Ori and the Blind Forest is a platform-adventure game that was originally released on PC and Xbox One on the 11th March 2015. Developed by Moon Studios, Ori and the Blind Forest was the studios’ first ever title and was quickly reprised as one of the best games of that year; especially from a debuting studio. You play as Ori, a guardian spirit that is tasked with saving the forest from the enveloping cataclysm that has already destroyed much of the forest already.
How to Download Ori and the Blind Forest
You can download the game in its enhanced edition called Definitive Edition from GOG.com or Steam. You can enjoy the game on PC or Xbox One. Sadly there is no Ori and the Blind Forest version for PS4, nor for Nintendo Switch.
The Game Review
As the player, you will take control of Ori, a white guardian spirit that had fallen from the great Spirit Tree when they were a new-born. A creature of the forest, Naru raised Ori, but as the winters went by, the forest around them slowly started to become more hostile and uninhabited by nature.
For reasons that shan’t be spoiled, Ori has to go out into the forest in an attempt to survive, he comes to the foot of the Spirit Tree and shortly after meets a blue orb that goes by Sein. Sein helps to teach Ori what must be done to save the forest, and off the pair go to recover the light of three main elements: water, wind, and warmth.
Ori and the Blind Forest plays just like a Metroidvania, so in a 2D side-scrolling perspective, you’ll be tasked with exploring the forest around you. To do that, you’ll be running around, jumping along platforms, and even occasionally solving different puzzles that the game throws at you. To keep things interesting, the game has some combat for Ori and Sein to do to provide themselves with some protection.
At the press of a button, Sein will throw fire at a nearby enemy in a basic combo, dealing damage until they die. Later on, in the game, you can find different combat abilities, but for the most part, the game focuses on platforming rather than combat.
Just like any good Metroidvania game, Ori and the Blind Forest gives you plenty of reasons to explore the forest as best you can. A lot of the time you’re going to find areas where you can’t access but will eventually be rewarded with a new ability of some kind and thus you can continue your progression. Some abilities are for combat purposes, but they are mostly used to traverse the map a little faster and easier than before, especially when you notice some of the areas you couldn’t access beforehand.
Many Metroidvania titles try and play a lot like the Metroid games (for clear reasons) and that’s exactly where Ori and the Blind Forest takes a lot of their inspiration, at least in terms of gameplay. Visually, the game takes some design choices out of Dust: An Elysian Tail’s book, where the characters are usually woodland characters with plenty of color and character around them.
