Home Gaming E3 2014 – Ori and the Blind Forest hands-on preview

E3 2014 – Ori and the Blind Forest hands-on preview

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Ori

Ori and the Blind Forest came out and surprised us all at the Microsoft press conference. Developed by Moon Studios, the game shows off some beautiful hand-painted environments and stunning music. Some might compare it to Child of Light, but they shouldn’t.

Ori and the Blind Forest tells a story of self identity and discovery, of sacrificing yourself for others. The designers were inspired by Disney and Miyazaki films and wanted to create a platformer with puzzle elements. It has the classic health and energy bars, but energy takes on a new form in the game. Energy is used for abilities, unlocking doors, and even saving. While there are set save points, it is also possible to create a soul link with energy to save at any point. This adds some extra strategy as players must decide if they will spend their energy on saving, or keep it for future encounters.

Early on in the game, Ori encounters Sein, his glowing spirit companion who enables him to fight and also provides him with a map. The world of Nibel is huge and the game testers approximate that the game is 10 hours long for non-completionists.

The game starts very easily. The controls are intuitive – something that was a top priority during the four years the game spent in development. While the game is stunningly beautiful, it is also extremely clear. Often in platformers (particularly the more aesthetically interesting ones) it can becoming unclear which platforms can be used and which ones are meant to blend into the background. Ori and the Blind Forest has a fantastic aesthetic, but also ensures that such design flaws are not present, something that greatly enhances gameplay.

As Ori progresses through the game, he collects new powers. Players are completely free in their progress – they can backtrack and find new secrets or treasures with their new skills, or carry on with the story and puzzle solving. The game ramps up in difficulty, forcing players to use those new skills

Strongly influenced by Metroidvania and Zelda, Ori and the Blind Forest is “a gamer’s game”. It actually has quite in-depth mechanics and gameplay. Even completing the demo posed quite a challenge for many of the gamers playing. The combat is fluid with enemies respawning as soon as Ori moves out of that screen; in many ways it feels like a classic ARPG but wrapped up in a Metroidvania-esque platformer.

Ori and the Blind Forest releases this fall (in the Northern Hemisphere, we’ll be getting it after the thaw in South Africa) on Xbox One and PC for digital download.

Last Updated: June 12, 2014

14 Comments

  1. The Fires of Suzaku Burns!!

    June 12, 2014 at 15:33

    Metroidvania




    jizz

    Reply

  2. Hammersteyn

    June 12, 2014 at 15:36

    No PS4? Oh well time to go visit the master race again then.

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      June 12, 2014 at 15:46

      PC is actually getting a lot of love recently. It’s like a complete 180 to last gen. I wonder if MS had anything to do with that?

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        June 12, 2014 at 15:49

        Lagz did post an article in regards with MS showing PC more love, guess they are following through

        Reply

        • ToshZA

          June 12, 2014 at 15:51

          Well the love for PC goes well beyond MS. Apart from a few, mostly average exclusives – there are some great games getting full PC attention. GTAV for example. Not just a port, a true next-gen rework. Sure, it’s going on next-gen consoles too, but in the last gen there’d be a crappy port 3 years later, rather than a full overhaul less than 1.

          Reply

  3. Alien Emperor Trevor

    June 12, 2014 at 15:37

    Cool, I enjoy my platform games.

    Reply

  4. Rince&exhale

    June 12, 2014 at 15:45

    So Dust: An Elysium Tale?

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      June 12, 2014 at 15:55

      I didn’t really like it that much. Played it after Trine 2, MotN & Deadlight & thought those were all better.

      Reply

  5. ToshZA

    June 12, 2014 at 15:45

    Do we get extra stuff because it’s a digital download?

    Reply

  6. Rince&exhale

    June 12, 2014 at 15:50

    I have to say, it looked stunning. Something I would love to play.

    Reply

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