Ori and the Blind Forest

This is another one of those games that I knew absolutely nothing about upon purchase but I'm very happy that I took a chance and gave this game a shot.  Despite it's quality, there isn't actually all that much to say about it, but here I go.

Ori and the Blind forest starts out with a story about a little white cat thing born from some Elder Tree getting separated from said tree.  He is found and raised by a fat brown thing and together they live a happy and idyllic life together until the forest starts to die and their food supplies run out.  When the fat brown thing dies of hunger and Ori himself comes close to death, he is saved by a spirit and is then tasked with recovering the forest.

From here, Ori and the Blind forest opens itself up and you find yourself in a "metroidvania" type of game.  I hate using that term but it's the best word to use for games like this because then everyone knows what you mean.  In case there are people who live under a rock and don't know what I mean by "metroidvania" then it's the kind of game where you have a big 2D map and you have to explore and find power ups in order to progress.  These kind of games are filled with lots of pickups that are often unattainable at the start but as you collect more skills then you can backtrack in order to pick up all the goodies you missed with your new found skills.

Ori and the Blind forest doesn't really boast anything unique apart from it's check pointing system where you spend mana to create a save spot.  That said, it does boast a hell of a lot of polish and the team that put it together obviously know what's up when it comes to making games like this.  The game play is smooth, the platforming is fun and the puzzles while a little on the simple side aren't completely brain dead.  There's also a decent amount of stuff to find in the dying forest but the game allows you to upgrade Ori to sense them out so you aren't left completely in the dark about where certain secrets lay.  That said, getting 100% in Ori is no easy task with certain items being missable and the sensing skills being locked way up your skill tree so you're still going to need to keep your wits about you if you want all the goodies the game has to offer.

The one thing that struck me the most about this game is the graphics and music.  There's a really nice atmosphere to this game that helps you immerse yourself in the game pretty easy which is something I've not been able to do with any title for a long time.  Also the music is really well done with nice ambient themes as you explore and stuff that really gets the player going when shit is hitting the fan.

I feel that Ori and the Blind Forest is one of those great games that people will remember for a good while.  It's nothing new or original but it knows what it wants to be and does it really well.  It's fun, immersive and looks great, y'all should give it a shot.