3/5 ★ – xXWoodinatorXx's review of Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition.

Concise Review: Very vibrant and unique art style that looks fantastic. Medium quality platforming and gameplay. It isn’t bad and there are fun sections and the occasionally “holy shit” moment. But for the most part it was just mild casual entertainment. I rarely disliked my time with Ori, but I also wasn’t ever having a blast. Pretty minor RPG elements that didn’t really affect my play that much. Journal Style Review: The art style and use of colour is pretty nice looking. The depth to the environment looks very cool as well. Visually I am impressed. Gameplay wise, early on at least, I’m less impressed. But we will see if it gets better. The upgrades are an interesting idea. Not sure how they will play out. I need to sit down and understand the flow of the game. My biggest complaint in the first hour and a bit is that I can’t tell when Im unable to get to an area because I am missing an unlock, or if I’m just not figuring out how to do it. I hope I figure out the lay of the land better soon so I can enjoy the gameplay more rather than just try to figure out where to go next. I was getting super lost a lot at the beginning which was annoying but once I started to actually figure out where to go then I started doing a bit better. I’ve been too focused on killing enemies I think and less focused on platforming. I’m playing on the series X now tho and it plays very well and everything is so fast. This game looks so cool too. It has such a cool vibe to it. I just need to start liking the platforming more. I’ve unlocked double jump and it’s made the game better. This game is a lot better when I actually know where to go. That water tree level was pretty good. So far I still don’t really feel captivated yet. I like the art style, the upgrades seem cool, and the gameplay is casual and fine. But idk. Something is missing. Pretty great podcast game though. I had my best game session which was also my longest. I’m at a little more than 4 hours and with each new ability I’m liking the gameplay a bit more. The ice gravity level is pretty cool. It took me longer than it should to figure out how the mechanics work. The game is getting better the more I play. The final section of the ice level was very difficult. The wind level is pretty good too. I’ve been enjoying my time more since gaining new abilities. The gameplay has improved. It’s a lot less about killing enemies and more just about progressing through the map. I try to get all the light I find but I’m less concerned if I miss some. I’m also getting better which helps my enjoyment. It’s sitting at a low B+ now. Beat the game. The final lava level and the final owl chase scene were all pretty good. I liked this game more the more it went on but I’m also happy to move on now that I’ve beat it at 7.5 hours. Final ranking is a low B+. Final Score: B