Wallet crusader: Ori and The Blind Forest

When beauty, mesmerizing music, and good story come together to create a unique experience in a game, that’s when you know you’ve got something. Ori and the Blind Forest shows just how much you can push yourself mentally and somewhat emotionally.

 

Reviewed By  Arielle Danan  

 

Ori and the Blind Forest

Platform(s): Microsoft windows and Xbox One

Developer: Moon Studios

Publisher: Microsoft Studios

Release Date: March 11 2015

Price: 19.99 USD

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The Gameplay
Ori and The Blind Forest is a unique single-player platform adventure game that allows you take on the role of Ori, a white guardian spirit who comes back to life after the destruction of her home, Nible. Koru, who is the main antagonist in the story is trying to stop Ori at any chance she gets. This game made me cry in the first five minutes, so don’t be surprised if you need a tissue box next to you whilst playing. Ori and The Blind Forest is set up in a beautiful surreal world filled with monsters, incredible landscapes, and harrowing adventures. Your main objective in this game is to get to the spirit tree and replenish the light that was taken by our gal koru. trust me when I say you will die…A LOT.   Prepare yourself for hours of fun, tears, and rage at this beautiful game because I remember recording for two hours for an episode to only come out with twelve minutes of footage that could actually be used in an episode.

 

 

The Single player
When playing this game I found the mechanics to be very intense, wonderful and slightly annoying at times. When you play this game there is a total of eleven abilities that you can earn that allow you to defeat the odds and progress in the game. I should warn you, you get to a part in the game where the gravity is, well, questionable and it is there the controls can be a bit tricky to manage, but once you have let out your rage and practiced a few times, success will be achieved. One thing I would recommend though is please save your game regularly. I cannot tell you how many times I thought I could get away with not saving only to find out I had been sent to the beginning of a check point. Save the tears, and save your game. Overall the controls are very elegantly done, and easy to get the hang of, like I said, just practice and you will be fine.

 

 

Final thoughts
So here are my final thoughts, Would I recommend this game? Absolutely! it is fun, witty, beautiful and a bit of a tear jerker. The music on its own is a complete masterpiece. When it comes to this review I have very little negativity towards it. The game does not insult the player by making it “easy” by any means.

This game will challenge you and get you thinking in ways that I didn’t think were possible for a game to do. I am so happy this game came with my Xbox because it will forever hold a place in my heart. The only “con” I have about it is the story at the end and some of the controls. I say the controls only because the frustrated me and confused me a tad. Regarding the story, Koru did not have to die, yes she was trying to kill Ori, but I strongly believe that there needed to be a clearer ending, or maybe a DLC to add to the story a bit more. As for the controls, the main issue I had wth them that in the section of when we had some questionable gravity, right was left and left was right…Not cool for someone who tends to die a lot in video games anyway. But all in all this game is worth it, and I would recommend it in a heartbeat.

 

 

Pros – 

• Amazing story
• Mesmerizing music
• Eye-grabbing graphics

 

Cons –

• The story needs flushed out in the end, maybe a DLC to continue it in the future
• The controls were a bit tricky in certain sections
• Koru didn’t need to die! I know this might not qualify as a con, but I feel as if she could have a big role in this game besides being “the bad guy.”

Stiles’ Series Synopsis | Final Fantasy IV [PSP/PC]

Here it is: The long overdue entry in Stiles’ Series Synopsis. While the first three titles in the Final Fantasy series all performed well for SquareEnix, it is hard to deny that Final Fantasy IV is where the series truly hit it’s stride. For a full analysis, check out the video above! I know that I would appreciate it at the very least!

PlayStation Plus & Xbox Live Games with Gold lineup for August 2017

JULY’S XBOX GAMES WITH GOLD LINEUP HAS BEEN REVEALED. THE LINEUP INCLUDES 4 GAMES IN TOTAL: 2 TITLES FOR THE XBOX ONE, AND 2 THAT ARE AVAILABLE ON XBOX 360. AS USUAL, XBOX ONE OWNERS WILL HAVE ACCESS TO ALL 4 TITLES DUE TO BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY. TWO OF THE TITLES ARE TIMED RELEASES, NOT BECOMING AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD UNTIL THE 16TH OF AUGUST. HERE ARE THE TITLES XBOX LIVE GOLD SUBSCRIBERS CAN LOOK FORWARD TO THIS MONTH!

 

Xboxone 

 

Runbow

Runbow offers intense head-to-head racing in a platform environment. This multiplayer title pits players in a race to the end of each level while offering game mechanics such as: double jumps, basic attacks against enemies and a color changing backgrounds that unlock different obstacles and more! With time trials and “Master the Bowhemoth”, this title will fuel your need for speed July 16th –  August 15th!

 

 Slime Rancher

This first-person sandbox from Monomi Park puts the player in the shoes of Beatrix LeBeau,  a rancher making a living wrangling slimes. In this open world, the player explores different environments and collects, raises and even breeds different slimes. Earn currency and different upgrades to your farm and see just how successful you can be August 1st – 31st!

Trials Fusion

This platform based racing game pits players in a race on changing platforms and other physics-based obstacles. Utilizing 3D graphics on a 2D plane, Trials Fusion forces the player to use wheelies and more while only moving forward and backward. See how good you can get with this title from RedLynx August 16th – September 15th!

 

 

Xbox 360

Bayonetta 

This hack and slash title from PlatinumGames features a protagonist that can shapeshift, use different weapons and even magical attacks. Taking place in a fictional city within Europe called Vigrid,  this third person action game takes the player within the war between Umbra Witches and the Lumen Sages. See what Bayonetta’s story has in store August 1st – 16th

 

Red Faction: Armageddon

 

This third-person shooter from Volition takes players on a destructive journey on Mars. Set 50 years after Red Faction: Guerilla, this game utilizes an array of weapons and vehicles, the player even gets to use a Nano Forge which can repair various objects to allow progress within the levels. See where this journey takes you August 16th – 31st!

 

 

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PlayStation Plus subscribers have a lineup of games releasing as well. This includes games for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Vita. Three of the titles are timed releases, not becoming available for download until the latter half of August. Here are the titles PlayStation Plus subscribers can look forward to this month!

 

PlayStation 4

 

Just Cause 3

 

This third-person action adventure game from Avalanche Studios offers open world destruction and pure chaos within the fictional island of Medici. Following Rico Rodriguez’s fight against dictator General Sebastiano Di Ravello, the player can ultimately decide how the game plays by utilizing so many different methods of destructive force and combat. See how much you can destroy during the first half of August!

 

Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry

 

This stand alone DLC (Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag) from Ubisoft Montreal follows the war between Assassins and Templars, this time set in the Caribbean during the 18th century. This “Golden age of Piracy” is show cased within this action adventure title that pits the players against various threats and more. See how you can change the events of history during the latter half of August!

 

 

PlayStation 3

 

Super Motherload

This sequel to Motherload (2004) features a 4 player couch co-op in which players drill and collect minerals within a horror/science-fiction setting. Introducing new mechanics such as mineral smelting, checkpoints and more, players solve different puzzles and much more as they learn more and more about the history and lore of the game. See how far you can drill with this title from XGe Studios the first half of August!

 

 

Snakeball

This 3D remake of Snake by developers Gamoola Soft and Ravn Studio, maintaining most of the game play mechanics while offering variations as well. With16 characters with 8 color variations,  3 modes: Snakeball, Challenge and Ball Frenzy and much more, this title can pit up to 8 players online for all sorts of mayhem. See who will grace the top of the leaderboards the later half of August!

 

 

 

PlayStation Vita: 

Downwell (Available on the PS4 via cross-buy)

This roguelike shooter from developer Moppin takes players on a vertically scrolling platform in the depth of a well filled with monsters! With a procedurally generated well, the player is often facing a large number of various enemies while searching for “timevoids” which lead to large amounts of gems, alternate weapons and more. See how many enemies you can take down during the first half of August!

Level 22

This top down stealth based game follows an office worker named Gary. Gary is late for work and must sneak through 22 different floors to get to his office before he is caught. Will you be able to defeat the various puzzles, bosses and sneak pass your co-workers before Gary is caught? Find out during the latter half of August!

 

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That concludes the lineup of free games for console owners for the month of August. While some of the games are lesser known, they are definitely worth trying out. Best of all, they’re free (as long as you are subscribed to the respective service)! Be sure to tune in next month for our September 2017 line-up!