Ori and the Blind Forest

96%
Game Brain Score Based on 13,184 reviews
  • story
  • music
  • gameplay
Ori and the Blind Forest Game Cover
Ori and the Blind Forest sets a new standard for the platform/adventure genre, by managing to handily surpass the games that inspired it in terms of storytelling, gameplay, and presentation.
Starting at $7.48Buy now
Get on Steam

In Ori and the Blind Forest, players control Ori, a white spirit, as they navigate through a metroidvania-style world to save the forest of Nibel from a dark energy known as the Blind Forest's decay. Using platforming and puzzle-solving mechanics, Ori gains new abilities and upgrades to explore the open environment and restore light to the forest. The game features a touching narrative and beautiful hand-painted visuals, accompanied by a sweeping orchestral score.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

96%
Audience ScoreBased on 13,184 reviews
story3,024 positive mentions
grinding82 negative mentions
  • story5,665 mentions

    The story of "Ori and the Blind Forest" is widely praised for its emotional depth and beautiful presentation, often drawing comparisons to Studio Ghibli films. Players appreciate the minimalistic yet impactful storytelling, conveyed primarily through visuals and music rather than dialogue, which enhances the game's emotional resonance. While some find the plot simple or predictable, many agree that it effectively engages players and evokes strong feelings, making it a memorable experience in the platforming genre.

    • “The story is simple, but powerful, and is really elevated by the wonderful art direction.”
    • “The emotional weight of the story is conveyed through minimalistic yet powerful storytelling, making it easy for players to connect with the characters on a deep level.”
    • “The combination of visuals, storytelling, and music forms a harmonious trifecta that elevates Ori and the Blind Forest to a level of artistic brilliance rarely seen in video games.”
    • “The story on the other hand was something I had no connection to.”
    • “The story is a bit confusing, but is well written (just my opinion).”
    • “The story is pretty simple, but that intro... it really tugs at your heartstrings.”
  • music5,380 mentions

    The music in "Ori and the Blind Forest" is widely praised for its breathtaking orchestral score, which enhances the emotional depth of the game and complements its stunning visuals. Many players highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, often describing it as one of the best they've ever encountered in a video game, capable of evoking strong feelings and immersing them in the game's atmosphere. Overall, the combination of beautiful music, art, and storytelling creates a memorable and moving experience for players.

    • “The animation is unique and full of character, pairing with a powerful soundtrack that gives this game a special atmosphere.”
    • “The music just adds to the charm of the whole thing.”
    • “The soundtrack deserves a special mention for how it complements every aspect of the game, enhancing both the emotional depth of the story and the intensity of the gameplay.”
    • “The music can be a bit repetitive at times, but the visuals are quite amazing for a platform game, and gameplay is great with a controller.”
    • “The music didn't restart with each attempt but flowed continuously, giving me the push to keep trying.”
    • “The music is the second strongest aspect of the game.”
  • gameplay4,197 mentions

    The gameplay of "Ori and the Blind Forest" is widely praised for its blend of challenging yet fair mechanics, fluid platforming, and engaging puzzles that evolve as players progress. Many reviewers highlight the game's unique abilities, such as the "bash" mechanic, which adds depth to both combat and traversal, while the save system allows for strategic gameplay without excessive frustration. However, some players note that certain sections can be punishingly difficult, leading to trial-and-error gameplay that may frustrate less experienced gamers. Overall, the game is celebrated for its stunning visuals, emotive soundtrack, and a heartfelt story that complements its gameplay experience.

    • “The gameplay is a perfect blend of challenging yet fair, with innovative mechanics that keep the experience fresh and engaging throughout.”
    • “The gameplay mechanics are well-crafted, blending tight platforming with a cleverly designed progression system that rewards exploration and skill.”
    • “Ori and the Blind Forest is a stunning platformer that combines beautiful visuals, an emotional story, and fluid gameplay that feels both rewarding and challenging.”
    • “The gameplay is really solid here.”
    • “The gameplay can be frustrating at times.”
    • “The gameplay is a love letter to any platformer and metroidvania fan.”
  • graphics4,153 mentions

    The graphics of "Ori and the Blind Forest" are universally praised for their stunning, hand-painted art style that creates a vibrant and immersive world. Reviewers highlight the game's breathtaking visuals, which are complemented by a beautiful soundtrack, enhancing the emotional depth of the story. While the graphics are a major draw, some players note that the intricate designs can occasionally obscure gameplay elements, adding a layer of challenge to the experience. Overall, the game's aesthetic is considered a masterpiece, making it a must-play for fans of visually captivating titles.

    • “The graphics are stunning, the soundtrack is enjoyable, and the gameplay is spot on.”
    • “The hand-drawn art style is nothing short of spectacular, creating a picturesque environment that feels alive with every pixel.”
    • “The combination of visuals, storytelling, and music forms a harmonious trifecta that elevates 'Ori and the Blind Forest' to a level of artistic brilliance rarely seen in video games.”
    • “The graphics max out at a level so old we don't even use them anymore, but it has the option to change to them.”
    • “The visuals are really pretty, but they do a very poor job at communicating vital information to the player.”
    • “The visual clutter makes the character hard to see, and due to the bright graphics, it makes my eyes hurt to play for a long time.”
  • emotional1,652 mentions

    The emotional aspect of "Ori and the Blind Forest" is widely praised, with many players noting its ability to evoke strong feelings through a touching narrative, stunning visuals, and a beautiful soundtrack. The game's prologue is particularly impactful, often causing players to cry within minutes of starting. Overall, the story, while simple, resonates deeply with players, making it a memorable and heartfelt experience that combines themes of love, loss, and hope.

    • “Ori and the Blind Forest is a visually stunning and emotionally captivating platformer that takes players on a heartfelt journey through a magical, mystical world.”
    • “The emotional weight of the story is conveyed through minimalistic yet powerful storytelling, making it easy for players to connect with the characters on a deep level.”
    • “The game's narrative is heartwarming and poignant, with moments that will tug at your heartstrings and stay with you long after you've finished playing.”
    • “At first, I was hesitant because I am not into platformer games as much, but holy crap, did this game make me emotional and it is freaking enjoyable.”
  • atmosphere548 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning visuals, enchanting soundtrack, and immersive storytelling, creating a rich and emotional experience for players. Many reviewers highlight the unique art style and the seamless integration of music that enhances the game's mood, making it a standout in the metroidvania genre. Despite some criticisms regarding gameplay difficulty, the overall consensus is that the game's atmosphere is captivating and deeply engaging, drawing players into its beautifully crafted world.

    • “The game's breathtaking visuals and gorgeous soundtrack create a serene and mesmerizing atmosphere that immerses you in the game's universe.”
    • “The atmosphere is one of the best I've seen in years, and made me enjoy each second in this game.”
    • “The atmosphere, the story, the art style, the music—everything just fits perfectly in order to create this fantastic game.”
    • “The atmosphere completely destroys the well-crafted atmosphere of the game.”
    • “However, the atmosphere you will be sucked into will more than enough make up for it.”
    • “This game at first appears to be a small, artistic indie project, but rapidly expands into a full-on metroid clone in a far different atmosphere.”
  • replayability172 mentions

    The replayability of "Ori and the Blind Forest" is generally viewed as limited, with many players noting that while the game offers a beautiful experience and some challenges, it lacks significant incentives for multiple playthroughs beyond achievement hunting or speedrunning. Some players appreciate the game's mechanics and hidden secrets, which can enhance replay value, but overall, the consensus is that it may not hold long-term replay appeal for everyone. In contrast, "Ori and the Will of the Wisps" is often recommended for those seeking a more replayable experience due to its improved mechanics and additional content.

    • “The replayability of this game comes mostly through reliving the story, or speedruns.”
    • “An absolutely beautiful game with tons of replayability, trying to catch everything you missed the first time around.”
    • “I really like having the RPG-like ability points that I can choose to spend where I want while also gaining the necessary in-game skills; that really makes the game's replayability vast, and is rare amongst platformers.”
    • “The only huge drawback which massively impacts my opinion of this game is its replayability.”
    • “The game does not have much, if any, replay value to speak of.”
    • “There is little to no replay value after you finish the game but that's okay.”
  • grinding90 mentions

    The reviews highlight that grinding in the game can often feel tedious and frustrating, particularly due to backtracking, repetitive enemy encounters, and challenging mechanics that require multiple attempts to overcome. While some players appreciate the game's beautiful visuals and engaging story, many express that the grinding elements detract from the overall experience, making it feel unnecessarily prolonged and difficult, especially for casual gamers. Overall, while some enjoy the challenge, others find the grinding aspects to be a significant drawback.

    • “I also liked that you could upgrade your map to reveal secrets and collectibles - so no tedious map crawling to get that 100% completion.”
    • “This game has no grinding or anything of the sort; the only parts of this game that are artificially stretched out for longer game time are the time you spend backtracking should you decide to collect more upgrades, which isn't something that's strictly needed.”
    • “Reminds me what it's like to play a game for the fun of actually playing it - not grinding through gameplay just to get to the next droplet of story progression, like most modern games.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “The graphical beauty of Ori and the Blind Forest and the fabulous storytelling does not make up for the extremely tedious gameplay mechanics.”
    • “Beautiful game, but very tedious; the timed events are simply poorly done, you have to do them 20-30 times which is annoying and takes all the fun away from the game.”
  • optimization83 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its smooth performance on low-end PCs and others reporting significant bugs and performance issues, particularly in demanding scenarios. While many users experienced no major problems and enjoyed high frame rates, others noted that the game is poorly optimized for certain systems, leading to stuttering and lag. Overall, the game's performance seems to vary widely depending on hardware configurations, with some players calling for further improvements from the developers.

    • “The game is the best example of Unity engine games that can run smoothly on low-end PCs.”
    • “First things first, the performance of the game is amazing.”
    • “The performance is really smooth; I had no problems running the game on maximum settings on an ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB at HD resolution (1680x1050 @ 60fps).”
    • “Terrible performance on low graphics; the game has a lot of bugs.”
    • “Even though the game looks stunning, it is really poorly optimized and runs badly on many systems even months after launch.”
    • “The only negative point would be the optimization; it lags a bit sometimes, but very very slightly, and loading times at launching are a bit long sometimes.”
  • stability79 mentions

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting various glitches, particularly related to achievements and freezing issues during gameplay. While some users experienced significant bugs that affected their gaming experience, others found the game to run smoothly with minimal issues. Overall, it appears that while the game has potential, it suffers from notable stability problems that may require patches to improve performance.

    • “The art style is beautiful, the game mechanics are fairly smooth and not buggy at all, and the story is well presented.”
    • “However, this is a creative, well balanced, relatively bug free (I didn't encounter a single bug in my hours of playing) game and storytelling experience.”
    • “-graphics: 10/10, perfect 2D graphics, runs smoothly, no glitches at all/no tearing (so far).”
    • “When I start it, it freezes my computer for almost 7 minutes before it starts, and then I cannot even load my save files from before.”
    • “However, the game is infested with deadly glitches that might end your journey and force you to start from the beginning.”
    • “Keeps crashing; I want a refund; the game is too buggy.”
  • character development61 mentions

    Character development in the game is widely praised for its emotional depth and visual appeal, with players noting the intricate and charming character designs that enhance the storytelling. Many reviews highlight the ability to convey significant character growth and emotional moments through minimal dialogue, complemented by stunning art and music. Overall, the combination of unique character designs and a touching narrative creates a memorable experience that resonates with players.

    • “I love the character development; the story is good, and the environment is so beautiful.”
    • “The fact that they can produce enough character development within the first ten minutes of the game to bring tears to your eyes is a marvel.”
    • “Interesting mechanics, satisfying character development (transition from 'oh crap, enemies' to 'oh boy, enemies, I can use them'), overall good and polished gameplay design, great art, music, good attention to detail, and a fairy-tale, Disney-like epic story.”
    • “Most of the time cutscenes only tell you what to do next, without there being character development, or foreshadowing or anything.”
    • “They just flipped on all the character development they built throughout the story.”
    • “No character development.”
  • humor31 mentions

    The humor in the game is described as both engaging and multifaceted, blending lighthearted moments with deeper emotional themes that evoke laughter and tears. Players appreciate the funny gameplay mechanics and charming characters, often finding themselves laughing even in challenging situations. Overall, the humor enhances the game's narrative, making it a memorable experience that resonates with players on multiple levels.

    • “Funny 2D jump and run with a wholesome story about friendship and saving nature.”
    • “The story in the intro had me laughing and crying.”
    • “In 3 hours, my friend and I had died 275 times, and we just could not stop laughing.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game is not explicitly discussed in the reviews, but there is a strong sentiment that the game's quality and legacy warrant significant promotional efforts, suggesting that the developers could benefit from more extensive advertising to reach a wider audience.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

84% average critic score

Buy Ori and the Blind Forest

Play time

10hMedian play time
16hAverage play time
8hMain story
11hCompletionist
7-12hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 93 analyzed playthroughs

Videos

Similar Games

Game News