If there’s anything video games (and ill-conceived hiking trips) have taught us, it’s this: the woods are straight-up terrifying.
But there’s beauty to be found in the woods as well, once you get past the bugs, heat, darkness, and thirty different things that want you dead. And Ori and the Blind Forest is about all those, and more.
Released in 2015 as Moon Studio’s debut game, Ori and the Blind Forest dazzled the crowd, so much so a sequel is planned for a 2020 release.
In this Metroidvania-esque storybook, you play as the titular Ori, a foxlike spirit torn away from the Spirit Tree that birthed them, and found by the motherly spirit Naru. For a while, things are peaches and gravy…until the tree calls out to Ori, and the forest ends up in BIG trouble, literally tearing itself apart. You’re joined by Sein, a small orb of light, who can do things like unlock doors and release powerful energy blasts, becoming a powerful ally and a trusted partner as you make your way through the forest. Jump on and across platforms, solve puzzles, and use soul links to save at will, and upgrade Ori’s skills as you progress, potentially opening up all sorts of secrets and surprises.
It’s not gonna be easy, though; the wildlife is going insane, the environment might as well be a living entity with how bad it wants to kill you, and you’re plagued by Kuro, an utterly massive bird who has made eliminating you its personal mission.
Both scenery and music are incredible, but this is about the Definitive Edition, which is seeing the light on Nintendo Switch this fall. An upgrade from the original, it adds new levels and abilities, and makes things easier on the players overall with selectable difficulty and easier backtracking. Since the game is Metroidvania in nature with plenty of interconnection and oodles to explore and discover, the Definitive Edition is welcome by many, on top of the original game’s stellar praise and reception.
Players will be able to experience this chilling woodland fable on the go when it launches for the Nintendo Switch February 27th, 2019. Until next time, stay and play savvy, gamers!
