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Ori and the Blind Forest review: a sight to behold

Ori and the Blind Forest is a captivating platformer with a visual splendor that's only matched by its excellent execution of the Metroidvania formula. Our review.

Ozzie Mejia

March 9, 2015 8:01 PM

3

It takes a special kind of game to capably tow the line between a living work of art and an engaging video game. They don't come along often, but when they do, they bring an ear-to-ear grin across your face that never leaves until the story is over. Ori and the Blind Forest is such a game, with Moon Studios not only crafting a breathtaking world with an enchanting character and awe-inspiring atmosphere, but one that's a pleasure to jump through and figure out.

A Forest Elegy

Ori and the Blind Forest begins with the title character falling off the enchanted Spirit Tree, finding himself blown away across the land, far away from home. He's picked up by a large forest dweller named Naru and they live a happy existence, picking up fruit and frolicking in the woods. That's when the darkness starts to set in. Ori's caretaker perishes, leaving the little sprite to fend for himself, just as an evil owl called Kuro strips the forest of its light, leaving it a lifeless husk. Ori bumps into a helper orb called Sein, who is tied to the Spirit Tree. Together, they look to restore life to the forest and bring Ori home.

With hand-painted art reminiscent of a Miyazaki film and a narrative to boot, it's hard not to get completely sucked in by Ori's story. It's a remarkable feat, given that there is no spoken English dialogue, as the story unfolds through action, gestures, and minimal text that breezes by the screen and is blown away as fast as it appeared. The landscape is almost distracting in its beauty, with multiple layers of animation on display. Creatures will even appear, out-of-focus, along the foreground, walking along the very camera lens before appearing along Ori's 2D plane. And while the atmosphere is a dark one, with Kuro's purple hue of evil enveloping the world, along with the dark blue and gray storm clouds, it's all contrasted beautifully by Ori's light-filled character model.

Perhaps none of the scenes are more gorgeous, however, than the scenes in which Ori confronts the much-larger Kuro. The shadowy owl is a beast to behold, with a majesty that's only equal to its menace. All of it adds up to the kind of visual flair reminiscent of past indie darlings Limbo and Journey.

The Blooming Light

Ori's gameplay mechanics are every bit as deep as the game's art style, employing the tried-and-true Metroidvania formula that sees the title sprite's abilities grow from scratch. Sein will act as Ori's main attack source, using light attacks to ward off enemies. While this isn't much to start with, Ori will soon gain additional abilities in a few different ways. By defeating enemies and gathering other yellow orb drops, Ori can gain Ability Points that will let players upgrade his abilities through a skill tree. Ori can also find lesser guardian trees, which will grant various abilities, like a double jump and wall jump, to proceed further into the world.

The abilities take some time to master, such as the Bash that can send Ori dashing towards one direction and enemy projectiles flying in another. The puzzles are incredibly well thought-out, taking full advantage of Ori's abilities and not just in a one note manner. Some of the puzzles require stringing together some of the abilities, such as a sequence that requires Ori to send an enemy projectile shooting through three tubes to lead it to a breakable door. While somewhat complex at first glance, the controls are so crisp and responsive that they're reasonably challenging.

The main mechanic that sets Ori apart from its contemporaries is the Soul Link. The Soul Link will use Ori's energy meter to create a save spot at nearly any point in the world, where he can respawn safely and also look through the skill tree. There are certain spots where the energy meter isn't easily refillable, meaning a certain amount of care is required before making a save spot. Furthermore, the energy meter is also tied to other skills, such as Ori's Charge Flame that can defeat powerful enemies and also open up new areas. Knowing when to save is a key part of this game and a mechanic that's well-executed.

A Glimmer of Brightness

Ori and the Blind Forest is excellently crafted, both artistically and mechanically. It's the single-most beautiful game I've seen in 2015, with fluid, hand-painted beauty that comes off as a painting come to life. With deep mechanics like the Soul Link system and Ori's myriad of unlockable abilities, as well as cleverly-crafted puzzles that put the user's mind to work, Ori is also a challenging piece of work and one that's worth racking your brain over.

Moon Studios has a cinematic marvel on its hands, knowing exactly where to balance the light and the dark, both visually and narratively. It's a short game, coming in at about 7 hours for me, but it's worth every precious second.

This review is based on an Xbox One download code provided by the publisher. Ori and the Blind Forest will be available tomorrow on Xbox One and PC as a downloadable title for $19.99. The game is rated E.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?