Ori and the Blind Forest Review

Ori and the Blind Forest tells the tale of a young orphan destined for heroics, through a visually stunning action platformer crafted by Moon Studios.

Skills

Gameplay is more than just jumping around, you will have to use every skill to surpass the challenges ahead of you. With 9 different skills (11 if you have the Definitive Edition) you have a lot of room to play the way you like. Some of those powers will require you to spend your energy, which you can only charge by finding special energy crystals or defeating enemies. Every mistake costs you some of your life energy. If you reach zero, you will load automatically at your latest save point. Very interestingly, you are allowed to spend your energy to make a save point whenever you want. Except at very specific locations, like in a "boss room".

Gliding

As you progress through the story you will unlock new abilities. Being able to do more than ever before, new forms of challenges will emerge making full use of the new mechanics. The developers did a great job drawing the line between letting you practice your newly acquired powers and pushing your comfort zone. Making for a very entertaining experience from beginning to end. Once you unlock all the abilities, you fell like a true badass!

Ability Tree

And as you face the challenges of the world and uncover its secrets, you will be gathering Spirit Light, a sort of experience if you will. Once you acquire enough of it you will be able to unlock an even higher potential in three different ability lines: Combat, Utility and Efficiency. Combat is self-explanatory, utility is for resource gathering and energy usage, while efficiency makes some abilities more efficient.

All of it come together in a beautifully crafted experience, with an amazing eye for art style, outstanding music and great control. Ori and the Blind Forest is a perfect example that platform games can be as polished and mechanic rich as any other games. We are looking forward to Moon Studios next release, Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

May the light guide your adventures.