Ori and the Blind Forest is one game that I never got a chance to play the first time around, but the Definitive Edition was an opportunity to make amends. For those that purchased the original I believe you can buy an update (for a small fee) to gain the same features as the latter and vice versa my Definitive Edition (digital copy) did provide me with the standard version as well; thus if I needed to go back and experience the un-edited game I could.
In terms of the updated parts, the Definitive Edition includes new difficulty settings (easy, hard and one life), which will certainly be welcome news for those who found the original either a little too challenging or not challenging enough! Incidentally the easy mode allows you to focus more on the excellent and rather moving storyline, as opposed to the tough platform elements of Normal/Hard.
Then again I haven't dared embrace the Hard or One life difficulty settings yet, as believe me it's going to be tough! You see behind the lush visuals and that aforementioned storyline sits a beast of a challenge!
Get the tissues out!
Speaking of story the Definitive Edition adds the new Black Root Burrows and Lost Grove sections. Black Root Burrows for example expands the titles lore. Here you discover more about the past of Naru, who is the mother figure for Ori.
The opening section is certainly moving as you part see, part control Naru and witness her love and care for Ori. It’s a tear jerking sequence which is heightened further by the outstanding musical score (Gareth Coker); the latter plays a key role alongside the breathtaking graphics, which looked cinema grade quality at times!
Your Goal
Without giving too much away your central character Ori is required to restore the Spirit Tree back to the light (well that’s my laymen's term for describing the goal) and to do this you traverse the beautifully rendered landscape in a standard platform style fashion to begin with i.e. basic jumping and leaping to new platforms.
What makes the game fun however is the dynamic changes to the gameplay that are introduced gradually by upgrading your abilities. The latter are earned by finding ability points (in hidden locations) or gleamed from collecting the orbs from fallen creatures. These abilities allow you to reach new sections of the game that originally would have been inaccessible without them.
Unique Save Points
You level up and save the game in a unique way as well, by building up a certain amount of energy to create your save point. This in turn will allow you to spend the aforementioned ability points to upgrade Ori.
One of the core abilities is earned when you meet a spirit named Sein, the light spirit. Once Sein is on-board you can fire Spirit Flames at the dark creatures and later create explosions which can unlock new pathways. As you progress you can also discover Spirit Guardians (biological children of the Spirit Tree) that bless you with new skills, such as wall climbing or the ability to swim under water.
On top of this Spirit Wells can be found in the game which provide you with another option to save and to heal Ori completely. However the latter can also be useful as a means to Fast Travel between locations. Thus the Definitive Edition allows you to hunt for missing items a lot easier now!
Life Force!
Another one of the abilities that you can unlock is the option to expand your life force energy, shown in green orbs on the games dashboard.
You only get a few of these to play with at the start and each one is precious as you go deeper into the game! Mainly because the save points you can create sometimes wont be available for a while, so you need to protect yourself against the diverse re-spawning creatures until you can!
Most of the creatures have a set pattern of attack which you can learn after a timely fashion, but when you combine the traversing aspect of the game, with their strategically placed positions, it will pose a greater challenge to your health!
You will certainly need to retrace your steps I can tell you, especially if you have not been able to activate your save point.
At least within the landscape you can shoot at certain plants to replenish your health and while the enemies respawn after a set period, so does the health, so at least there is a balance.
For me the wall climbing elements were the biggest challenge to begin with (it gets even tougher later on - ed) because the walls are usually coated with spikes or creatures. Later though you can turn the negative into a positive as the creatures can be used to scale greater heights (an example of this is in the video below).
However with practice all the game mechanics - including floating, wall running, the new Definitive Edition's Dash move and combat - become a little easier to master, but the devs have made sure the challenge is always upped a level once you gain each new ability! If you check my video out below you will see how these moves are put to the test in the rock hard Ginso Tree Stage (towards the end of the vid -ed)!
Thankfully the musical score that runs alongside this game seems to tame my frustration when you hit a stage like the above, for example I must have died hundreds of times here, yet as soon I was getting frustrated the music acted as an antidote and drove me on!
Summary
While it's difficult to recommend the game to previous owners of Ori, as I never played the original, the added new levels, fast travel system and difficulty options may have some appeal. On its own however the Definitive Edition is a beautiful game, with stunning visuals, a moving storyline and outstanding musical score. So if you love a tough platform challenge, mixed in with the aforementioned quality presentation, then Ori and the Blind Forest Definitive Edition is a must buy! Excellent game!