Ori and the Blind Forest is a platformer. You don't criticize Mario, Donkey Kong, or Rayman for having "bad combat" so I don't know why you would here. You typically use enemies as stepping stones just as you would in those games, otherwise instead of throwing fireballs, shells, or punches when you need to dispatch enemies, you throw little orb things instead.
Ori is an incredible platformer and the platforming evolves massively throughout the game. Comparing it to Hollow Knight is just pointless. They focus on and excel at completely different things. They are not really similar at all. I guess trying to fit everything in the same genre isn't a good idea after all.
That anyone can play Ori and don't see what a fantastic platformer it is blows my mind.
Someone probably already made exactly the same thread for Hollow Knight, with exactly the same responses but in reverse.Exactly. I played Hollow Knight too and basically gave up on it, for the time being, because it's a different kind of game.
When I bought the Switch in August of this year, there were two games that topped my list. One was Cuphead which by a significant amount surpassed my expectations and the other was Ori. I had already played Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild in 2017 on a relative's Switch so my top 5 consisted of other not so obvious must haves... I am a huge Metroidvania fan so never having an Xbox 360 stung whenever people would heap praise on Ori... Soon as the rumors started to float around that it'd hit the Switch I was salivating at the thought of it finally getting into my hands. As soon as it was available for preorder I went ahead and did that. After a couple of months between release and me whittling down the backlog I finally got to it.
It started with a lotta promise. Ori moves and feels great to handle, the gorgeous world seemed ripe for secrets and exploration and the gameplay albeit simple seemed like it would ramp up to something special... But it didn't.
I'm probably about ~70% through the game and it's so shameful how the combat, enemy encounter variety and general loop has not evolved a lick from the 1st half hour. You're fighting the same 3-4 enemies in the same ways, navigating the environments in pretty much a repeated loop that makes none of the areas stand out on their own despite how visually impressive they are.
The game also unfortunately seems to be artificially difficult to make up for its mechanical shortcomings on the encounters. Ori can only sustain two or three hits from pretty much any enemy or hazard and it's pretty annoying and cheap a lotta the time, yes there's a checkpoint system that mitigates a lot of the hassle and repetition but I feel like that was a cop-out implementation to not properly balance the game.
I am maybe coming off rough in this post but I've mostly enjoyed my time with the game, it's just that I think it's vastly underachieving on its potential. A borderline 7/10 experience atm. Hopefully Will of the Wisp is a big improvement because it has a lot of promise as a series.
This. one of the best games this gen.
Stylish graphics and emotional manipulative story with at least serviceable gameplay usually do that.One of the few games where I literally do not understand the immense praise it receives.
Which is fine, mind you, but I'm always just so baffled by it.
One of the few games where I literally do not understand the immense praise it receives.
Which is fine, mind you, but I'm always just so baffled by it.
I get the criticism and it's hard to make a game that's truly for everyone, but I think It'll be very interesting to see how people will react to Will of the Wisps :) For Blind Forest, we absolutely focused on platforming, since I was always a bit annoyed that while 'running and jumping' was always one of the core mechanics of Metroidvanias, usually the platforming mechanics in other Metroidvanias were super basic and I never quite understood why it's apparently 'okay' that that aspect usually ends up so much more basic than what 2d Mario delivered 25+ years ago in Metroidvania games.
I mean, the characterController in Ori and the Blind Forest is waaaaay more intricate than anything you usually see in other Metroidvanias, cause our goal was to make sure that we nail that aspect and looking at what moves people can perform by the time they finish the game, I think we delivered on that front. To me, Blind Forest really becomes its own thing once you finished the Ginso Tree and can now doubleJump and Bash through levels without even touching the ground, etc. - People start to understand the rhythm and perform some insane moves and that was the whole idea. Enemies in BF were more about creating dynamic obstacles that you'd platform around.
For Will of the Wisps, our goal was to elevate all the other aspects as well, so that you'd end up with this perfectly rounded package. Our goal for Will of the Wisps was that people would see a similar jump between BF and WotW that people saw between Zelda 1 to Zelda 3 or Super Mario Bros 1 to Super Mario Bros 3. I think WotW will deliver for the people who absolutely need super tight combat in their Metroidvanias, or people who want more story / NPCs, Sidequests, Bosses, etc.
So while it's almost impossible to make everybody happy, my hope is that with Will of the Wisps we'll make a ton more people happy :)
I get the criticism and it's hard to make a game that's truly for everyone,
It's in my top 5 of the generation so I can't agree at all. It's rare that I get so immersed in a game, it gripped me from beginning to end.
I always say it's a platforming focused metroidvania. Ginso Tree was when the game got really good for me, enjoyed the various platforming "boss" type moments. I'm excited about WotW.I get the criticism and it's hard to make a game that's truly for everyone, but I think It'll be very interesting to see how people will react to Will of the Wisps :) For Blind Forest, we absolutely focused on platforming, since I was always a bit annoyed that while 'running and jumping' was always one of the core mechanics of Metroidvanias, usually the platforming mechanics in other Metroidvanias were super basic and I never quite understood why it's apparently 'okay' that that aspect usually ends up so much more basic than what 2d Mario delivered 25+ years ago in Metroidvania games.
I mean, the characterController in Ori and the Blind Forest is waaaaay more intricate than anything you usually see in other Metroidvanias, cause our goal was to make sure that we nail that aspect and looking at what moves people can perform by the time they finish the game, I think we delivered on that front. To me, Blind Forest really becomes its own thing once you finished the Ginso Tree and can now doubleJump and Bash through levels without even touching the ground, etc. - People start to understand the rhythm and perform some insane moves and that was the whole idea. Enemies in BF were more about creating dynamic obstacles that you'd platform around.
For Will of the Wisps, our goal was to elevate all the other aspects as well, so that you'd end up with this perfectly rounded package. Our goal for Will of the Wisps was that people would see a similar jump between BF and WotW that people saw between Zelda 1 to Zelda 3 or Super Mario Bros 1 to Super Mario Bros 3. I think WotW will deliver for the people who absolutely need super tight combat in their Metroidvanias, or people who want more story / NPCs, Sidequests, Bosses, etc.
So while it's almost impossible to make everybody happy, my hope is that with Will of the Wisps we'll make a ton more people happy :)
Ori and the Blind Forest is a platformer. You don't criticize Mario, Donkey Kong, or Rayman for having "bad combat" so I don't know why you would here. You typically use enemies as stepping stones just as you would in those games, otherwise instead of throwing fireballs, shells, or punches when you need to dispatch enemies, you throw little orb things instead.
Hmm, I always stopped for every fight and did not find it as fun as I thought. So fighting is more of a plan b?I think you should think of it as a platformer instead of metroidvania.
The point the not really the combat but flow of movement.
Have you gotten "that movement mechanic" yet. In my opinion it changed the whole game.
Meeeeeehhhh, I really thought the platforming in Hollow Knight was not that great and does not compare well. It's definitely not as tight.It's not fair to compared it to Hollow Knight.
When you start making that comparison every game looks kinda crappy.
Ori is still really good. Hollow Knight is just that once in a generation absurd quality game.
Super Mario Bros 1 to Super Mario Bros 3 is setting the bar very very very high.I get the criticism and it's hard to make a game that's truly for everyone, but I think It'll be very interesting to see how people will react to Will of the Wisps :) For Blind Forest, we absolutely focused on platforming, since I was always a bit annoyed that while 'running and jumping' was always one of the core mechanics of Metroidvanias, usually the platforming mechanics in other Metroidvanias were super basic and I never quite understood why it's apparently 'okay' that that aspect usually ends up so much more basic than what 2d Mario delivered 25+ years ago in Metroidvania games.
I mean, the characterController in Ori and the Blind Forest is waaaaay more intricate than anything you usually see in other Metroidvanias, cause our goal was to make sure that we nail that aspect and looking at what moves people can perform by the time they finish the game, I think we delivered on that front. To me, Blind Forest really becomes its own thing once you finished the Ginso Tree and can now doubleJump and Bash through levels without even touching the ground, etc. - People start to understand the rhythm and perform some insane moves and that was the whole idea. Enemies in BF were more about creating dynamic obstacles that you'd platform around.
For Will of the Wisps, our goal was to elevate all the other aspects as well, so that you'd end up with this perfectly rounded package. Our goal for Will of the Wisps was that people would see a similar jump between BF and WotW that people saw between Zelda 1 to Zelda 3 or Super Mario Bros 1 to Super Mario Bros 3. I think WotW will deliver for the people who absolutely need super tight combat in their Metroidvanias, or people who want more story / NPCs, Sidequests, Bosses, etc.
So while it's almost impossible to make everybody happy, my hope is that with Will of the Wisps we'll make a ton more people happy :)
Oooooh, this gets me even more excited!! Already got the beautiful CE ordered, can't wait for release!!I get the criticism and it's hard to make a game that's truly for everyone, but I think It'll be very interesting to see how people will react to Will of the Wisps :) For Blind Forest, we absolutely focused on platforming, since I was always a bit annoyed that while 'running and jumping' was always one of the core mechanics of Metroidvanias, usually the platforming mechanics in other Metroidvanias were super basic and I never quite understood why it's apparently 'okay' that that aspect usually ends up so much more basic than what 2d Mario delivered 25+ years ago in Metroidvania games.
I mean, the characterController in Ori and the Blind Forest is waaaaay more intricate than anything you usually see in other Metroidvanias, cause our goal was to make sure that we nail that aspect and looking at what moves people can perform by the time they finish the game, I think we delivered on that front. To me, Blind Forest really becomes its own thing once you finished the Ginso Tree and can now doubleJump and Bash through levels without even touching the ground, etc. - People start to understand the rhythm and perform some insane moves and that was the whole idea. Enemies in BF were more about creating dynamic obstacles that you'd platform around.
For Will of the Wisps, our goal was to elevate all the other aspects as well, so that you'd end up with this perfectly rounded package. Our goal for Will of the Wisps was that people would see a similar jump between BF and WotW that people saw between Zelda 1 to Zelda 3 or Super Mario Bros 1 to Super Mario Bros 3. I think WotW will deliver for the people who absolutely need super tight combat in their Metroidvanias, or people who want more story / NPCs, Sidequests, Bosses, etc.
So while it's almost impossible to make everybody happy, my hope is that with Will of the Wisps we'll make a ton more people happy :)
Actually I totally loved those sequences. It's those sequences that really set it apart from other titles. It's platforming bliss really, and getting it right is exhilarating!!My main criticism would be that the game sometimes seemed to care more about cinematic presentation to the detriment of the player's experience. For example, there is a scene where you have to escape an explosion after beating a boss. It's intended to be an exhilarating climax, with fast pacing and soaring music. However, if you slip up at all during the sequence you are killed and have to start over. The effect undermines the goal of the scene, making the player feel frustrated instead of triumphant.