Game of the Month #76 (May 2021) - Ori and the Blind Forest

The forest of Nibel is dying. After a powerful storm sets a series of devastating events in motion, Ori must journey to find courage and confront a dark nemesis to save the forest of Nibel. Ori and the Blind Forest tells the tale of a young orphan destined for heroics, through a visually stunning Action-Platformer crafted by Moon Studios. Featuring hand-painted artwork, meticulously animated character performance, a fully orchestrated score and dozens of new features in the Definitive Edition, Ori and the Blind Forest explores a deeply emotional story about love and sacrifice, and the hope that exists in us all.

Does anyone know the difference between the Definitive Edition vs the vanilla one?

I have both on Steam, I wonder if it makes sense to ever play the non-definitive one.

Does anyone know the difference between the Definitive Edition vs the vanilla one?

I have both on Steam, I wonder if it makes sense to ever play the non-definitive one.

You should play the Definitive Edition. It actually replaced the original version on most platforms. You can't even buy the original release on Steam or GOG anymore. But when you buy the Definitive Edition, the original one comes with it, I think.

NEW IN THE DEFINITIVE EDITION
• Packed with new and additional content: New areas, new secrets, new abilities, more story sequences, multiple difficulty modes, full backtracking support and much more!
• Discover Naru’s past in two brand new environments.
• Master two powerful new abilities – Dash and Light Burst.
• Find new secret areas and explore Nibel faster by teleporting between Spirit Wells.

The Definitive Edition is worth it for the fast travel alone. I never played vanilla, but can't imagine the extra tedium from backtracking without fast travel.

Okay had my first play session:

Got to the tree and making my way to the next area

First impression are good. The gameplay feels fluid it sets up the characters well and has slowly introduced the world to me through my first play session. I'd prefer a melee item to the shooting sprite but it's working rather well and allows for some more dynamic movements from enemies if I had to fight them with a melee item so it's very much a wait and see on how this changes in the game in the late game.

The other thing that's been interesting is the save system where I'm able to save anyway but at the cost of an energy point. This could be good or bad as it means I'll have to be more conservative with my saves but it also means my saves are connected to my powers so I might have to be conservative with my powers. Luckily there are a few solid save points marked around the area (although from what people have been saying they came about with the definitive edition)

I've played the first 2 hours, exploring every nook and cranny I can. I just got the Water Vein (Does that count as a spoiler?).

I think the game is pretty good so far. It looks and sounds pretty. The range attack takes a bit getting used to but I'm beginning to get the hang of it.

One thing I don't particularly like is I think the wall jumping feels pretty strange. I'm not sure why exactly but it doesn't vibe with me. Maybe I'm just being weird and that feeling will go away with time.

I like the idea of the energy system and having to hold off on spamming saves to not drain energy. I think it's a pretty good alternative to how some games have set save points.

So the story is good so far, however I feel as though as sometimes the narrator bits are kind of unnecessary at times. For example, at some point in the game a bug or whatever steals the Water Vein, you eventually save the bug thing and there's a sort of visual exchange that seemed to imply understanding or respect. Then the narrator comes in and says something along the lines of "Ori and (bug's name here) are now friends"... that was kind of obvious and didn't need to be explained. To me, it makes the visual cues less impactful.

I'm mostly nitpicking, but I do really enjoy the game.

BTW if anyone wasn't aware - the definitive edition is available on GamePass if you have it - I know that's where I'll be trying it out =)

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is also on gamepass. Just sayin'. Ori 1 is great, but I'll never play it again because Will of the Wisps is vastly superior.

I've been tempted to play this game for awhile, but I heard it's really challenging? And that one of the bosses was a giant spider or something. But also really challenging.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is also on gamepass. Just sayin'. Ori 1 is great, but I'll never play it again because Will of the Wisps is vastly superior.

Both are great games, which is why you should play Blind Forest first. Will of the Wisps will feel even better.

I've been tempted to play this game for awhile, but I heard it's really challenging? And that one of the bosses was a giant spider or something. But also really challenging.

Two friends of mine played this in the last year. Both of them are very casual gamers (2-3 games per year) and for both of them it was one of their first experiences with a metroidvania type of game. They both enjoyed it and both completed it without too much issues. There was a few challenging sections for them but not something they couldn't do after a few tries and some determination.

So, I think it has an average difficulty, but with some challenging (but not unfair) parts. I haven't played it myself tho, but this is based on their experiences.

Two friends of mine played this in the last year. Both of them are very casual gamers (2-3 games per year) and for both of them it was one of their first experiences with a metroidvania type of game. They both enjoyed it and both completed it without too much issues. There was a few challenging sections for them but not something they couldn't do after a few tries and some determination.

So, I think it has an average difficulty, but with some challenging (but not unfair) parts. I haven't played it myself tho, but this is based on their experiences.

Jesus, I think the last one I seriously played was...Dust: An Elysian Tale? Great game BTW. Tempted to at least try this on my Series X because I'm feeling like a deeper game than Camp Buddy. Guess I'll install it and try tonight!

I'm not generally a fan of metroidvanias because I don't like the punishing deaths & vast open world where instant death looms because you're not at the right skill level yet (or are you).

I'm an hour into Ori and the story has already broken me and sucked me in. I'm set on helping Ori out at this point even though I've already died around 20 times, I want to see this story through.

I like the map, and the way the pause menu shows your progress. I also like the save system (at the moment) because it let's me decide if I want to save halfway through a challenging segment or before. The world doesn't feel as open as I feared and I'm quite clear on where I'm headed.

Visually I like this game a lot and the music fits perfectly in my opinion.

I don't like the instant deaths that some enemies cause, I also don't like that your health bar doesn't fill up after you've died. It's something to be mindful of when you save, don't save in a difficult area when you're low on health. I don't think you can access previous saves.

Overall my experience has been good though, and I can't wait to continue playing this game tomorrow.

OK I've just started the game and I'm on the main menu so far. This music is frickin' A+ ya'll. I'm sold. I'll chime back in after beating the game and let you know if the in-game or credits music can match this first impression.

I've been tempted to play this game for awhile, but I heard it's really challenging? And that one of the bosses was a giant spider or something. But also really challenging.

I've been tempted to play this game for awhile, but I heard it's really challenging? And that one of the bosses was a giant spider or something. But also really challenging.

There are definitely some challenging sequences that require trial and error, but the game is very doable. And the spider boss is in the sequel, not this one. ;)

I’ve been meaning to play this game for ages, and last month bought it on Xbox while it was just £3 in a sale, even though it’s on GamePass… my thinking was that I would play it later on at my leisure, once my 3 months prepaid of GamePass I got with my Series S has passed*, so I can focus on more heavyweight / new / expensive titles during that period.

But damn, you’ve got me all hyped to play it now!

* I’m not going to renew GamePass it until I’ve completed all the games I have backlogged on my PS4, which will probably take me about a year, and just have Live Gold until then so I can play the few Xbox/PC exclusive multiplayer games I play online with a friend, which was the main reason I got the Series S after selling my gaming PC.

Played the first hour - got up to the big tree and a little further on from there - the opening music is sensational, and this is certainly a very pretty game. I'm not really a fan of platformers, so I'm just playing on easy to give it a chance and hopefully not get put off by the gameplay.

However there are already some parts that get a little frustrating, like the save system that resets EVERYTHING when you die, and in the beginning I died a bit on parts of the environment that I didn't notice were hazardous. I don't mind resetting and loading a save, but I wish it would remember certain things, like when you've already watched a cut scene. There's one near the first warp point that explains a statue or something, right before an area that I don't have the abilities to survive yet... naturally I cruised in to check it out and died... no worries, won't go in there again - except, the same cut scene played again as I passed the same statue for the second time... and it's not even skippable!

Likewise, there are lots of little moments were beautiful animations play out, but ultimately feel like bumps in the road. After discovering the previous gripe, I now head back to nearby saves and save again if I hit a progression cut scene or section that I don't want to repeat. What should be a quick little run back and save, ends up being a run back, then a wait while the saving animation plays out, then I can get back to the action.

These are just little gripes, but it feels like the kind of stuff that should have been polished for a game that focuses on running and jumping so much. Similarly, the wall jumping feels like it should be more responsive and controllable. Instead there are a few canned frames for each jump that can't be interrupted and I found myself making a lot of miss-steps because the controls felt a bit clunky and hard to get used to.

Either way though, still enjoying the overall presentation and keen to see where it goes =)

I'm looking forward to joining you guys for this game.
Going to start my playthrough after this weekend's mother's day celebrations.

Spikes. That's all I'm gonna say.

Actually: spikes on the top of ledges, spikes that run 2 pixels less than your maximum jump range, spikes that initially blend in with the beautiful, visually complex graphics.

That's all I'm gonna say.

Well, that and 102.

So I finished the game last night and I was surprised that the game ended where it did because I was expecting that I had another section of the game left. But it turns out the Black Root Burrows is completely optional, although it does add some back story.

I think I liked the story more now than I did on my first post. It's really well done and even though I thought the game ended a bit early, I do really like the ending.

The gameplay to me was absolutely addicting, especially once you get the one power-up that lets you bounce off projectiles and enemies. That power is so satisfying to use. I liked traveling around so much that I never really used the fast travel spots except for in one or two cases. This and the fact that I would try to explore every nook and cranny probably made my game time longer than most people.

My opinion on the music and graphics haven't changed at all, they're both still really great.

My thoughts on the narrator also didn't change. I still felt like there were moments that the narrator took away from the visual cues of the story.

I mentioned that I like the save system, and I still mostly do but I wish that the cutscenes were skippable. There were moments that I saved right before a cutscene, so if I died I would have to watch it each time. That's kind of annoying.

All-in-all I'm satisfied of my time with the game and I'm looking forward to eventually playing the sequel. If I had to give it a rating... I'd give it a 9/10 or maybe even a 10/10. I'll have to sit around on my thoughts some more.

This game is killing me... Over and over and over again. I do have a drive to continue on, so I will ignore the fact that it has taken me almost 8 hours if not more to reach the Misty Woods, which if I'm reading the symbols in the pause menu correctly is the "second chapter" of the game.

I like the save system though. I've never (not yet at least) had to do a challenging segment twice, because I could always save right after.

It took me a long time to figure out how to bash properly without uncontrollably flying into spikes and enemies. I spend 1.5 hours yesterday evening trying to escape the ginso tree. Am I the only one struggling so much?

I'll bravely continue on, I really hope I can finish this game because I have taken a liking to Ori and their story. The fact that I didn't rage quit yesterday evening is already an achievement for me to be honest.

This game is killing me... Over and over and over again. I do have a drive to continue on, so I will ignore the fact that it has taken me almost 8 hours if not more to reach the Misty Woods, which if I'm reading the symbols in the pause menu correctly is the "second chapter" of the game.

I like the save system though. I've never (not yet at least) had to do a challenging segment twice, because I could always save right after.

It took me a long time to figure out how to bash properly without uncontrollably flying into spikes and enemies. I spend 1.5 hours yesterday evening trying to escape the ginso tree. Am I the only one struggling so much?

I'll bravely continue on, I really hope I can finish this game because I have taken a liking to Ori and their story. The fact that I didn't rage quit yesterday evening is already an achievement for me to be honest.

Hey domido!

I played Ori and the Blind Forest months ago but I remember that I struggled a lot with that damn tree too. I think that was the hardest part of the whole game for me.

I finally got around to starting, I've only played for an hour but i already love it. I'll probably play more today but I have shit to do first.

Hey domido!

I played Ori and the Blind Forest months ago but I remember that I struggled a lot with that damn tree too. I think that was the hardest part of the whole game for me.

Thanks for your response! I've passed the second escape and it indeed went much more smoothly.

I can't wait to see what the game has in store for me next.

I'm at 50% with 8 hours in. I'm hoping this doesn't become a 16-hour game, but we'll see. I'd like to beat it this weekend. Not that I dislike it, just have a lot of other games I'm excited to play, and there's one thing I can say about Ori, it's that it refueled my desire to play other games. Thankfully, there's a lot more than one thing I can say about Ori: like praising its level design (spikes excepting), save system, graphics (spikes excepting), sound, gameplay loop, the fluidity of its movement (not perfect, but pretty good), and more.

Something I'm not so enamored with is the story. It already made a poor impression when it killed off a character almost immediately, as though I'm supposed to care 5 minutes in, and so far it just...hasn't really developed? I'm just entering the Valley of the Winds after backtracking through the previous areas and completing them as well I can (100%ing a few areas, including the optional one someone else mentioned above). Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought the game was loved in part for its story? Maybe this is another one of those "GamerAim doesn't see the same story everyone else does" cases, or maybe I just haven't gotten to it. I honestly doubt it'll "improve" from here on, but I don't really care either way. Ori is pure gameplay loop for me and I'm happy with that, even if I think it would be better with more narrative elements sprinkled into exploration and secret areas.