'A De-"light"-ful Metroidvania (Sorry, Had To Do It)'
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition was a surprisingly enjoyable platformer! I had tried this title out in the past and had lost due to insert stupid reason not to play this magnificent title, and figured I owed the game another chance. Boy, am I happy I decided to do that!
The first things that a player will notice are the exceptional relationship between Ori's visual style and soundtrack. The unique environmental details which showcase both places of intense warmth/light and cold/darkness are compounded by some astounding parallax in the background to create a truly awe-inspiring image, one which is very easy on the eyes. The score is beautiful and tranquil with some very solid ambient tracks alongside some bombastic and powerful pieces of sonic bliss (oh yeah, this soundtrack is GOOD). These elements combine to create a part of some of Blind Forest's best moments, and yet this game decided to also have a story AND gameplay to boot as well. I felt so spoiled playing this one!
The story in Blind Forest is actually pretty solid. The characters are simple in design, but they retain some key features that can give insight as to who they might have been before the events of the game took place. The main villain is menacing and unlikable in many ways, but the writers manage to make her pain relatable and understandable by the end of the title. There isn't any normally spoken dialogue (that is, not in any decipherable language), but it is delivered gracefully and added to the mysticism of the world Ori traverses.
Gameplay-wise, this title nearly perfects what it is aiming to achieve. Maneuvering in the world with Ori feels very responsive, and the fact that the world is designed in such a way where there is nothing that seems "blocky" or "inorganic" is very impressive. It feels like you are actually travelling around a forest that is interconnected, which is a core mechanic of any metroidvania title. Platforming is pretty smooth and there are some very tight sequences where you use a variety of jumps, bombs, dashes, and bounces in order to fly from one location to another, and it felt awesome to play through. Puzzles and exploration are very solid as well, with collectibles testing out your skillset before you are able to collect each one. Sometimes items require certain abilities in order to collect them, other times you are required to use your already learned abilities in order to discover new ways to traverse the world. It created some moments of intrigue for myself as I attempted to unlock certain pathways or collect upgrades, and it felt rewarding to finally solve these areas of the game. However, the only areas of the title which I found to be a bit weak in these aspects are "Black Root Burrows", the escapes after collecting the second and third elements, and "Forlorn Ruins".
The problems that I have with each area listed above are straightforward and increase in frustration successively. In "Black Root Burrows", the biggest obstacle is a lack of light source in order to traverse the area. While this is the main theme of the area to begin with, I feel that as an add-on with the Definitive Edition, it shouldn't have relied on having an item that doesn't exist in the game. Thus, there are some blind jumps you are expected to make that are extremely hard to recognize. However, the escape sequences are much worse. These areas repeatedly aim for flashy, over-the-top escapes, but fail to provide proper insight as to where the player is expected to go/what they are supposed to do during each one. This wasn't a problem at all with the first escape in the "Ginso Tree", but in these areas obstacles are indecipherable from one another, and the player is expected to react almost "before" seeing each threat. This led to many more deaths on my end that I felt was reasonable, and I had to essentially memorize the entirety of each escape in order to finish them. Lastly, the gravity mechanic introduced in the "Forlorn Ruins" is a complete failure in my opinion. The path towards the end of the level is difficult to decipher, and I resorted to abusing my leveled-up health and abilities in order to reach the end rather than use the gravity mechanic itself. There are many insta-death obstacles here as well as small platforms, which only compounded with my frustration with the mechanic itself.
Besides these flawed areas, there was also an issue I had with the balance of the game with its upgrade tree. I was able to fully specialize my Ori and started to breeze through most combat and platforming challenges by the halfway point of the game, and the game felt much too easy for my tastes. Combat is already very "abstract" due to just pressing your attack button and having your helper "Sein" shoot enemies for you, but by upgrading their power you can totally melt most enemies in the span of seconds. This causes Ori to transform from a weak, vulnerable character into a ravenous god who can destroy any creature at will - not the best for what the game is trying to portray them as.
Yet despite my complaints with some locations and with the balance of the game, I consider Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition to be an absolutely excellent title. Its strong relationship between platforming, puzzles, and combat alongside its fantastic visuals and soundtrack make it a must play for indie gamers, platformer fanatics, or art connoisseurs. It is one of the best titles I have played from 2015/2016, and I can easily Recommend it as a must play platformer for the 2010's. Now go on - play the damn thing!
Final Verdict: 9/10 (Excellent)
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition was a surprisingly enjoyable platformer! I had tried this title out in the past and had lost due to insert stupid reason not to play this magnificent title, and figured I owed the game another chance. Boy, am I happy I decided to do that!
The first things that a player will notice are the exceptional relationship between Ori's visual style and soundtrack. The unique environmental details which showcase both places of intense warmth/light and cold/darkness are compounded by some astounding parallax in the background to create a truly awe-inspiring image, one which is very easy on the eyes. The score is beautiful and tranquil with some very solid ambient tracks alongside some bombastic and powerful pieces of sonic bliss (oh yeah, this soundtrack is GOOD). These elements combine to create a part of some of Blind Forest's best moments, and yet this game decided to also have a story AND gameplay to boot as well. I felt so spoiled playing this one!
The story in Blind Forest is actually pretty solid. The characters are simple in design, but they retain some key features that can give insight as to who they might have been before the events of the game took place. The main villain is menacing and unlikable in many ways, but the writers manage to make her pain relatable and understandable by the end of the title. There isn't any normally spoken dialogue (that is, not in any decipherable language), but it is delivered gracefully and added to the mysticism of the world Ori traverses.
Gameplay-wise, this title nearly perfects what it is aiming to achieve. Maneuvering in the world with Ori feels very responsive, and the fact that the world is designed in such a way where there is nothing that seems "blocky" or "inorganic" is very impressive. It feels like you are actually travelling around a forest that is interconnected, which is a core mechanic of any metroidvania title. Platforming is pretty smooth and there are some very tight sequences where you use a variety of jumps, bombs, dashes, and bounces in order to fly from one location to another, and it felt awesome to play through. Puzzles and exploration are very solid as well, with collectibles testing out your skillset before you are able to collect each one. Sometimes items require certain abilities in order to collect them, other times you are required to use your already learned abilities in order to discover new ways to traverse the world. It created some moments of intrigue for myself as I attempted to unlock certain pathways or collect upgrades, and it felt rewarding to finally solve these areas of the game. However, the only areas of the title which I found to be a bit weak in these aspects are "Black Root Burrows", the escapes after collecting the second and third elements, and "Forlorn Ruins".
The problems that I have with each area listed above are straightforward and increase in frustration successively. In "Black Root Burrows", the biggest obstacle is a lack of light source in order to traverse the area. While this is the main theme of the area to begin with, I feel that as an add-on with the Definitive Edition, it shouldn't have relied on having an item that doesn't exist in the game. Thus, there are some blind jumps you are expected to make that are extremely hard to recognize. However, the escape sequences are much worse. These areas repeatedly aim for flashy, over-the-top escapes, but fail to provide proper insight as to where the player is expected to go/what they are supposed to do during each one. This wasn't a problem at all with the first escape in the "Ginso Tree", but in these areas obstacles are indecipherable from one another, and the player is expected to react almost "before" seeing each threat. This led to many more deaths on my end that I felt was reasonable, and I had to essentially memorize the entirety of each escape in order to finish them. Lastly, the gravity mechanic introduced in the "Forlorn Ruins" is a complete failure in my opinion. The path towards the end of the level is difficult to decipher, and I resorted to abusing my leveled-up health and abilities in order to reach the end rather than use the gravity mechanic itself. There are many insta-death obstacles here as well as small platforms, which only compounded with my frustration with the mechanic itself.
Besides these flawed areas, there was also an issue I had with the balance of the game with its upgrade tree. I was able to fully specialize my Ori and started to breeze through most combat and platforming challenges by the halfway point of the game, and the game felt much too easy for my tastes. Combat is already very "abstract" due to just pressing your attack button and having your helper "Sein" shoot enemies for you, but by upgrading their power you can totally melt most enemies in the span of seconds. This causes Ori to transform from a weak, vulnerable character into a ravenous god who can destroy any creature at will - not the best for what the game is trying to portray them as.
Yet despite my complaints with some locations and with the balance of the game, I consider Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition to be an absolutely excellent title. Its strong relationship between platforming, puzzles, and combat alongside its fantastic visuals and soundtrack make it a must play for indie gamers, platformer fanatics, or art connoisseurs. It is one of the best titles I have played from 2015/2016, and I can easily Recommend it as a must play platformer for the 2010's. Now go on - play the damn thing!
Final Verdict: 9/10 (Excellent)