Ori and the Blind Forest Preview - E3 2014

One of the few games announced at the Microsoft E3 press conference for release in 2014 was the 2D, side-scrolling platformer Ori and the Blind Forest from first time developer, Moon Studios. The trailer shown at E3 was charming and emotional, setting the tone for what I would experience with a hands-on demo at the show floor.

Ori is a fictitious rodent-marsupial mix of an entity who is the last spirit guardian. After being discovered by a creature of the forest that would look at home in a Hayao Miyazaki film, Ori finds a friend in him and home in the forest. Life is good until the dark owl, Kuro comes to the forest and Ori finds his friend is dead. Alone, Ori wanders deep into the forest and falls asleep, the point where my demo began.

The game starts with a booming, omnipresent voice narrating in a strange language. This language - seemingly fictitious - is spoken by the narrator and all voiced characters. Subtitles are provided for those of us who are unable to speak this invented tongue.

Ori stands on two legs, but usually scampers about using all four. He races around the level in a speedy fashion, making the platforming of the game sharp and demanding. The combination makes for a fast pace which invites mistakes as you attempt to adjust to Ori’s speed. Like many of today’s platformers, Ori and the Blind Forest doesn’t allow for the player to take much damage. One hit from the spikes blocking your path or an accidental slip into the water can spell your doom. It takes a little while to adapt to the speed and timing of the game, but once you start to get the hang of it, you can really start to zip through the level.

After dodging spikes, descending into dark caverns, and skipping over water, I come across a little spirit light. The spirit tells Ori that he has been given the task of being a spirit guardian and must report to the Spirit Tree to help the forest which has fallen into peril. This spirit accompanies Ori through the level and gives him the power to shoot little balls of light at enemies. These balls of light are like heat-seeking missiles, as long as you’re close enough you don’t have to worry about aiming, as your shots will find the target.

Enemies begin to populate the Blind Forest; strange creatures which look like a tangle of human legs attempt to jump on Ori and crawling ameba-like monsters attempt to shoot darts at our little hero. While there are combat aspects of Ori, it feels more like a platformer than a shooter. Shooting your balls of light at these monsters is the only way to the take them out, but the more important part is dodging their incoming attacks. With plenty of traps and obstacles around, it makes for a lot of nimble gameplay, focusing less on the combat.

As I progress through the level I fight a few more enemies and find a few collectibles. This earns experience which allows me to level up. These newly gained levels translate into upgrades to health, firepower, or platforming abilities. The RPG-elements are very light, but still add a little more depth to the game on top of all the jumping and shooting.

There are a few different collectibles which can be found while platforming and fighting your way through the forest. As previously mentioned, some help level up Ori, but the stone fragments - hidden throughout the level - need to be found in order to open gates so the player can progress forward. There are stone keys which can be used to earn more experience and there are also spheres which can be used to save your game at any time. In addition to all of the collectibles littering the levels, there are certain paths which are blocked off as your character level is too low to get past them. This encourages the player to return alter, Metroidvania style, for further exploration.

Pulling up the map of the level to see unexplored areas, searching the nooks and crannies to see what they contain, making mental notes of where you have and haven’t checked, it all naturally helps you level up and progress through the level. While exploring in such a manner, I was able to gain the ability to wall jump, a skill required for me to progress to the next stage.

After opening another door with more stone fragments, I enter a difficult section which really shows off Ori’s new wall jump skill. Fireballs are shot vertically and horizontally, challenging the timing and precision of the abilities I have unlocked. It was here I learned the danger of Ori’s save system. Certain objects allow you to save at any time, ideally used in the middle of challenging sections, but spending these saves poorly can make some of these moments especially tricky. Again, not only do you have to have the timing and patience to make it through these areas, but you also have to explore them to find the collectibles required to progress. After a few minutes I was able to overcome my poor use of a save and make it through the final section of the demo. As I approached The Spirit Tree, my time with Ori and the Blind Forest came to an end.

Built in Unity, Ori and the Blind Forest makes good use of the engine, delivering an aesthetic which rekindles thoughts of Dust: An Elysian Tail and recent Rayman games. Moon Studios promises about 10 hours of this combat-light, platform-heavy, Metroidvania style of gameplay, accented with more emotional story beats to tug at your heartstrings. Look for Ori and the Blind Forest this Fall on Xbox One and PC.