Ori and the Blind Forest

[LBzrule]

Among all the shooters and dungeon exploration I think this game deserves some recognition and love. This game looks amazing and could be the platformer that X1 needs. I dunno man I hear the music. I see the beautiful colors. This game does something for me.

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[Candyman5]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

Among all the shooters and dungeon exploration I think this game deserves some recognition and love. This game looks amazing and could be the platformer that X1 needs. I dunno man I hear the music. I see the beautiful colors. This game does something for me.

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I would be lying if I said that the trailer didn't stir up the feels.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[ubernoob]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

It honestly feels like Miyazaki, and that alone is a beautiful statement.

When I pick up my XBox, this game will be a must purchase for me. So much gaming goodness in that reveal.

[LBzrule]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

Couple of news articles out there:

Dan Smith, Producer at Microsoft Studios and Moon Studios Game Director Thomas Mahler took us behind-closed-doors for a special viewing of Ori and the Blind Forest. The game was first introduced during Microsoft's E3 press conference on June 9, 2014. During its announcement, this was a game that we needed to find out more about!

The gameplay footage starts with a windy time. As the seasons change, love between a mother-type figure and a smaller figure (whose relationship was confirmed to be just that) is displayed and begins to plant it's seed to prepare to grow deep into the core of the player. The baby, who is assumed to be Ori, returns to find that his mother is dead and thus begins his journey of a new life...alone.

Mahler explained that the art work is all hand-crafted paintings and the settings and environments come together in harmony to create a beautiful setting. Making use of hand-crafting paintings makes for some gorgeous settings that lend the opportunity of the aesthetics to set the tone for a feeling of solitude in a mysterious, yet stunning forest. This allows the player to step into the shoes of Ori, as he/she makes their way through the elements of the environment.

Ori and the Blind Forest is a Metroidvania-style game that "tutoratalizes" itself as the player progresses, allowing more mechanics and new abilities, including a wall jump, to open up to the player. The enemies are kind of puzzlated to beat. Enemies will be defeated in various ways, which will have the player putting the puzzles together to see what ability he/she needs to defeat each boss.

Drawing inspiration from Super Mario Bros. and Super Meat Boy, the team wanted a game that would challenge its player. However, they did not want it to be impossible. They implemented a Soul Link that will allow the player to save at any time of the game, so no progress is lost.

The music is just as mesmerizing as the visuals. Ori and the Blind Forest features live orchestrated music that compliments the games graphics and also sets the tone for the journey into the forest.

Allowing us to play, we can report that the game's controls feel great; they were really good and tight. The abilities that will be added will assist the player in getting through the levels. When we asked if the game will feature a double jump ability, that was a question that they couldn't answer. However, Mahler did share that the character will feel like a super character, once his abilities are maxed out. He pointed out that the team's goal was to make the game "feel better than it looks".

Ori uses Spirit Flames to defeat enemies. The story mentioned that the forest creatures are never acting in a manner that is out of the norm. We got some questions in during the demo:

Tanya: There is a dark and mysterious character that we got a glimpse of. What is leading the other creatures to act in a surprising manner.

Mahler: This is something that we cannot get into details about at this time.

Tanya: We are seeing an increase in artistic emotionally boned games that go on to be successful. You mentioned you were inspired by other games and movies, can you elaborate on the inspiration behind Ori and the Blind Forest?

Mahler: As mentioned before, some of the games that inspired us are Super Mario Bros. and Super Meat Boy for gameplay. We were super inspired by Gibly and by Japanese and European culture.

Tanya: The highlighted characters in the demo and the trailer appear to be mother and child; what is their relation?

Mahler: Yes, that is the kind of relation between the two.

Ori and the Blind Forest is definitely a game to pick up as it offers ten hours of gameplay and will be made available as a digitally downloadable title through Xbox One. The game will also hit shelves for both Xbox One and PC this Fall, as a physical copy.

http://www.examiner.com/article/e3-2...e-blind-forest

[LBzrule]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

SDCC video from gamespot

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[Flawless]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

Some reviews:

Gamespot - 9

It's important, however, not to mistake Ori and the Blind Forest for being simply beautiful. It certainly is--but it is also unceasingly clever. It consistently surprises you with new tricks: gravitational divergences, new ways to move through its spaces, and carefully designed levels that require you to think quickly and respond. It is not as snappy as, say, a typical Mario platformer, seeking instead a broader gameplay arc stretching across a single, interconnected world. It's a superb and thematically consistent approach that allows Ori and the Blind Forest to build joy on a bed of heartache, adding a new layer of mechanical complexity with each ray of hope.

IGN - 8.5

If you were to judge Ori and the Blind Forest solely by appearances – its prominent images of Ori being cuddled by his rotund adoptive mother Naru, for instance – you might assume you were in for a short, pleasantly tepid art-house platformer, the kind where gameplay exists mainly to support lavish graphics and the emotional pull of the story. Instead, Ori is a demanding, cleverly intricate Metroidvania-style adventure in which a quick trigger finger and perfect timing matter almost as much as exploring its secret-filled environments. That it’s also stunningly pretty, includes a sweeping orchestral score, and tugs at the heartstrings certainly doesn't hurt, either.

Game Informer - 9.5

Ori and the Blind Forest is one of the best games of the year, and should be a no-brainer for anyone looking for an exciting new adventure to dive into. That said, it comes with a warning: Expect to be humbled by its difficulty. Death comes quickly. Over and over, you’re going to watch an adorable little creature perish because you had a moment of indecision or your skills failed you. Again, nothing about this experience feels unfair. Some of the long scripted sequences are enormously challenging – to the point that you’ll likely repeat every swear word that you know.

My wife periodically poked her head into my game room to ask if I was having a nervous meltdown, but I instead told her that I haven’t had this much fun with a game in a long time.

Polygon - 9

Ori and the Blind Forest's skeleton is deeply rooted in the item-gated action-adventure genre that reached a sort of platonic ideal with Super Metroid in 1994, and in that respect it isn't unique. Other genres have borrowed Metroid's name and smashed it into other games to try to make something new, but I've never played a game so determined to take and develop those ideas and augment them with incredibly refined, responsive mechanics the way Ori does. Moon Studios has prioritized this mechanical foundation, resulting in incredibly tight, responsive controls that make Ori a joy to play.

Destructoid - 9.5

Another cool mechanic that's unique to Ori is the "Soul Link" power. In short, it's a burst move that costs energy (MP), but allows you to save your progress and create a checkpoint at any time. The game also saves at key events and there are traditional Metroid-like "save points," but it's awesome to restart basically anywhere you want. If you feel like testing a certain tough area or checking for a pit, just Soul Link, run off the cliff, and go back to your own checkpoint.

[TracerBullet]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

So glad I just happened to get an Xbox One last week.

[ricky24]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

Might check this out. Looks promising.

[Cyros]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

Played for an hour or two and had some fun this morning. Really enjoying pushing as far into an area as I can before my lack of unlocked skills limits me.

Did have a moment where I fell through the level geometry. Got lucky that it happened to drop me on a lower set of platforms.

[kwebbvols4423]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

Going to download this tonight.

[PPerfect_CJ]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

This game looks a lot like Child of Light and that is definitely not a bad thing. Too bad it won't be on PS4.

[Cyros]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

If you have a PC you can play it there as well.

[ricky24]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

Going to download this tonight.

I grabbed it yesterday. Played for only 15 minutes or so but it was really fun.

[Cyros]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

Streaming some Ori.

twitch.tv/curseofspintv

[kwebbvols4423]

Re: Ori and the Blind Forest

I am really enjoying this game.