Fairy Tale Spotlight: Ori and the Blind Forest [Game Review]

I think it would be silly of me not to review this game after playing through it. I think I know a fairy tale as obvious as this one. Ori and the Blind Forest is a video game developed by Moon studios and released back in 2015. I was given it as a Christmas present in 2020, and only recently finished playing through it.

This game is a side scrolling metroidvania style game that puts much emphasis on skill, technique, and precise movement in order to complete the game. I am not usually very good at these types of games, and I might have stopped rather early into the experience if it wasn't for the extremely compelling story found within the game.

Everything in the story just screams fairy tale, and the imagery is so well pictured that it makes it very difficult to look away at any one moment. Although it seems this story takes place in another world or some sort of alien planet, the creatures within the world all seem fairly familiar. But the world itself is a sort of dangerous fairyland, and Ori seems to be something of a fairy himself.

The story employs a sort of pagan approach, giving much of the world's energy to the plants and animals that live there. There is a guardian tree who can talk in its own language. (It sounds a little like hearing Jabba the Hutt speak.) Everything seems to have a spirit and seems greatly integrated into what appears to be a massive world of natural energy.

Dangerous fairylands are a thing. I've talked about them before. They are magical worlds infested with strange creatures who kill at a whim. This contrasts with Ori who is a very adorable, innocent looking creature. He comes across sometimes as a child who lost in a seemingly impossible quest to right the wrongs of the world. His only companion is a floating orb named Sein which seems something like a guide for Ori.

You may notice that I haven't really been spoiling the plot at all. This is one of those cases where I think I'd rather let the game speak for itself. The opening cinematics are very powerful and dark. The flow of the game has many twists and turns, and you will fail quite often. In fact, I spent most of my time failing.

But the more you fail in this game, the more you learn. It's all a matter of picking yourself up and trying to get it right the next time. There are many moments where the game demands what seems like too much from little Ori. There were times where I thought I was going to tear my controller in half. I made it though, and I feel pretty good by the end of it.

I do recommend the game, but not really to a casual player. This game takes patience and skill, but if you can take on the challenge, there is a beautiful fairy tale to explore here. It is a beautiful, immersive,  and extremely atmospheric journey worth taking if you are willing to face some very trying circumstances along the way.

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