GAME REVIEW: Ori And the Blind Forest - Definitive Edition (Switch)
(Ori, Lost In The Storm - Gareth Coker)
Anyone who follows video games will probably be looking at the title for this review and thinking, "Wow, man. Just now getting around to a game that's been out for nearly five years, eh?"
...More or less, yes. I do have a variety of excellent excuses lined up though. The biggest excuse revolves around platforms. Back in 2015 when Ori was first released, it debuted on two platforms: PC and XBox One. I stopped gaming on my PC several years before that, and by the time 2015 had rolled around, I was already a dedicated Mac user. While I certainly have an XBox One now, I didn't make my initial purchase of that console until late 2017, specifically so I could play Mass Effect: Andromeda.
I know, I know, but the multiplayer was so much fun!
I digress.
Ori And The Blind Forest was very much on my radar when it came out. It was a Metroidvania game that was an indie title with gorgeous graphics, music, story, and gameplay. I'm a huge sucker for such titles, I just didn't have the console to partake in its loveliness. Time passed, and I lost track of it amidst other titles.
Christmas 2018 saw me purchase a Nintendo Switch for myself, a system that is rapidly turning into my favorite gaming console of all time aside from the PC. I sunk massive amounts of time into Switch indie titles like Hollow Knight, Gris, Steamworld 2, Shovel Knight, and Celeste. Then things quieted for a time until August 2019 saw Nintendo make a huge Indie announcement. A whole ton of new games were being released to Switch as either direct ports or enhanced versions of their original form. To my immediate glee, I noticed that one of those indie titles was a new Definitive Edition of Ori And The Blind Forest, doubtless an attempt to drum up sales an interest prior to the launch of Ori And The Will Of The Wisps. I earmarked it as a Must Purchase, and then the holidays got here, and I sort of...didn't purchase it.
I finally had a bit of free time recently though, so I grabbed it to give it a spin.
Was it worth the wait?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Yes. Very, VERY yes.
THE LONG VERSION:
My wife is a gamer. She's not quite as rabid a fan of the art-form as I am, but she certainly games, and has put her fair share of hours in on all of the consoles in our home. She's my personal barometer for when I've found a truly great video game, because she stops what she's doing and just watches me. This tradition actually started years ago for us when the original Bioshock came out. Kim found herself enthralled with the audio, visuals, the story, all of it. Back then, I was doing my gaming on a 19" monitor, and this was not sufficient for her needs. She commanded me to set our living room up so that I could play games in a fashion more easily viewed by her. I brought at 42" flat screen and a 5.1 surround system into play, and she saw it was good.
We've sort of...never looked back since then.
As cool as that particular barometer was, Kim never asked to actually -play- Bioshock. That wouldn't happen until 2010, when Bioware released Mass Effect 2. She grew absolutely enthralled with watching me play it, and finally got up the desire to ask me for a go herself. I found a good stopping point, saved my game, and handed her my controller.
And promptly lost access to my XBox 360 for a week.
I can't really say I'm surprised by her fervent reaction. Mass Effect 2 remains one of my all time favorite games. The fact that Kim also felt strongly enough about it that -she- wanted to give it a go placed it in an even more exclusive category for me though. The truly special games in my life are the ones that Kim and I enjoy together, the ones that create lasting memories between us as a couple. Call me schmaltzy if you want.
This bit of backstory has all been a lead-up to the first thing I have to say about Ori And The Blind Forest: Definitive Edition. My wife plays it with me.
Oh, it started out as watching. We had a bit of a quiet day not long ago, and we both talked about wanting to find a new game to get into, so I bounced online to the Nintendo marketplace. As I was looking to see if I had enough Gold Coins to purchase Ori, my wife pointed out the first wonderful thing about this game:
There's a playable demo available. For free.
I cannot overstate to developers how hugely important the free demo is. The golden age of PC gaming was born on the back of Shareware titles that had free content available as a teaser. People could download and share that content amongst their friends, and that's how monster titles like Doom grew the way they did. This seems like a simple, common-sense mechanic that all game publishers would use, but almost none of them do these days. Someone at Moon Studios made a brilliant decision when they elected to publish a demo online, and it was that demo that got us completely hooked. The hallmarks of Ori And The Blind Forest can all be seen within the first hour of gameplay, and they persist throughout the entire game:
- The art is amazing.
- The music is amazing.
- The gameplay is amazing.
- The story is amazing.
- It's a Metroidvania that rewards exploration.
Someone at Moon Studios decided to give you nearly an hour of Ori's gameplay before you finally hit a very natural paywall and need to decide to make a purchase, and they made sure the opening portion of the demo is so rock solid that by the time that hour of play time is up, there's no hesitation at all in making a purchase.
It worked perfectly on us. Kim and I knew we were going to buy this game within about 10 minutes of gameplay, and that has less to do with the demo and more to do with the way that the game itself was designed. Ori is a masterclass in making people want to play your game. You get hit with almost every element of what makes this game incredible within the first 5 minutes of the game.
You'll also cry like a baby.
Seriously, the game's story opens up with a massive right hook straight away. If you're sitting there thinking, "Steve, I've only been invested in the game for five minutes. There's no emotional attachment yet." I encourage you to go and watch the opening sequence to 'Up'.
Go ahead. I'll wait.
Oh, good, you're back. What's that? I was right?
Let's move on.
Ori And The Blind Forest is excellent right out of the chute, and it never lets up. All of the things that make it great in the beginning stay there until the final moments of the game drift away into silence.
STORY
The story of Ori and Naru is a simple one. An idyll world has been poisoned and left for dead, and it's up to our hero to fix it. As with all great stories, it's frequently less about the story itself and more about how the story is told, and Ori excels in the telling. That's all I'll say about that because spoiling the elements in this game would be criminal.
A/V
The audio in this game is sublime. I'm a sucker for an amazing soundtrack, and this game has that down in spades. The original score, composed by Gareth Coker, is ever-present without being obstructive or cloying. You always know the music is there, you're always enjoying it, but it never demands that you focus on it. Here's the opening track:
This is overlayed with the game's many sound effects, both from ambient noise and your direct interactions with the world. They are, in a word, perfect.
The visuals of the game look like something out of a cross between a child's cartoon and an art house. There's lot of vibrant colors, bloom, and specular effects everywhere. This occasionally gets in the way when the game is trying to prompt you to do something by bathing it in color that is so close to the rest of the environment that you sort of miss it. Otherwise, the visual design of the game is sublime. Ori is cute and adorable, and her caretaker, Naru, is lovable as soon as you meet her.
GAMEPLAY
Ori's gameplay has a tough job to do. It's standing next to nearly perfect story and presentation, so it really has to measure up or it'll let the whole title down. Fortunately, the gameplay in Ori might just be one of the best things about it. As a 2D platformer, Ori's controls somehow manage to be both lazy and precise. I have no idea how they did it. You always know what you need to do and how you need to do it, and when the game demands precision from you, it's somehow made available through the game's controls. It's very much like the OG Castlevania - Symphony Of The Night in this respect. Jumps are lazy and easy to control, but platforming segments demanding precision are still somehow very accessible.
Powers in Ori all feel unique, never tacked on as an afterthought. You look forward to each power that you get, as that power allows you to explore farther and farther into the game. While Ori progresses in a relatively linear fashion, there are multiple opportunities to explore other parts of the game out of order. Ultimately, you'll hit either soft gates -- limitations based on your character's ability, such as a jump you can't make without an upgrade -- or hard gates -- literally a barrier you cannot pass until X event has taken place -- that prevent you from going somewhere truly disastrous until you're ready. Those areas serve only to whet your desire for them as you can frequently see desirable upgrades to your resources hiding just out of reach. This is just one mechanic that Ori uses to keep you playing. Each time you collect a power, the urge to go and explore deeper in the world and find upgrades will take you. This is made even easier by Ori allowing you to upgrade your map to see where those precious upgrades are, turning the game into a giant skill challenge. Many upgrades are designed to be obtained once you have a combination of abilities, but a clever player can get them earlier with precise gameplay and skills.
"Can we talk about what makes the Definitive Edition so definitive, please?"
Sure we can.
Ori DE brings several new explorable areas and upgrades to the mix. Those areas are available right out of the chute and you can traverse them as soon as you feel up to the challenge. Make no mistake, these areas -are- a challenge for new players, but the rewards held within them make them more than worth the effort. Want more of a challenge? Head into Black Root Burrows right away and brave the dark areas and light-based puzzles. New players should absolutely try to make their way through the Burrows earlier rather than later in the game, as the upgrades found there will be semi-pointless if you wait until the End Game to try your hand. My personal recommendation is this:
Play through the main story until you unlock the Spirit Fountain near the top of the Ginso tree. Once you find that fountain, STOP CLIMBING, warp out to the Sunken Hollow, and then head to the right to try your hand at Black Root Burrows. Attempting the Burrows prior to this point in the game is doable, but very challenging. Attempting the Burrows much after this moment in the game will not only take some of the fun out of your discoveries in the Burrows, but it makes the rest of the game considerably more challenging.
Ori And The Blind Forest was a masterpiece when it was released in 2017. The new Definitive Edition takes a great game and somehow makes it better, both for new players and those who are returning to the Blind Forest again. It is a must-own, must-play title for the Nintendo Switch.
Anyone who follows video games will probably be looking at the title for this review and thinking, "Wow, man. Just now getting around to a game that's been out for nearly five years, eh?"
...More or less, yes. I do have a variety of excellent excuses lined up though. The biggest excuse revolves around platforms. Back in 2015 when Ori was first released, it debuted on two platforms: PC and XBox One. I stopped gaming on my PC several years before that, and by the time 2015 had rolled around, I was already a dedicated Mac user. While I certainly have an XBox One now, I didn't make my initial purchase of that console until late 2017, specifically so I could play Mass Effect: Andromeda.
I know, I know, but the multiplayer was so much fun!
I digress.
Ori And The Blind Forest was very much on my radar when it came out. It was a Metroidvania game that was an indie title with gorgeous graphics, music, story, and gameplay. I'm a huge sucker for such titles, I just didn't have the console to partake in its loveliness. Time passed, and I lost track of it amidst other titles.
Christmas 2018 saw me purchase a Nintendo Switch for myself, a system that is rapidly turning into my favorite gaming console of all time aside from the PC. I sunk massive amounts of time into Switch indie titles like Hollow Knight, Gris, Steamworld 2, Shovel Knight, and Celeste. Then things quieted for a time until August 2019 saw Nintendo make a huge Indie announcement. A whole ton of new games were being released to Switch as either direct ports or enhanced versions of their original form. To my immediate glee, I noticed that one of those indie titles was a new Definitive Edition of Ori And The Blind Forest, doubtless an attempt to drum up sales an interest prior to the launch of Ori And The Will Of The Wisps. I earmarked it as a Must Purchase, and then the holidays got here, and I sort of...didn't purchase it.
I finally had a bit of free time recently though, so I grabbed it to give it a spin.
Was it worth the wait?
THE SHORT VERSION:
Yes. Very, VERY yes.
THE LONG VERSION:
My wife is a gamer. She's not quite as rabid a fan of the art-form as I am, but she certainly games, and has put her fair share of hours in on all of the consoles in our home. She's my personal barometer for when I've found a truly great video game, because she stops what she's doing and just watches me. This tradition actually started years ago for us when the original Bioshock came out. Kim found herself enthralled with the audio, visuals, the story, all of it. Back then, I was doing my gaming on a 19" monitor, and this was not sufficient for her needs. She commanded me to set our living room up so that I could play games in a fashion more easily viewed by her. I brought at 42" flat screen and a 5.1 surround system into play, and she saw it was good.
We've sort of...never looked back since then.
As cool as that particular barometer was, Kim never asked to actually -play- Bioshock. That wouldn't happen until 2010, when Bioware released Mass Effect 2. She grew absolutely enthralled with watching me play it, and finally got up the desire to ask me for a go herself. I found a good stopping point, saved my game, and handed her my controller.
And promptly lost access to my XBox 360 for a week.
I can't really say I'm surprised by her fervent reaction. Mass Effect 2 remains one of my all time favorite games. The fact that Kim also felt strongly enough about it that -she- wanted to give it a go placed it in an even more exclusive category for me though. The truly special games in my life are the ones that Kim and I enjoy together, the ones that create lasting memories between us as a couple. Call me schmaltzy if you want.
This bit of backstory has all been a lead-up to the first thing I have to say about Ori And The Blind Forest: Definitive Edition. My wife plays it with me.
Oh, it started out as watching. We had a bit of a quiet day not long ago, and we both talked about wanting to find a new game to get into, so I bounced online to the Nintendo marketplace. As I was looking to see if I had enough Gold Coins to purchase Ori, my wife pointed out the first wonderful thing about this game:
There's a playable demo available. For free.
I cannot overstate to developers how hugely important the free demo is. The golden age of PC gaming was born on the back of Shareware titles that had free content available as a teaser. People could download and share that content amongst their friends, and that's how monster titles like Doom grew the way they did. This seems like a simple, common-sense mechanic that all game publishers would use, but almost none of them do these days. Someone at Moon Studios made a brilliant decision when they elected to publish a demo online, and it was that demo that got us completely hooked. The hallmarks of Ori And The Blind Forest can all be seen within the first hour of gameplay, and they persist throughout the entire game:
- The art is amazing.
- The music is amazing.
- The gameplay is amazing.
- The story is amazing.
- It's a Metroidvania that rewards exploration.
Someone at Moon Studios decided to give you nearly an hour of Ori's gameplay before you finally hit a very natural paywall and need to decide to make a purchase, and they made sure the opening portion of the demo is so rock solid that by the time that hour of play time is up, there's no hesitation at all in making a purchase.
It worked perfectly on us. Kim and I knew we were going to buy this game within about 10 minutes of gameplay, and that has less to do with the demo and more to do with the way that the game itself was designed. Ori is a masterclass in making people want to play your game. You get hit with almost every element of what makes this game incredible within the first 5 minutes of the game.
You'll also cry like a baby.
Seriously, the game's story opens up with a massive right hook straight away. If you're sitting there thinking, "Steve, I've only been invested in the game for five minutes. There's no emotional attachment yet." I encourage you to go and watch the opening sequence to 'Up'.
Go ahead. I'll wait.
Oh, good, you're back. What's that? I was right?
Let's move on.
Ori And The Blind Forest is excellent right out of the chute, and it never lets up. All of the things that make it great in the beginning stay there until the final moments of the game drift away into silence.
STORY
The story of Ori and Naru is a simple one. An idyll world has been poisoned and left for dead, and it's up to our hero to fix it. As with all great stories, it's frequently less about the story itself and more about how the story is told, and Ori excels in the telling. That's all I'll say about that because spoiling the elements in this game would be criminal.
A/V
The audio in this game is sublime. I'm a sucker for an amazing soundtrack, and this game has that down in spades. The original score, composed by Gareth Coker, is ever-present without being obstructive or cloying. You always know the music is there, you're always enjoying it, but it never demands that you focus on it. Here's the opening track:
This is overlayed with the game's many sound effects, both from ambient noise and your direct interactions with the world. They are, in a word, perfect.
The visuals of the game look like something out of a cross between a child's cartoon and an art house. There's lot of vibrant colors, bloom, and specular effects everywhere. This occasionally gets in the way when the game is trying to prompt you to do something by bathing it in color that is so close to the rest of the environment that you sort of miss it. Otherwise, the visual design of the game is sublime. Ori is cute and adorable, and her caretaker, Naru, is lovable as soon as you meet her.
GAMEPLAY
Ori's gameplay has a tough job to do. It's standing next to nearly perfect story and presentation, so it really has to measure up or it'll let the whole title down. Fortunately, the gameplay in Ori might just be one of the best things about it. As a 2D platformer, Ori's controls somehow manage to be both lazy and precise. I have no idea how they did it. You always know what you need to do and how you need to do it, and when the game demands precision from you, it's somehow made available through the game's controls. It's very much like the OG Castlevania - Symphony Of The Night in this respect. Jumps are lazy and easy to control, but platforming segments demanding precision are still somehow very accessible.
Powers in Ori all feel unique, never tacked on as an afterthought. You look forward to each power that you get, as that power allows you to explore farther and farther into the game. While Ori progresses in a relatively linear fashion, there are multiple opportunities to explore other parts of the game out of order. Ultimately, you'll hit either soft gates -- limitations based on your character's ability, such as a jump you can't make without an upgrade -- or hard gates -- literally a barrier you cannot pass until X event has taken place -- that prevent you from going somewhere truly disastrous until you're ready. Those areas serve only to whet your desire for them as you can frequently see desirable upgrades to your resources hiding just out of reach. This is just one mechanic that Ori uses to keep you playing. Each time you collect a power, the urge to go and explore deeper in the world and find upgrades will take you. This is made even easier by Ori allowing you to upgrade your map to see where those precious upgrades are, turning the game into a giant skill challenge. Many upgrades are designed to be obtained once you have a combination of abilities, but a clever player can get them earlier with precise gameplay and skills.
"Can we talk about what makes the Definitive Edition so definitive, please?"
Sure we can.
Ori DE brings several new explorable areas and upgrades to the mix. Those areas are available right out of the chute and you can traverse them as soon as you feel up to the challenge. Make no mistake, these areas -are- a challenge for new players, but the rewards held within them make them more than worth the effort. Want more of a challenge? Head into Black Root Burrows right away and brave the dark areas and light-based puzzles. New players should absolutely try to make their way through the Burrows earlier rather than later in the game, as the upgrades found there will be semi-pointless if you wait until the End Game to try your hand. My personal recommendation is this:
Play through the main story until you unlock the Spirit Fountain near the top of the Ginso tree. Once you find that fountain, STOP CLIMBING, warp out to the Sunken Hollow, and then head to the right to try your hand at Black Root Burrows. Attempting the Burrows prior to this point in the game is doable, but very challenging. Attempting the Burrows much after this moment in the game will not only take some of the fun out of your discoveries in the Burrows, but it makes the rest of the game considerably more challenging.
Ori And The Blind Forest was a masterpiece when it was released in 2017. The new Definitive Edition takes a great game and somehow makes it better, both for new players and those who are returning to the Blind Forest again. It is a must-own, must-play title for the Nintendo Switch.
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