Impressively, the game can be run at 4K (like the original) if you’ve got the hardware to handle it. It was the game’s visual style along with the haunting musical score which really gave Ori and the Blind Forest its unique atmosphere, and with the definitive edition, you get more of both.
Want to know how you fared with a single life compared to the rest of the world? Well, now you can. They’re self-explanatory, but “One Life” mode has the additional feature of leaderboards. More difficulty modes such as “Hard” and “One Life” have also been added. Simply make your way to a Spirit Well and teleport to another one which you’ve unlocked. Moon Studios have taken this feedback into account, adding in checkpoints to some of the more challenging sections of the game when played on the “Easy” difficulty.Ī bit of advice, though: don’t be conservative with your saves! Oh, and they’ve made it easier to travel between the game’s areas. Despite the game’s save system, which allows you to drop a save point almost anywhere (outside of “dangerous” locations), Ori’s platforming could be a handful. In fact, one of the complaints about the original was that the platforming sections were too hard. It’s easily one of the most unforgiving games I’ve played recently (a list which includes Dark Souls III, I must add). If you like challenging platforming, Ori and the Blind Forest has you covered. It’s also good to note that Moon Studios have added in more secret areas to the game which can only be reached using Dash. The game has been reasonably popular with speed-runners, given its challenging difficulty and crisp platforming mechanics, so this new ability is likely to be extremely popular with that community. “Dash” in particular will open up infinite possibilities to navigate terrain, allowing players to reach areas which they previously couldn’t. This is both an ability which aids traversing, lighting lanterns to show secret paths, as well as an attack (think of them as cute blue grenades of death). The second is “Light Burst,” which sees Ori shoot spheres of blue light into the air. This can later be upgraded, allowing for use in air as well as a form of attack. The first is “Dash,” and as the name suggests, Ori can gain a burst of speed in the direction it’s facing. The new locations come with two new abilities which can be obtained. At the outset, Ori is rescued by Naru, a large being with a spotted belly, and these newly added locations explore her past. Each of these is designed to expand on the game’s lore. The Definitive Edition includes two new areas: Black Root Burrows and the Lost Grove. The gameplay features a mix of button mashing combat, platforming and puzzle solving. Ori will be required to travel to various parts of the forest (each sporting its own unique, hand-painted visual style), navigating hazardous terrain, death traps and different types of enemies in order to achieve this. The forest is dying and it’s up to Ori, a magical white-coloured feline-looking creature, and an orphan destined for heroics, to save Nibel from Kuro, a giant owl tainted in darkness.
Ori and the Blind Forest is an action-platformer set in the fantastical forest of Nibel.
With the release calendar looking thin this July, this might be the perfect time to dash back into the world of Nibel once again (or for the first time, as the case may be). The “Definitive Edition” of Ori, which released a couple of months back includes some much needed quality of life improvements, new locations, secret areas, abilities and more. Chances are that you missed playing Ori and the Blind Forest, Moon Studios’ supremely crafted action-platformer which came out last year.