Support NeoGAF

[Ashtrax]

I thought the difficulty spikes without checkpoints were great, as it forces you to learn your abilities in various combinations to absolute mastery so it clicks, and then moving forward it's second nature. I do agree though, that if you rank up the abilities tree early so you get Triple Jump, the game eases up a lot.

Just finished it about an hour ago, and I'm absolutely floored by how great this game is. The art style and music is phenomenal and really adds to the tension when you hit the major sequences.

I'm a little sad it's all over...

Finished in 9:28, 243 deaths, 15 / 15 health and energy, and all 100% except just one room in Forlorn Ruins...

 

[mike4001_]

Is there seriously now way to go back and collect stuff you missed after the final cutscene? Wow. Huge missed opportunity. I expected the game to let me do that once completed AND introduce a warping system among the save shrines that you encountered throughout the game, thus alleviating some of the tedium of having to walk inbetween the various sections. Can't believe it won't let me access my completed game save either now.

This would be a VERY good idea.

Even if you don´t allow to go back after the end.

Bring a teleport system from the save shrines after a certain point in the game so we can look for collectibles more easily.

 

[mike4001_]

Holy crap, the escape from

Spoiler

the Ginso Tree

... could we not have had a single bloody checkpoint during that? It must've taken me forty goes to make it through the whole thing.

Yep ... ;-)

At least one checkpoint in the middle of these sequenzes would be highly appreciated.

 

[Takashi]

Spoiler

But that life cell and energy cell are in the Valley of Winds and not the Forlorn Ruins, for sure? That's kinda stupid that it would be a point of no return for the outside map. I *think* I have everything I can get right now in the Valley of Winds (currently sitting at 98% there before I head into the second dungeon, but it sucks that I won't know for sure until after. I'm assuming I get an ability to beat down other types of walls because there's two different things in the Valley of Winds that I seemingly can't get right as of yet due to a lack of what I assume is the ninth ability.

I think the percentages for the maps have to do with just how much of it you've uncovered and explored, not necessarily the collectibles. I had 98% in the Valley of the Wind because there was a tiny little section that was blacked out that I couldn't come back to.

 

[Papercuts]

Completed the Game, Got 100% on all of the map (discovered places), 83% of all secrets (fuck you ginso tree and forlorn ruins), and found 14/15 energy cells.

Has anyone here got 15/15 energy cells? I could not find that last one anywhere, I checked every nook and cranny.



There was one in the last dungeon in a secret area on one of the right side doors.

I got them all but I don't really remember one that stood out as all that difficult to get, especially if you got the one in the last dungeon.

I think there's some weird stuff with it actually displaying the cells even with the ability, I think it needs you to fill out the map stone to actually display stuff.

 

[Midda]

Finished this last night. Really enjoyed it, got the 100% exploration achievement, but I wanted to go back and unlock the last couple of abilities, and a couple others. Was pretty annoyed to find that your save file is completely locked out at the end. Why the hell would anyone ever think that's a good idea? Especially on a MetroidVania game? How hard is it to just drop us back outside the last temple? I uttered a few expletives when I tried to re-load. May as well just delete the save, can't do anything with it anyway.

 

[IbukiLordSA]

Just finished the game and what a fantastic and beautiful game it is, something that every gamer should play. Everything was great.

Only complaint is that I can't go back and explore, don't want to start again at 0%. Strider did the same thing and it's annoying. Would love to know the reasoning behind such decisions.

 

[uncleniccius]

Yep ... ;-)

At least one checkpoint in the middle of these sequenzes would be highly appreciated.

Or even the ability to make a checkpoint, it's cheap design imo. At least in Rayman there were checkpoints.

 

[K1ng P3n]

well, I beat it, sorta. my PC struggled to keep up with this game until the ending where it dropped to like 1fps and then crashed. no achievement for me!

wasn't a big fan of the final sequence, but otherwise the game was really enjoyable. I might write up a post for Thomas and team tomorrow after I come to terms with how I feel about it.

Wish I could finish the final sequence! This just happens to be where I got hit with the water glitch/bug!

 

[Korosenai]

I got them all but I don't really remember one that stood out as all that difficult to get, especially if you got the one in the last dungeon.

I think there's some weird stuff with it actually displaying the cells even with the ability, I think it needs you to fill out the map stone to actually display stuff.

I've actually got every map stone, which is why it's really frustrating that this last cell won't show up.

 

[| Praxis |]

Anyone a fan of the /Film podcast?

Dave Chen, it's lead-host, is streaming this game now It's weird watching him play games... he usually only talks about movies.

http://www.twitch.tv/davechensky

It's a shame Stephen Tobolowsky isn't with him.

This game is very good, but I think I'd have preferred it with no enemies besides the boss creatures.

 

[Adam Tyner]

Nevermind, I'm dumb, and the "bug" was my fault.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Absolutely phenomenal and so far the best game of this year in my opinion. Sure, the game can be challenging at times, but I think that it is a good kind of challenge, not a bad one which can frustrate you a lot and can make you hate the game and everything about it.

Moon Studios,

 

[Haunted]

This is a very polished platformer. The art and audio is obviously amazing, the animations for some of the other creatures (Gumo) are jaw-dropping at times.

In terms of gameplay and level design, it's also got a great sense of progression and just gets better and better the more tools are available to you. All the upgrades and new abilities are well balanced and it's obvious that a lot of thought went into all of them, whether they're genre standards (increased mobility through double/triple jumps or climbing) or new inventions like the bash.

I do love how you've got "portable" checkpoints that cost precious energy, it's a great design choice (very similar to the portable checkpoints in They Bleed Pixels).

Great stuff, honestly.

 

[Exentryk]

I grinded one ability point here lol. Any other farming spots?

Here is a gif of the same:

 

[SEGAvangelist]

This game is very good, but I think I'd have preferred it with no enemies besides the boss creatures.

That would have made it pretty boring. Part of the excitement of the game (IMO) is using the enemies to traverse in order to find hard to reach locations.

 

[| Praxis |]

That would have made it pretty boring. Part of the excitement of the game (IMO) is using the enemies to traverse in order to find hard to reach locations.

I'm sure I'll unlock more abilities that make combat more interesting, but at the moment, just tapping a button to kill them isn't the most compelling game experience I've had. I'd be more than happy with more of the hard platforming than combat myself.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Feel bad for saying this, but I haven't played in a couple of days and don't really feel the urge to go back...

It's really strange. I want to love this game, I really do, but it's just not capturing my attention in the same way ZAT has (while it's not really fair to compare to the two, it's more a general example of a game capturing my attention and me feeling the itch/urge to play compared to one that's failed to do so.)

Still, I'll probably dive back in after my girlfriend's done playing Peggle 2...which should be any minute now (that any minute now was over 40 minutes ago.)

 

[thomasmahler]

Now that quite a few people here have finished Ori and the Blind Forest (our Tech Team is currently working on a patch that should fix all the issues that have been reported to us, so that everyone can enjoy their experience), let's maybe talk about the future a bit

At Moon Studios, we're very proud of the world we created and we've been talking about what we'd like to do for a sequel - Note that this in no way means that we're working on a sequel at this point, we're just starting to do our Post Mortems and start figuring out what we could potentially do for a sequel and whether or not a sequel would actually make sense for us.

As I said before, I think we do have a bit of a 'Super Mario Galaxy' situation going on at Moon - We initially prototyped so many ideas, created levels and left quite a bit on the cutting room floor, simply because these ideas didn't fit into the game anymore, but they'd definitely still be very interesting to explore.

So, let me just ask directly:

What are the 3 things you'd like to see us do if we'd make a sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest?

I think we're always very attentive when it comes to hearing feedback from everyone, the entire Moon Studios Team is reading through every single comment on every single forum (Hell, I'm even using google translate to read what people on spanish / italian websites, etc. have to say ) and we're incredibly pleased with the response we got for Ori, but we obviously always want to improve as a studio and create even better games than the ones we made before.

If we'd ever decide to make a sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest, our goal should be to turn it into what Super Mario Bros. 3 was to the original Super Mario Bros or what A Link to the Past was to the original Zelda. We're not interested in just churning out another Ori at all - if we do it, I can promise you guys that we'll again try to do the absolute best we can do to give you guys an experience that's remarkable and amazing.

Having said all that, fire away, we'd love to hear your feedback!

 

[GodfatherX]

Any word on how well the game is selling? Really want to see Moon rewarded for their hard work

 

[gossi]

Holy crap, the escape from

Spoiler

the Ginso Tree

... could we not have had a single bloody checkpoint during that? It must've taken me forty goes to make it through the whole thing.

Looked and sounded amazing, though.

You know you can save at any time?

 

[Adam Tyner]

You know you can save at any time?

Not during the escape sequences (and basically any time when there's immediate danger). They're pretty short, though, so it's not the end of the world.

 

[Exentryk]

What are the 3 things you'd like to see us do if we'd make a sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest?

I am only half way through, so I'll mention what I can for now:

1. Add fast travel points in the world.
2. Don't lock out areas, and don't make stuff missable. Exploration is fun, and people should not get locked out of areas. Also, NG+?
3. Keep the music, art and the visual effects

I might add more once I finish the game.

EDIT - Also, I'm torn about the escape sequences. They do ruin the flow of the game, and can be really frustrating. I think if you could save during those sequences, it would have been better. I do like the satisfaction one gets after completing them though. So, yeah, not sure which way to go. Maybe the save points are all that's needed. But I can see a problem with that too where if a player saves when the water is right on top of him, and he can't escape. Then he'd be trapped with that save. Hmm.. perhaps have temporary saves for those sections? I dunno.

It's also worth mentioning that in the first escape sequence, the water doesn't rise at uniform speed, but rises depending on how you are travelling. So it doesn't benefit a person that is going fast in any way. The water catches up when screen goes up a section.

 

[gossi]

Not during the escape sequences (and basically any time when there's immediate danger). They're pretty short, though, so it's not the end of the world.

Ooh, didn't realise. I stand corrected.

 

[Twilight Gap]

grr last post of the page

 

[SEGAvangelist]

I'm sure I'll unlock more abilities that make combat more interesting, but at the moment, just tapping a button to kill them isn't the most compelling game experience I've had. I'd be more than happy with more of the hard platforming than combat myself.

That's just the beginning of combat. It becomes less about combat and more about using enemies for platforming as the game progresses.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

No more chase sequences in any sequel. They sound good on paper, but they fast become frustrating when there's issues with frame-rate and responsiveness.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Thinking sequel already? YES!

1. Twice the amount of dungeons (my fav stuff in the game).
2. Fast travel.
3. Don't block off completed areas or at least create an option to replay those areas on existing save.

Also.

Spoiler

Make the baby owl a playable character in the next game or use him/her as a flying upgrade for the next game.

No more chase sequences in any sequel. They sound good on paper, but they fast become frustrating when there's issues with frame-rate and responsiveness.

DO NOT LISTEN TO THE WEAKSAUCE SHELL OF A MAN!

I want 6 chase sequence to go along with 6 dungeons. I looked forward to the chase sequences.

 

[mike4001_]

What are the 3 things you'd like to see us do if we'd make a sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest?

Basically these are improvements I`d like to see for the "current" Ori, but of course would be cool to be implemented in a sequel

1) Fast travel would be appreciated
2) Some (one) checkpoint(s) during the difficult sequences
3) Don´t lock us out after we finished the game

What I really liked were the few puzzles in the game and I would like to see more of them. Maybe physics puzzles including water/fire/wind and so on. There you could do so much. Turn on/off wind so I get to a certain point where I can activate something else .... you know what I mean

So basically more puzzles

 

[| Praxis |]

That's just the beginning of combat. It becomes less about combat and more about using enemies for platforming as the game progresses.

I look forward to getting there.

 

[Twilight Gap]

What are the 3 things you'd like to see us do if we'd make a sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest?

1. Co-op! Some of the best gaming memories I have were shared between my brother and I. Ori is wonderful personal journey, but I think it'd introduce a lot of opportunities for creative puzzles and dynamic encounters if you could share some of it with another player. Co-op through the story would probably clutter the screen considering the time-sensitive platforming (unless you give the second player control of Sein or something), so I think the next best thing would be separate modes.

There can be time trial obstacle courses in the vein of escape sequences, or room based dungeons with limited resources and save points before encountering a boss. A horde mode with endless waves will be interesting as well. Basically, anything that gives players more reason to boot the game up, especially with their friends. As I mentioned earlier, I enjoy the combat in this game and I think it'd benefit its longevity to have those short 15 minute activities you can throw on.

2. New Game +. I imagine Moon is aware of the concerns with replay value. I've created several dupes of my high level saves just to run around and play with my abilities, because I felt like I didn't have enough time with them before the game ended. In addition to leaving the map open for revisiting (and maybe even replaying some sequences in a non-canon manner), It'd be interesting if there was a harder difficulty that unlocked after the final game was beaten. Make enemies more aggressive, health limited, and leveling slower. We'd retain our natural abilities, but upgrades exclusive to the higher difficulty will take more time to obtain.

3. Interesting new moves. Different elemental flames for Sein, sidestep dodging while you're on the ground, maybe a rolling dash after you've built up some momentum. Anything to make interacting with the enemies more spontaneous.

Otherwise, keep doing what you're doing. Presentation is something I value very strongly, so don't sacrifice the visuals or audio. Refine the controls so Ori moves as quick as ever, iron out the technical hiccups, and keep the levels moving so we're always on our toes. I'm iffy on the escape sequences, as i'd personally prefer more puzzles and boss battles. I liked the satisfaction of completing them, but they're mostly trial and error and I didn't feel like there was much room for creativity there, especially because you couldn't outrun the hazards.

edit: One more quick thing: there are achievements for doing unusual things like juggling rocks and killing enemies with the charge flame, but what if they were more integrated into the game and rewarded the player with ability points?

 

[Papercuts]

What are the 3 things you'd like to see us do if we'd make a sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest?

1. Keep Bash no matter what. It's a huge part of the game and flips the combat/traversal on its head--it's a great mechanic that has a lot of potential to craft all kinds of scenarios around.

2. Challenge rooms. Maybe special doors that are unlocked by a new pickup that are also hidden well, but these could allow some additional content and room to basically go nuts on difficult level design. You'd know better than me on the perception towards the escape scenarios overall; I personally loved them but I see others think they were too high of a difficulty jump. Something this might be a decent middle ground to still have things like that without being a necessary difficulty hump for everyone to go over. Could also extend and link all the rooms together with an extra area unlocked after doing these all, though this may feel too segmented for a metroidvania.

3. Our own personal yoshi to bash into a spike pit.

 

[Exentryk]

Here is my performance in the first escape sequence (lol 1 Health left, completely under water at one point XD)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysEHOgsz-qw

 

[Toa TAK]

I live for this game's escape sequences. We need more.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Since there are lots of people who are bad at games and don't like the chase sequences, maybe put optional checkpoints in them for the baddies. The pros can get enhanced rewards or something for choosing to ignore the checkpoints, maybe?

 

[def sim]

I finished this earlier in the weekend. My only real complaint would be the escape set pieces. Split second timing and unclear directions were not a good mixture. I like the idea, and would rather have them than not, but the trial and error in some of the later sequences is a pain that I feel isn't always fair.

Anyway, I enjoyed myself immensely! Thanks for the fantastic game, moon studios.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

DO NOT LISTEN TO THE WEAKSAUCE SHELL OF A MAN!

I want 6 chase sequence to go along with 6 dungeons. I looked forward to the chase sequences.

I'm okay with chase sequences if the frame-rate and controller responsiveness is good enough to do them justice. And you can actually see what you're supposed to be doing...

The Ginso chase should have been thrilling, but it became frustrating due to the above. I like that it's unforgiving if you make a mistake, but if the mistakes aren't entirely of your own making, it's just annoying.

 

[Korosenai]

Now that quite a few people here have finished Ori and the Blind Forest (our Tech Team is currently working on a patch that should fix all the issues that have been reported to us, so that everyone can enjoy their experience), let's maybe talk about the future a bit

At Moon Studios, we're very proud of the world we created and we've been talking about what we'd like to do for a sequel - Note that this in no way means that we're working on a sequel at this point, we're just starting to do our Post Mortems and start figuring out what we could potentially do for a sequel and whether or not a sequel would actually make sense for us.

As I said before, I think we do have a bit of a 'Super Mario Galaxy' situation going on at Moon - We initially prototyped so many ideas, created levels and left quite a bit on the cutting room floor, simply because these ideas didn't fit into the game anymore, but they'd definitely still be very interesting to explore.

So, let me just ask directly:

What are the 3 things you'd like to see us do if we'd make a sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest?

I think we're always very attentive when it comes to hearing feedback from everyone, the entire Moon Studios Team is reading through every single comment on every single forum (Hell, I'm even using google translate to read what people on spanish / italian websites, etc. have to say ) and we're incredibly pleased with the response we got for Ori, but we obviously always want to improve as a studio and create even better games than the ones we made before.

If we'd ever decide to make a sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest, our goal should be to turn it into what Super Mario Bros. 3 was to the original Super Mario Bros or what A Link to the Past was to the original Zelda. We're not interested in just churning out another Ori at all - if we do it, I can promise you guys that we'll again try to do the absolute best we can do to give you guys an experience that's remarkable and amazing.

Having said all that, fire away, we'd love to hear your feedback!

1. Fast Travel
2. Don't lock us out of old areas. Especially when there are achievements for finding secrets spots and you don't get the ability to find secret spots until after you finished one of the areas tha you're locked out of. Also, dont lock us out of our play through just because we beat the game. Just teleport our character back before the last dungeon.
3. More escape sequences! They were one of the best parts about the game. A lot of fun, and really challenges your skills. They're perfect.

Edit: I just thought of this, but...

4. Let us play as other characters a bit more often, with a little bit more to do with them. The times I played as Naru were awesome. It was a nice change of pace, but I wish there was a little more to it. Maybe if Naru had a whole little level you could play on. Let us play as

Spoiler

Baby Kuro

and Gormon (spelling? I can't belive I forgot his name, but I know it starts with a G). Now, I don't know how much I'd like this. It could be too distracting when you're constantly changing characters. Like I said, I just thought of this idea and it sounds really cool in theory.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

I'm okay with chase sequences if the frame-rate and controller responsiveness is good enough to do them justice. And you can actually see what you're supposed to be doing...

The Ginso chase should have been thrilling, but it became frustrating due to the above. I like that it's unforgiving if you make a mistake, but if the mistakes aren't entirely of your own making, it's just annoying.

What couldn't you see? Patience helps with these sequences I find.

EDIT: One more thing, Thomas. Bring back Gareth Coker. He created one of the best scores in gaming. It's classic already, IMO. I would just like 1 or 2 more new melodies. The two major melodies in the game are great, but variations only work for so long. That said, a waltz variation on both with a sweeping orchestral arrangement would be quite nice.

 

[Noobcraft]

1. New Game +
2. Fast Travel (after unlocking NG+?)
3. I'd like to be able to revisit dungeons after completing them. Maybe have a

Spoiler

water filled Ginso Tree

so we can get the things we missed.

 

[Exentryk]

What couldn't you see? Patience helps with these sequences I find.

Even without technical issues, the escape sequences are pretty much learn as you go. Each screen you have to figure out which path to take, and how to go about it. Basically keep repeating it until all of the screens are complete, while you're dying and learning. Trial and Error. It maybe one reason why people find it frustrating. It's not like you can pre-plan the whole thing first time through.

 

[Twilight Gap]

What couldn't you see? Patience helps with these sequences I find.

EDIT: One more thing, Thomas. Bring back Gareth Coker. He created one of the best scores in gaming. It's classic already, IMO. I would just like 1 or 2 more new melodies. The two major melodies in the game are great, but variations only work for so long. That said, a waltz variation on both with a sweeping orchestral arrangement would be quite nice.

i also want a variant of this track with less interruptions between the trills like how it was in the trailer. those notes are so chilling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rHDmRMyJQs

Oh, I get that for sure. This is classic side-scrolling stuff that we've seen back in the original Super Mario Bros. days. I thought it struck a nice balance between being too easy and too hard (Battletoads... ugh).



Yeah... a longer

Spoiler

lava chase

in the game would have been quite nice for gameplay and musical purposes. Haha.

lost my shit when that part of the level came. i ended up intentionally dying over and over so i could redo it.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Even without technical issues, the escape sequences are pretty much learn as you go. Each screen you have to figure out which path to take, and how to go about it. Basically keep repeating it until all of the screens while your dying and learning. Trial and Error. It maybe one reason why people find it frustrating. It's not like you can pre-plan the whole thing first time through.

Oh, I get that for sure. This is classic side-scrolling stuff that we've seen back in the original Super Mario Bros. days. I thought it struck a nice balance between being too easy and too hard (Battletoads... ugh).

i also want a variant of this track with less interruptions between the trills. those notes are so chilling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rHDmRMyJQs

Yeah... a longer

Spoiler

lava chase

in the game would have been quite nice for gameplay and musical purposes. Haha.

 

[Twilight Gap]

also thomas, please tell gareth to release a vol. 2 of the soundtrack with piano arrangements, the 8 elusive dungeon tracks from mt horu, and the second misty woods track. i notice when that stuff isn't on the OST and my audio playthrough isn't complete without every piece playing one after the other.

 

[Exentryk]

Oh, I get that for sure. This is classic side-scrolling stuff that we've seen back in the original Super Mario Bros. days. I thought it struck a nice balance between being too easy and too hard (Battletoads... ugh).

I personally don't play platformers, and I can see how others that don't play platformers much might have found these sections tough/frustrating. This is a beautiful game, and should be experienced by a wide variety of audience, and even those that aren't very good at platforming. And for those people, these sections could mean they might just give up and miss out from finishing this beautiful game.

So, I think the team should certainly make these sections a bit easier in the next game. And that could just mean adding a few checkpoints in the middle, or by some other ways.

 

[Twilight Gap]

I personally don't play platformers, and I can see how others that don't play platformers much might have found these sections tough/frustrating. This is a beautiful game, and should be experienced by a wide variety of audience, and even those that aren't very good at platforming. And for those people, these sections could mean they might just give up and miss out from finishing this beautiful game.

So, I think the team should certainly make these sections a bit easier in the next game. And that could just mean adding a few checkpoints in the middle, or by some other ways.

maybe what they should do is give the player more time to get used to the abilities before throwing them into the wild with them. perhaps the reason it "breaks the pace" is because you're suddenly asked to master things you just started using. whereas in comparison, the last level of the game is a perfect culmination of your skillset and abilities and you know how everything works by then.

 

[rpcdrag0n]

Oh god the tree escape, the goddamn tree escape - ARGH!

 

[Exentryk]

maybe what they should do is give the player more time to get used to the abilities before throwing them into the wild with them. perhaps the reason it "breaks the pace" is because you're suddenly asked to master things you just started using. whereas in comparison, the last level of the game is a perfect culmination of your skillset and abilities and you know how everything works by then.

That time is subjective though. Some people need more time to learn. And some just aren't that good to learn it that well. For example, if I wanted a female friend that doesn't play games much to try this, she'd be okay for most of the game, but would probably give up at these escape sequences. And that should not happen.

 

[transience]

Ori was pretty good. I think I'd say the following.

1. Some boss encounters. There were a couple of pseudo-bosses but the real bosses in the game were the escapes (which are hit and miss). Having something Zelda-like that required you to avoid a big attack using your mobility, bash shots back at it and then stomp 3x seems like it would be a cool idea. I bet you could come up with others if you spent a few minutes.

2. Some kind of speed boosting ability. The world is large and I actually don't think fast travel is a good idea. It makes the world feel smaller and you never get to know your surroundings as a whole. But I'd love something that would let me just zip through old areas. I don't know what other abilities that I'd ask for but diversifying that skillset would be great.

3. Percentages that go towards item completion and not map completion. As a metroid nut, that drove me crazy!

And I'd downvote co-op. This is a solitary experience. Keep it that way.

 

[LeeRoyBrown]

Here is my performance in the first escape sequence (lol 1 Health left, completely under water at one point XD)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysEHOgsz-qw

This game looks fucking incredible