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.”