The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!
Let’s discuss the Ori series. What is your favorite entry? Are there any moments or mechanics that stand out to you? What aspects of the games do you like most? What are areas that could be improved or don’t work for you? Feel free to share any thoughts that come up, or react to other peoples comments. Let’s get the conversation going!
If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).
Previous entries: Metal Gear, Slay the Spire
I liked the original Ori the most. I’ve played it so much that I’ve gotten all achievements, including the no-death and under 3 h ones.
The definitive edition added the much needed teleports between wells, so that was a great upgrade.
The sequel lost some of its charm imo. I didn’t like that Ori is now slashing with a sword; I preferred the original’s approach of Sein being the damage dealer.
The final battle in 2nd game was a huge difficulty leap imo. Falling down was really not fun.
Coming into this thread, I thought I’d be the only one saying this. Most online reviews seem to prefer the sequel but I much prefer the first game. Something about the sequel’s controls just never sat well for me. I love everything about the first game though and had played it through twice right before I tried the sequel.
Maybe I should try again now that it’s been a while since then.
Hmmm, I get why you think the second one lacks charm but as someone who’s first metroidvania was hollowknight I love the second one much more than I like the first
Interesting. I ended up enjoying the sequel a lot more than the original. I’m a metroidvania junky and I found the second one to scratch that itch a lot better than the first. Both are great though. The art is outstanding and was worth tinkering with my monitors HDR settings to get just right
Linux will have HDR support soon inshallah
FYI: c/metroidvanias
Love both, and very excited for their next game, No Rest for the Wicked - which I don’t know if it’s been said explicitly, but is rumored to also be a Metroidvania.
I know it might be a little cliché, but I would still rank Hollow Knight as my #1 Metroidvania, but these two are my #2A and #2B, even after loving the new Prince of Persia. The level of polish is incredible and Wisps just cranked it up even more.
I enjoyed the video the IGN posted about them yesterday.
I love the series. And looking forward to their next game coming soon.
I keep picking this game up and putting it back down. It’s beautiful but I just can’t get into it.
I finally tried the first one not long ago and went in super excited. I had the same experience, though… I think for me what caught me off guard the most was how hard it was. I’ve played a lot of platformers and metroidvanias, and I found Ori to be punishingly difficult. The “escape the area” sections were the killers ultimately. The first one in the tree took me dozens of tries, and it turned a very cool and cinematic moment into a frustrating slog that I couldn’t wait to put behind me. I got as far as the next one of these in the ice area and it was even more intense, and finally I just threw in the towel. It’s a shame because there was a lot to like, but the difficulty was a bit too much for my enjoyment.
i think this is what made it unfun, not the difficulty but the fact that you have to die a few times to even see what you’re supposed to do and it was aggravating way early in the game. Also I’m not a fan of the difficulty stemming from the controls being hard to use, like when you’re carrying stuff.
After I tried Hollow Knight for the 3rd time I finally had the realization that I just don’t like metroidvanias. Tunic, Ori, HK, Guacamelee. Bounced off every single one of them despite wanting to like them. The closest I’ve ever gotten to liking one was Death’s Door, but that took some work to get through. Not really a metroidvania but it sort of feels like one? Ultimately the music and vibe/combat kept me going and you don’t really need to return to locations if you don’t want to, so you can keep marching forward for 90% of the game.
I do like this genre but I had the same experience with hollow knight. I wanted to like it, but something about the way it controlled felt really off to me, and I didn’t enjoy the punishing death mechanics.
spoiler
asdfasdfsadfasfasdf
For me personally I’ve never liked combining hard challenges with infrequent saves. I don’t mind things to be hard if I’m allowed to get right back to the same spot after, but I don’t like having to get back to the hard thing from far away just to try again.
spoiler
asdfasdfsadfasfasdf
I’m in the same boat: Hollow Knight frustrated me so much that I never finished it, even though I really liked the lore and the world and the non-boss fights. Celeste on the other hand might be even “harder”, but as you respawn on every screen literally instantly, you can fail and retry hard parts a hundred times until you make it.
Oh that’s good to know! That’s another one I still haven’t played, but this is a strong recommendation.
spoiler
asdfasdfsadfasfasdf
Not that my opinion matters any more than the next person’s, but I also can’t recommend Celeste enough.
It does so many things so very right.
The pure gameplay is crisp and responsive platforming.
Like any good platfmorer it has some specific mechanics that make it unique, but every one is intuitive enough to pick up easily enough. I have heard it called something like “the hardest platformer that everyone can finish.”And it is true. I could never finish some of the harder SMB levels but I never got too frustrated with Celeste.
And if I were, there would have been accessibility options to make the game more approachable.But it also caters to the hardcore crowd with completely optional collectibles that are organically included into the gorgeous level design.
It is speedrunnable for those folks.
And as if that wasn’t enough to make a good platformer it also tells a heartwarming story supported by a beautiful soundtrack.
Sorry I am rambling, but Celeste is fucking awesome.
Same for me. I don’t understand why, I should love it but I don’t.
This series is really good. The second game is the only one I’ve ever preordered. I also bought and played through the enhanced edition right before it came out.
Like a handful of other people in this thread, I found the shift in combat to be a bit jarring, making the game focus a bit more on combat in general. That said, the original combat which was certinaly required was very uninteresting – mashing 1 button until their HP hit 0 – so the shift to the newer system wasn’t completely unwelcome.
The music and visuals of this game are incredible as well. Both probably in the top 5 of games for me.
Ori is my favorite Metroidvania series by far, and I love Metroidvanias. The most incredible feat is that the second installment actually surpassed the first. The first Ori was amazing. It was stunningly beautiful, had a compelling story, and the gameplay mechanics were fantastic.
For Ori 2 I would have been happy with more of the same. They didn’t have to try to reinvent anything, and yet they did in Wisps. Every tweak they made was for the better. The interface/mechanics changes rounded off rough edges I didn’t even realize were there. The story remained engaging and touching, and it had a real arc. And the graphics are even more stunning. I remember playing Wisps for the first time and just standing still and being amazed at the graphics. My character was standing still, and yet the entire screen was alive with movement. I was standing on a branch, and the branch was slowly bouncing with my weight. The leaves were gently blowing in the wind. Blades of grass were swaying. It was incredible.
The two Ori games are some of the best games of any genre I’ve ever played. Big fan, and I’m excited by that studio’s next game.
