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).

Tearjerkers--When the in-game Feels hit ya hard'

We've all been there--we're blithely playing our favorite game when all of a sudden a real soul-crushing moment presents itself.  I'm talking about the moments where you find yourself blubbering all over your keyboard (or controller if you prefer consoles...).  This seems to be a question that pops up all the time in many of the gaming groups I follow and it really got me thinking about some of mine.  There might be some spoilers ahead so read with caution.

1.) Ori and the Blind Forest

Seriously, who cries in a platformer?  A freakin' platformer!  A game that is about jumping and running and double jumping and floating....  Ori manages to pack a ton of feels from the first ten minutes of the game all the way until the end.  I was already bawling like a baby after watching the opening prologue.  Watching Ori get rescued and grow up with his big, goofy friend is so cute!  Then watching the big, goofy friend basically sacrifice itself to keep Ori alive AND seeing all the memories of the fun things that they did together...grab the Kleenex 'cuz you're gonna need 'em.

Later on in the game you discover why the villain (a large, very angry raven-like bird) keeps trying to kill you.  You wind up even feeling bad for the thing that is trying to kill you!  I applaud Ori and the Blind Forest for managing to be a fun and challenging platformer and for having such touching stories woven throughout the game.

2.) Mass Effect 3

The Mass Effect series has been one of my absolute favorites since I originally picked up the first game for a steal.  By the third game in the original trilogy, players had gotten to know the crew of the Normandy pretty darn well and had definitely developed some feelings of attachment.  I was excited when I reached the point in the game where I would finally get to help the Krogan out and cure the genophage.  I took all the best paragon stances--I told the Salarian dalatrass to shove her offer of support in exchange for sabotaging the mission, I warned my loyal crew members about her shady dealings, and everything looked like it was proceeding well.  In one of the many dramatic and memorable moments of the game I guided Shepard,  as she sprinted past a FULL ON REAPER, to reach the maw hammers and watched in awe as a flippin' thresher maw destroyed the giant, robotic monstrosity.

It is directly after this amazing moment that you witness one of the most heroic sacrifices in the game.  Mordin Solus, the singing Salarian doctor (the very model of a scientist Salarian), tells Shepard that the Shroud is damaged and that the only way the cure for the genophage can be administered is if he travels to the top of the rapidly disintegrating Shroud.  You can try to talk him out of it (and if you've chosen some specific major choices it's possible to)  but he demands:  "It had to be me, someone else might have gotten it wrong."  Then you mostly just mop the snot off your keyboard.

3.) The Witcher 3

I love big RPG's that have strong storytelling and characters.  The Witcher 3 is a grand epic and one of the few open world RPG's that really manages to hold tight to the story and characters.  The tutorial for the game (if you opt to play it--I play it every time even though I've done it about six times) not only gives you a basic run through of all the controls in the game, it also gives you some great insight into the relationship between Geralt and his adopted daughter Ciri.  Ciri was rescued by Geralt and then raised by the witchers in Kaer Morhen.  It's cute to see the freckled little scamp running around the crumbling castle while all four of them dote over her.  From those very first moments it is completely obvious that they have a close father and daughter type of relationship.

The bulk of the main storyline involves trying to pick up Ciri's trail and find her.  Geralt runs around following leads in at least three different zones before he's finally able to extract the information (and a magical, weird, glowy firefly-like object) from the mysterious elven mage, Avallac'h.  The clue leads him to the Isle of Mists--a forsaken, magical island from which no one returns.  It all seems very ominous....

You find yourself leading Geralt through a boneyard of scuttled ships and onto a misty, freaky, desolate island.  As you search the island, you find a small, locked cabin smack dab in the middle.  Upon examination you discover that it is currently the hiding place of some unfortunate dwarves who have managed to become stranded.  They demand your/Geralt's help to find their three missing friends before they will unlock the door.  You scamper around the island helping (but mostly not helping) the remaining dwarves.  As you guide the only surviving dwarf back to the cabin the dwarves drop some definite bad news--a girl matching Ciri's description is inside, but she was dead when the dwarves arrived.

There's so much about this scene that is amazing--the way that Geralt cautiously moves towards her, like he's scared of what he's going to find; how he is so dejected that he has failed to find her; how he embraces her body and just seems absolutely crushed.  And then...that weird, glowy, little spark floats right into Ciri...and she opens her eyes!  She's alive!  As she wakes up we see a flashback from when she was a child at Kaer Morhen--she sees Geralt in an open field and runs toward him to give him the biggest hug.

If this doesn't give you a hardcore case of the feels--you're like Olgierd von Everec and have a heart of stone.

A Platformer Full of Feels

I hope everyone is enjoying that empty wallet feeling that comes around with the major Steam sales.  I've made some purchases and will be updating as I work my way through them (so far it seems like a little bit of a mixed bag--I bought some winners and probably picked some things outside of my comfort zone that might turn out to be dust collectors...we'll see).  Maybe I can help you make some decisions?  Or maybe not...

Since I have no patience and like to spring when things are on sale I purchased Ori and the Blind Forest just prior to the sale kicking off.  Ori had been lurking on my wishlist for quite awhile but I just wasn't sure if it was going to be something that I would enjoy--platformers are alright, they aren't exactly my favorite.  Having finished it I can now safely say that it was $10 well spent.

Platformers really seem to be a dime a dozen--there are numerous iterations and all of them are challenged with trying to find something to make their game fresh.  Ori does this in a number of ways:

1.) Gorgeous artwork and environments.  The story takes place in a large forest with a number of different but beautiful biomes.  It's difficult to take it all in while you are playing but I found myself trying to notice the details in the environments.  Ori is definitely one of the most beautiful platformers I have ever played.

Awwww :)

2.) A touching story and cutscenes.  Right from the beginning of the game it's like someone is punching you in the heart.  Even though there are cute little forest creatures there is an aspect of darkness and sadness.  In many platformers the story gets pushed to the back of your focus, but I felt like Ori did a good job of blending the fast paced play style with the story of restoring the forest.  (Seriously though...if the cutscenes don't jerk some tears....I was crying after the first one)

3.) Recognizable platformer mechanics mixed in with some interesting variations.  You've got your rote double jump and wall climb, but Ori adds the bash mechanic which I found to be quite refreshing.  The bash attack allows you to use the projectile attacks of some enemies to propel yourself in a specific direction.  Time slows briefly, you aim either for the purpose of travel or attack, and then you let loose.  I was always a little amazed at the massive areas of nothing that I was able to traverse by utilizing these well-timed attacks.

One mechanic that I found to be interesting was the save mechanic.  You can save your game almost anywhere using energy cells that you find located around the map.  Or you could not die and use those cells to unlock energy gates that serve as shortcuts/access to special areas (I died so much that I wasn't able to utilize them very much).  In a way the game rewards you for not dying.

My stats prior to the final sequence (which is brutal).
I died 656 times!  Sheesh.

4.) Replayability.  There are numerous powerups scattered throughout the map--many are inaccessible until you begin unlocking specific powers to reach them.  I wanted to finish the story and was more focused on that and will admit that I didn't go back and try to find them all.  Those players who are motivated by 100% collection will have a ball trying to get to some of these crazily placed items.  Besides collecting everything there are also more difficult modes for those who want to test their meddle...including the ominous one-life mode.  I won't be attempting that any time soon...my one life would be short and sad.

There were so many times while I was playing Ori when I thought "there's no way to navigate that area!"  And then I died a lot and did a bunch of crazy moves and was able to make it through.  There can be a lot of frustration, but when you do finally manage to float through a cave full of killer icicles or bash your way to the top of a mountain you feel like you've really accomplished something.

Ori is a gorgeous platformer with a little bit of everything to appeal to a wide range of players--it can be punishing and very challenging for those who want to push themselves or it can be a beautiful and touching journey for those who are in it more for the story.