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Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition

Ori and the Blind Forest is a game that I've known for the longest time but never gotten around to playing - until now. And while my first impression of it was very strong, that initial reaction slowly waned and fluctuated as I continued to play. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. I certainly did, but overall, I'd say Ori and The Blind Forest had the potential to be a lot better than I expected. It's visually stunning, fun, and annoying all at the same time. My thoughts in more detail:
The Positives ▼
1. The Art
The most impressive thing about Ori and the Blind Forest has got to be its strong visual and artistic direction. Despite releasing in 2016, it hasn't aged a day, and I'm confident it will continue to look timeless for decades to come. Never have I ever played a game that looks more like a painting in motion, and considering this is the very first game Moon Studios has ever made, I can't imagine how much better it's going to look once I move on to Will of the Wisps.
2. Great Soundtrack
Aside from the incredible art direction, another aspect that stuck with me long after I finished the game was its beautiful OST. It does a fantastic job of setting the mood and atmosphere of a scene, situation, and location. It's the backbone behind many emotionally hard-hitting moments, and I can't praise it enough.
3. Enemy Variety
One of the things I appreciate most about Ori is the respectable amount of variation when it comes to enemies. Overall, there are around ten unique kinds of foes, each with distinctive looks and strengths that force players to adapt and use different evasive strategies when approaching them. Because of this, it helps to prevent the gameplay from ever feeling too stale and repetitive.
The Average ▼
1. The Action
Ori and the Blind Forest is an Action Platformer, and while the platforming held up its part of the bargain, I can't say the same about the action. Truthfully, it's not that mechanically exciting or engaging to play. And most combat encounters, especially in the early game, can be won by mindlessly spamming the attack button or some slight variations of it. It's serviceable and decent enough, but it's nothing to write home about.
2. The Story
In general, I think the writers succeeded at what they set out to do, and that's to tell an emotional story about parental love and the pain that comes with losing those we care most about. However, it left me with some questions, especially regarding how certain things in the world of Ori work. Even after reading multiple wikis, I'm still just as confused, and I can't deny that it certainly did take some enjoyment out of the experience. If you're wondering what those questions are, I'll post them below, so unless you've finished the game, don't look.
The Spirit Tree is supposed to act as the caretaker of the forest. Why release a fatal flash of light if it means killing dozens of innocent forest-dwelling animals?
We learned that Ori isn't the only member of his species. Why does it matter so much to the spirit tree if one goes missing? How is that a valid reason to release that deadly flash of light? I could understand if he were the last of his kind and the spirit tree was desperate enough to trade dozens of lives for his, but that wasn't the case.
How does Gumo know where to look for Naru to revive her? He conveniently showed up despite never knowing her location.
The Negatives ▼
1. Annoying Level Design
Pretty much every fault that I find annoying about Ori and the Blind Forest, in one way or another, ends up having to do with its level designs: Unsatisfying to explore, trial and error gameplay, and environmental hazards.
‣ Let's talk about what I believe to be the game's biggest flaw: It's just not as satisfying to explore as it should be. Allow me to explain why. Exploration is a crucial part of the gameplay loop of Ori and what makes it so fun. It's the driving method by which players collect items and upgrade their many stats. However, these items are almost always locked behind some obstacle that prevents players from getting them unless they have unlocked a specific ability needed to solve the problem. While this design choice is normally appropriate when done in moderation, the problem in Ori is that it feels lopsided. When I explore an area, it feels like, constantly, I'm running into items that I cannot obtain at least half of the time, if not more. All it does is create unnecessary and excessive backtracking, make exploration unrewarding, and encourage players to wait until the very late game to begin fully exploring the map rather than during. This dichotomy is the epitome of blue-balled level designs, and it's annoying.
‣ Another aspect of the level design that I found annoying is how it progressively got more trial and error as time went on. There were many times when you, as the player, would simply die because you had no idea what to anticipate. Falling down and not knowing there are spikes at the bottom, Kuro slamming into a cavern and causing rocks to fall on you, etc. It's moments like these when players would have no idea what to predict or anticipate and are given next to no reaction time to evade danger, are annoying and make every death feel less about your lack of skill as a player and more to do with the game creating an unfair situation where dying feels almost a requirement before one knows what to do.
‣ I kept the least impactful issue for last, and it has to do with how some of the environmental hazards just don't do a good enough job contrasting against the rest of the background, thus making it very easy to get hurt by them on accident. And for anybody playing on hard like I did, the problem only gets worse because these hazards often deal insane damage to your HP, and sometimes, there are environmental hazards that will just outright kill you in one hit. Keep this problem aware in your mind, and you'll be surprised by how often you'll get screwed by it.
My Final Thoughts
Despite my problems with Ori and the Blind Forest, I believe it remains a worthwhile experience. It's a good game, albeit with some rough edges, but one that I still think has a lot of entertainment and artistry to offer to the players. I recommend considering Ori and the Blind Forest on your list of games to buy once it goes on sale.