in return, beneficial to the conversation: anyone with a video game console of this generation can enjoy this masterpiece of a game. Ori and the Blind Forest is a metroidvania with incredibly tight, responsive controls for it’s stellar, well weighed movement. Areas are not overflowing with collectibles and unnecessary fodder, like other games of the metroidvania genre; instead, Ori and the Blind Forest’s areas and all of their collectibles all feel as if they are essential to your character. Experience point capsules in various sizes are laid out across the map, a lot of them locked behind skill walls that are later accessible thanks to having gained new abilities. Speaking of, the abilities in Ori are not only the core of how magnificent the movement and the in-game combat are, but they’re also extremely well paced, with each ability having a bit of a back story to go with it. Story overall doesn’t feel like the main focus in the game, instead, it takes a second focus, picture storybook approach, with the gameplay and moveset evolution taking center stage. The music in the game is also absolutely fantastic, with a huge focus on wind instruments, which gives the game and its mystical forest setting life. With Black Friday just around the corner, I highly recommend anyone who was mildly interested in this game to pick it up.