Retrospective Platforming

There's a feature on Steam that I mostly ignore--recommendations from your library about what to play next.  Mostly it picks games that you haven't played either at all (AKA the ol' pile of shame) or for a long time.  I had just finished up my latest quest for cult domination in Cult of the Lamb and just happened to glance at he recommendation.  It was showcasing Ori and the Will of the Wisps--a game that I had purchased but never played through Steam (I did play it during my brief foray into the world of the XBOX PC Game Pass back when they offered an introductory month for $1).  I thought to myself "huh, why not?" and decided to start my Ori journey with the original game (Ori and the Blind Forest).  I thought I would reflect on it after replaying for the first time in seven (woooow) years.

Ori and Naru

What's Great About It:

1.) Modern platformers are so much more than ye olde Nintendo classics like Mario Bros.  Ori takes the classic formula of jumping, navigating risky terrain, and fighting off enemies and adds in a ton of fun variations that truly make cute little Ori feel like the lithe forest spirit that they are.  I love the bash mechanic that lets you move for long distances without touching the ground--it requires a bit of practice before you'll get the hang of it, but once you do, it's downright magical.

2.) The story (yes, there's a story), the artwork, the environments, and the music are all fabulous.  As much as you want to just stop and take in everything around you while you play, you've gotta keep Ori moving along on his quest.  The soundtrack is by far one that deserves to live on your video games playlist--tons of beautiful piano that perfectly accents the mood of the game.  You'll find Ori navigating through a diverse array of environments--a lush forest, a swampy marsh, a rocky mountain....each environment has its own enemy types and unique hazards to avoid.

3.) Hidden secrets to find.  As you unlock new abilities for Ori it's very worthwhile to travel back to previously visited areas to use those skills to traverse terrain that was previously unreachable.  Finding all the hidden energy orbs and health boosters is an additional challenge (*extra points for finding them yourself and not looking up a guide)

4.) Ori and the Blind Forest features a save mechanic that is unique--using Ori's energy, players can create save points almost anywhere.  It's nice to be able to save throughout particularly tricky areas and not have to completely re-navigate them (if you have enough energy, that is).

5.) It's short.  If you're looking for an option that's not going to take months to complete...you can finish the entire story of Ori in ~10 hours (if you decide to go secret hunting, it could add time to that).

What's Not-So-Great:

1.) If you're someone who gets frustrated and gives up easily, Ori is likely one that will push your buttons.  It has the ability to simultaneously make you feel awesome and also like chucking your controller through the nearest object (don't do it!).  You die a lot--that's just part of learning the mechanics of the game.  I could see how this might turn some players off.

2.) Pulse pounding chase sequences that require near perfection.  No spoilers, but at the end of each zone there's some sort of event where Ori must quickly escape from some encroaching threat.  These are set events and they must be 100% completed--there are no saves!  It can take many tries, but you'll eventually get it right.  It can be VERY frustrating and there are times where that controller chucking urge is needs to be quashed.  To those who want games to be harder...well, here you go (there are also multiple difficulty options for the leet among us).

Retroactive Opining:

I thought Ori and the Blind Forest was great the first time I played it, and I still fully agree with that assessment.  Even if you're someone who's not big into platformers, it's an all-around enjoyable experience.  If you haven't played Ori yet, I'd recommend picking it up (*the Steam autumn sale is right around the corner and I'm sure you could snag the two game Ori bundle for a song).