Good game

. _.

Ori and the Blind Forest is beautiful. It’s pretty rare that a game is so jaw-droppingly gorgeous that it’s the appearance, rather than the mechanics that lay beneath, that takes precedence. Ori is just that wonderful to look at. That says a lot, given the near perfection that lines the interior of what the game has to offer....

Ori and the Blind Forest doesn’t make much of an effort to complicate its combat. It works off of a one-button-press system that allows players to tap away until your foe’s health has been exhausted. There are various upgrades available to Ori, a small “guardian spirit”, but most of the combat related ones (which occupy one of three skill branches) simply strengthen your power. It’s the first design choice that really sticks out: the game never intends for you to agonize over its combat. Instead, it makes it all about the rapid and intricately designed platforming.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps reinforces that theme of a wider, living world with a menagerie of creatures to fight, big and small: dive-bombing mosquitos, slugs that spit caustic goo, dangling spiders, piranhas, spiky slimes, leaping elemental mantis-things, and hulking decay-touched bruisers with massive clubs kept me on my toes in every new place I visited. There’s a healthy bestiary to test your mettle.

But alongside these many enemies, friendly woodland critters and massive animal guardians hide and thrive in each area, ready to make your acquaintance. These non-player characters pop up frequently, telling you about their home lives, their current predicaments, the changes happening to the world at large, and tidbits of information concerning Ori’s grand adventure. Often, these short conversations come with requests which serve as simple side quests to keep you invested in the here and now. You might be asked to find a lost acorn in a cave, or check on some family members in a faraway region, or hear a useful rumor about a shrine that’s then marked on your map to investigate later.

Ori and the Blind Forest is beautiful. It’s pretty rare that a game is so jaw-droppingly gorgeous that it’s the appearance, rather than the mechanics that lay beneath, that takes precedence. Ori is just that wonderful to look at. That says a lot, given the near perfection that lines the interior of what the game has to offer....

Ori and the Blind Forest doesn’t make much of an effort to complicate its combat. It works off of a one-button-press system that allows players to tap away until your foe’s health has been exhausted. There are various upgrades available to Ori, a small “guardian spirit”, but most of the combat related ones (which occupy one of three skill branches) simply strengthen your power. It’s the first design choice that really sticks out: the game never intends for you to agonize over its combat. Instead, it makes it all about the rapid and intricately designed platforming.