i definitely didnt expect to cry like crazy at 10 minutes of ori and the blind forest but apparently this game managed to amaze me even in that aspect and not only that i got to the ending while every 30 minutes having a crying fit which is very me i may admit
ori surpassed my expectations in so many aspects i sincerely wouldve never expected it . i mean i knew it was a good game because everyone had been talking about it for at least 3 years after its release nonstop and again now that the sequel is out (now meaning 2020 whatever) but i didnt expect it to be such a metaphysical experience it made me feel things i havent felt in a while (depression and last time was probably a week ago)
im talking about the plot of ori at the end of the review because if not im going to stand here crying like a bitch now and never finish this review
in video game terms ori is a metroidvania-like or whatever you may call it . i am the whore of metroidvanias as soon as i hear metroidvania i get a mind bending erection just like that tachycardia and so on . that being said ori (the first game at least (yes i'm already playing the second one because i need another dose of bittersweet trauma)) i didn't perceive it as a real metroidvania or at least the gameplay loop of pick up a skill > open a new path > pick up another skill and such is typically metroidvania but it's much more linear than that (although there are certain areas that aren't connected to the main story lets say so at least in that regard the exploration is quite extensive)
now let's get the weak point of this experience out of the way right away the combat in ori (again the first one because in the second one they have updated and improved it and honestly I love it to death but the fact remains that in the first one it's a bit like that) is not the best and i couldnt even explain precisely how it works there are kind of fires with auto aim or whatever i have no idea i didnt particularly like it or particularly hate it but it has to be said that at least the developers tried to differentiate the battle system a little bit with in game improvement charts that at least give you a sense of progress but still it remains a little shitty sorry and especially the boss battles (if you can call them that) are bad as fuck and even this will be something that will be improved in the second game (love the bosses there) but since ori is more of a platformer than an action game i dont really see that as a big ass flaw .
now after the weak point let's talk about the strong point the movement mechanics of this game are out of this world i swear holy shit it's amazing in the beginning like every metroidvania the most you can do is jump and do some other shit but as soon as you start getting more and more power ups the movement is possibly one of the best ive ever experienced in a fucking video game and im not kidding between triple jump the dash the bombs the bash (main mechanic of the game and one of my favorite platforming mechanics of any video game ever im sorry) you can do anything and get anywhere in this fucking beautiful gorgeous awesome world and this whole thing will culminate in my favorite parts of the game that a lot of people hated and honestly I can understand why but I loved them madly aka the sequences where you have to run away from the crazy absurd evil owl or you have to get out of the dungeon where you have taken an element of the forest that ends up exploding and flooding everything with fire water ice kind of like the ending of every metroid when the planet or space station or whatever is exploding and you have to run away like crazy but the reason why a lot of people hate these parts is kind of related to how the save system in ori works ie you have to use some energy to manually save progress (which sometimes resulted in me forgetting that the saving in this game is manual and then in a death that wiped out a few minutes of progress but whatever i actually hate this game) so at these points the save is disabled and you have to do like 3 minutes of crazy platforming that if you die bring you back to where you started so here everyone hates them but they might be my favorite parts of the whole game I mean I don't know all the frenzy of the moment the amazing OSTs that pick up and explode in all their orchestral might and the raw power of these moments idk they simply gave me chills every single time this game is amazing and I just love it with all my being but lets talk about another aspect that I loved madly
the art direction of this video game really leaves you breathless . any place within the forest of [name of the forest i can't remember ok i checked its nibel] is designed and structured in a way so breathtakingly competent that every single setting and enemy and particle effect and animation and background and foreground and graphic and lighting effect and anything is just so dies
along with the art direction there is to say that the audiovisual compartment doesnt stop there because the sheer might of the music and sfx .......... oof guys the OST in this game is something out of this world already the game by itself is incredibly emotional and all but every single track pulls at your heartstrings like nothing else really . most of it is new age instrumental stuff but they are composed with so much tenderness and beauty that even scenes which by themselves would be tear-jerking when you add to them these osts they just make you tear your hair out scream cry vomit anything and probably if I listened to them now which i havent yet because the wound of this game is still pretty open i would feel bad but really bad but really really bad goodbye vabbuon appost
I think it's unfortunately time to talk about the story because honestly there's an amazing story behind it (not the most amazingly intricate story in the universe lets just say that but the mere concept of it all… wow) and definitely one of the most emotionally charged ive ever seen lmao (+ the ost puts a lot of emotional stress on you basically you either cry or you cry theres not a lot of room for alternatives but still . HEAVY SPOILER WARNING because this will be an infodump of the story and a list of all the times I cried (profusely)
ori is the last leaf and guardian of the spirit tree of the forest of nibel which is slowly dying and he is looked after by naru who is a ... something I don't understand like a forest creature ok thats it and they grow up together and form a family (you already know where this is going) then the forest starts to die and there is no more food and naru out of selflessness and love for ori starves in order to leave food for ori and when ori tries to save her she is already dead . honestly ? developers you suck this happened after 10 minutes from the start of the game and I was already a broken human being I couldnt see what was going on because tears were flooding my eyesight now then ori sets out and explores nibel then he finds sein who is the light of the spirit tree which has also been separated from the tree by a malevolent owl beast something called kuro (which is black and encompasses darkness very innovative i know) who is initially very cryptic and in the trope of "this bitch is bad and ugly and very evil" but then when you get to her nest on Mt. Something there is a great flashback where you realize what really happened (alarm for another crying fit) the ceremony of light (which was supposed to summon ori) had accidentally killed the 3 babies of the evil bird (JWKFJSKSKW OH MY GOD I HOPE THAT EVERYONE WHO GOT HERE HAS PLAYED THE GAME BUT IF YOU DIDN'T YOU CANT IMAGINE HOW MISERABLE THE ENTIRE CUTSCENE MADE ME IM SHAKING) okay back to us kuro is angry and attacks the tree trying to defend her last child (still an egg) stealing sein and leaving the forest to rot but ori manages to gather all the elements (used to revive the tree) and when you're almost done with your journey kuro almost kills ori then naru (WHO IS NOW ALIVE YAY and reanimated by gumo I don't have time to talk about gumo you know who gumo is if youve played the game which you should have) cradles him for the first time after her death and for the apparent last time in front of kuro who seeing narus maternal affection for ori is moved (me too bitch) thinking of her children and realizing that she has become the monster she saw the spirit tree as so she sacrifices herself to return sein (another hysterical cry) and then the balance returns to nibel the little family is together again but now there is a new addition ..... the little owl in the egg that kuro left behind… sorry im too emotional and they take care of her like shes their little daughter and honestly that was the last straw i finished the game in 5 hours at 100% (I don't know if I unconsciously speed ran the game or im just I don't know incredibly good at metroidvanias likeeeeeeeeee but either way it is what it is) i can say I cried for at least 1-2 hours of the game its just that kind of emotional ride and im so sorry for the people who are my friends and who will get an infodump of the reasons for why this game made me cry my eyes out all this time
anyhow that was very long and i dont know why i really got a problem with getting the essential information in these reviews lately but anyway ori is really good and “remember those who are gone so may they live forever” is possibly the most distressing thing ive ever read in a game like why would you do that to me
ori is so cute guys im just gonna cry my eyes out again just like that
ori surpassed my expectations in so many aspects i sincerely wouldve never expected it . i mean i knew it was a good game because everyone had been talking about it for at least 3 years after its release nonstop and again now that the sequel is out (now meaning 2020 whatever) but i didnt expect it to be such a metaphysical experience it made me feel things i havent felt in a while (depression and last time was probably a week ago)
im talking about the plot of ori at the end of the review because if not im going to stand here crying like a bitch now and never finish this review
in video game terms ori is a metroidvania-like or whatever you may call it . i am the whore of metroidvanias as soon as i hear metroidvania i get a mind bending erection just like that tachycardia and so on . that being said ori (the first game at least (yes i'm already playing the second one because i need another dose of bittersweet trauma)) i didn't perceive it as a real metroidvania or at least the gameplay loop of pick up a skill > open a new path > pick up another skill and such is typically metroidvania but it's much more linear than that (although there are certain areas that aren't connected to the main story lets say so at least in that regard the exploration is quite extensive)
now let's get the weak point of this experience out of the way right away the combat in ori (again the first one because in the second one they have updated and improved it and honestly I love it to death but the fact remains that in the first one it's a bit like that) is not the best and i couldnt even explain precisely how it works there are kind of fires with auto aim or whatever i have no idea i didnt particularly like it or particularly hate it but it has to be said that at least the developers tried to differentiate the battle system a little bit with in game improvement charts that at least give you a sense of progress but still it remains a little shitty sorry and especially the boss battles (if you can call them that) are bad as fuck and even this will be something that will be improved in the second game (love the bosses there) but since ori is more of a platformer than an action game i dont really see that as a big ass flaw .
now after the weak point let's talk about the strong point the movement mechanics of this game are out of this world i swear holy shit it's amazing in the beginning like every metroidvania the most you can do is jump and do some other shit but as soon as you start getting more and more power ups the movement is possibly one of the best ive ever experienced in a fucking video game and im not kidding between triple jump the dash the bombs the bash (main mechanic of the game and one of my favorite platforming mechanics of any video game ever im sorry) you can do anything and get anywhere in this fucking beautiful gorgeous awesome world and this whole thing will culminate in my favorite parts of the game that a lot of people hated and honestly I can understand why but I loved them madly aka the sequences where you have to run away from the crazy absurd evil owl or you have to get out of the dungeon where you have taken an element of the forest that ends up exploding and flooding everything with fire water ice kind of like the ending of every metroid when the planet or space station or whatever is exploding and you have to run away like crazy but the reason why a lot of people hate these parts is kind of related to how the save system in ori works ie you have to use some energy to manually save progress (which sometimes resulted in me forgetting that the saving in this game is manual and then in a death that wiped out a few minutes of progress but whatever i actually hate this game) so at these points the save is disabled and you have to do like 3 minutes of crazy platforming that if you die bring you back to where you started so here everyone hates them but they might be my favorite parts of the whole game I mean I don't know all the frenzy of the moment the amazing OSTs that pick up and explode in all their orchestral might and the raw power of these moments idk they simply gave me chills every single time this game is amazing and I just love it with all my being but lets talk about another aspect that I loved madly
the art direction of this video game really leaves you breathless . any place within the forest of [name of the forest i can't remember ok i checked its nibel] is designed and structured in a way so breathtakingly competent that every single setting and enemy and particle effect and animation and background and foreground and graphic and lighting effect and anything is just so dies
along with the art direction there is to say that the audiovisual compartment doesnt stop there because the sheer might of the music and sfx .......... oof guys the OST in this game is something out of this world already the game by itself is incredibly emotional and all but every single track pulls at your heartstrings like nothing else really . most of it is new age instrumental stuff but they are composed with so much tenderness and beauty that even scenes which by themselves would be tear-jerking when you add to them these osts they just make you tear your hair out scream cry vomit anything and probably if I listened to them now which i havent yet because the wound of this game is still pretty open i would feel bad but really bad but really really bad goodbye vabbuon appost
I think it's unfortunately time to talk about the story because honestly there's an amazing story behind it (not the most amazingly intricate story in the universe lets just say that but the mere concept of it all… wow) and definitely one of the most emotionally charged ive ever seen lmao (+ the ost puts a lot of emotional stress on you basically you either cry or you cry theres not a lot of room for alternatives but still . HEAVY SPOILER WARNING because this will be an infodump of the story and a list of all the times I cried (profusely)
ori is the last leaf and guardian of the spirit tree of the forest of nibel which is slowly dying and he is looked after by naru who is a ... something I don't understand like a forest creature ok thats it and they grow up together and form a family (you already know where this is going) then the forest starts to die and there is no more food and naru out of selflessness and love for ori starves in order to leave food for ori and when ori tries to save her she is already dead . honestly ? developers you suck this happened after 10 minutes from the start of the game and I was already a broken human being I couldnt see what was going on because tears were flooding my eyesight now then ori sets out and explores nibel then he finds sein who is the light of the spirit tree which has also been separated from the tree by a malevolent owl beast something called kuro (which is black and encompasses darkness very innovative i know) who is initially very cryptic and in the trope of "this bitch is bad and ugly and very evil" but then when you get to her nest on Mt. Something there is a great flashback where you realize what really happened (alarm for another crying fit) the ceremony of light (which was supposed to summon ori) had accidentally killed the 3 babies of the evil bird (JWKFJSKSKW OH MY GOD I HOPE THAT EVERYONE WHO GOT HERE HAS PLAYED THE GAME BUT IF YOU DIDN'T YOU CANT IMAGINE HOW MISERABLE THE ENTIRE CUTSCENE MADE ME IM SHAKING) okay back to us kuro is angry and attacks the tree trying to defend her last child (still an egg) stealing sein and leaving the forest to rot but ori manages to gather all the elements (used to revive the tree) and when you're almost done with your journey kuro almost kills ori then naru (WHO IS NOW ALIVE YAY and reanimated by gumo I don't have time to talk about gumo you know who gumo is if youve played the game which you should have) cradles him for the first time after her death and for the apparent last time in front of kuro who seeing narus maternal affection for ori is moved (me too bitch) thinking of her children and realizing that she has become the monster she saw the spirit tree as so she sacrifices herself to return sein (another hysterical cry) and then the balance returns to nibel the little family is together again but now there is a new addition ..... the little owl in the egg that kuro left behind… sorry im too emotional and they take care of her like shes their little daughter and honestly that was the last straw i finished the game in 5 hours at 100% (I don't know if I unconsciously speed ran the game or im just I don't know incredibly good at metroidvanias likeeeeeeeeee but either way it is what it is) i can say I cried for at least 1-2 hours of the game its just that kind of emotional ride and im so sorry for the people who are my friends and who will get an infodump of the reasons for why this game made me cry my eyes out all this time
anyhow that was very long and i dont know why i really got a problem with getting the essential information in these reviews lately but anyway ori is really good and “remember those who are gone so may they live forever” is possibly the most distressing thing ive ever read in a game like why would you do that to me
ori is so cute guys im just gonna cry my eyes out again just like that