I downloaded the demo of Ori and the Blind Forest on my Nintendo switch in late 2019. It didn’t take long for me to purchase the full version and immerse myself in it; this is a gorgeous game.
On top of the beautiful graphics, the music is unique, fitting for each scene, and lovely enough to listen to when not playing (I do in fact have the soundtrack). The story is emotional and captivating. And it has something that is almost guaranteed to get me to like a game: a really adorable protagonist.
Ori (which means “My Light” in Hebrew) is a gender-neutral guardian spirit in the forest of Nibel, which has fallen into darkness. Ori, along with a little light spirit called Sein, must travel around the forest and retrieve the lights of Waters, Winds, and Warmth to revive the dying forest.
Ori and the Blind Forest is a Metroidvania, and revisiting sections after gaining new abilities is all part of the experience. Each time you find an Ancestral Tree, you gain a new ability by absorbing its light. Your ultimate goal: to get the three elements back to the Spirit Tree.
I played this game twice, and I admit without shame that I played it on Easy Mode. As someone who loves playing video games but isn’t all that great at them, I always appreciate when developers give options for the level of difficulty. That said, even on Easy Mode, this game was challenging.
There are escape sequences that had me swearing and clutching the controller so tightly that my fingers hurt afterward. I played it first on the Switch, but when I replayed it, it was through Game Pass on my Xbox One, and the controls somehow felt more comfortable on the Xbox.
The first time I played, I didn’t quite finish the game. I got to the last area, Mount Horu, and I didn’t want the game to be over so I just… never finished it. On Xbox, however, I powered through the game from start to finish, and used the map constantly to make sure I got every single collectible available. I got every ability, every upgrade, every everything. It was truly satisfying in the way only a completed video game during a pandemic can be.
Next time I play it – because there will definitely be a next time – I think I’ll give it a try on Normal difficulty. It will be a while, though, because I have to be honest: the story-telling in this game is so incredible that by the end, I was practically crying for the antagonist.
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