Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Prime Day Deals
  • Superman
  • Donkey Kong Bananza
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Avowed new screenshot xbox series x
Games Best Xbox Series X games to experience on Microsoft's flagship console
Sunset Overdrive
Action Games Xbox is giving away $214 worth of its PC games for just $10, including a Metroidvania banger and the best game from Marvel's Spider-Man devs
A screenshot of the Knight from the Metroidvania Hollow Knight
Action Games The 25 best Metroidvania games you can explore today
Out of Words
Platforming Games This co-op platformer was a "boyhood dream" for the self-taught stop-motion animator now directing it, and it might just rival It Takes Two with a more earnest story and action less likely to destroy your relationships
Out of Words
Co-op Games This seriously pretty couch co-op platformer looks like a stop motion It Takes Two where "everything has been crafted by hand," and I need it in my veins yesterday
Xbox exclusives: Two cars driving on a mountain in the game Forza Horizon 4.
Games Best Xbox exclusives you need to own
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
RPGs "Speechless": Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the first game from a studio founded by ex-Ubisoft devs, is officially the best-rated game of 2025
  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. Ori and The Blind Forest

Ori and the Blind Forest is one of the most beautiful Xbox One games yet

Features
By Lorenzo Veloria published 20 January 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

What's that? A cat?

What's that? A cat?

Some of the biggest games of 2015 look absolutely amazing, but if you haven't taken notice of Ori and the Blind Forest, it's about time you did. In it, you play as Ori, an animal-like forest spirit (he honestly looks like a Super Saiyan Stitch) with supernatural powers and a Zelda-like Navi friend named Sein (like 'sign'). The entire world map is laid out like a Metroid game, meaning the environments are open to explore, new abilities unlock areas, and backtracking is a must if you're a completionist.

The environment I recently played through is called the Forlorn Ruins and features some mind-bending gravity puzzles. Most of the platforming is already pretty challenging, but this are takes the cake. Ori happens upon a glowing orb, which allows him to walk on walls. Depending on whether you're standing on a wall or ceiling, the gravity of the entire area will adjust; jumping off an edge can send you falling up, down, left, or right (often into a bed of spikes). On top of that, the controls don't flip with your position, so going left when you want to go right is definitely a struggle you'll have to overcome.

Every time I see Ori and the Blind Forest it gets more and more impressive. The hand-painted look of the art is gorgeous, and the precise platforming controls are top notch. The platforming sections I've played have been a blast to tackle, and the new puzzles introduce gravity elements that I've never seen in any other game begore. It'll be interesting to see what other surprises the full game has in store.

Check out the following slides for more information and images

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
Pick up that glowing white ball, and now you're Spider-Man.

Pick up that glowing white ball, and now you're Spider-Man.

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
While carrying the light orb, Ori's abilities are limited. Goodbye double jump.

While carrying the light orb, Ori's abilities are limited. Goodbye double jump.

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
Good luck figuring this one out.

Good luck figuring this one out.

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
Yup, he's falling sideways.

Yup, he's falling sideways.

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
Look at that art! Just look at it!

Look at that art! Just look at it!

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
CATEGORIES
Xbox One Platforms Xbox
Lorenzo Veloria
Lorenzo Veloria
Social Links Navigation

Many years ago, Lorenzo Veloria was a Senior Editor here at GamesRadar+ helping to shape content strategy. Since then, Lorenzo has shifted his attention to Future Plc's broader video game portfolio, working as a Senior Brand Marketing Manager to oversee the development of advertising pitches and marketing strategies for the department. He might not have all that much time to write about games anymore, but he's still focused on making sure the latest and greatest end up in front of your eyes one way or another.

See more Xbox One Features
Read more
Avowed new screenshot xbox series x
Best Xbox Series X games to experience on Microsoft's flagship console
Sunset Overdrive
Xbox is giving away $214 worth of its PC games for just $10, including a Metroidvania banger and the best game from Marvel's Spider-Man devs
A screenshot of the Knight from the Metroidvania Hollow Knight
The 25 best Metroidvania games you can explore today
Out of Words
This co-op platformer was a "boyhood dream" for the self-taught stop-motion animator now directing it, and it might just rival It Takes Two with a more earnest story and action less likely to destroy your relationships
Out of Words
This seriously pretty couch co-op platformer looks like a stop motion It Takes Two where "everything has been crafted by hand," and I need it in my veins yesterday
Xbox exclusives: Two cars driving on a mountain in the game Forza Horizon 4.
Best Xbox exclusives you need to own
Latest in Action
Dead Island 2 screenshot
"Boy, that game sucked": Notorious Dead Island 2 delay lasted nearly a decade partly because its original developer ignored "horrific" player feedback, says former Deep Silver lead
Kassandra holding a falcon on her arm during Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Ubisoft foresaw the grindy fate of Assassin's Creed Valhalla back in the Odyssey days, wanting a literal "odyssey" but not "a world that was just fatiguing to travel through"
Zelda
Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P says his latest game dev crush is The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, one of the most efficient games he's played all year
Kassandra holding a falcon on her arm during Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Ubisoft had a very on-brand problem with Assassin's Creed Odyssey: there weren't many tall buildings in Ancient Greece even though it's a "climbing-frame game"
Link points a finger at the stand, channelling Ace Attorney's stance, in a screenshot from the Hero of Law mod.
27 years later, this uncanny "Hero of Law" mod makes The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time the game it was always meant to be: Ace Attorney
Arthur Morgan and Sadie ride horses in Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar Games may have unintentionally confirmed Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 4 re-releases, fans theorize as mysterious new support options are discovered
Latest in Features
A screenshot of PUCK eating an enemy during the upcoming Xbox Series X game, Shadow Labyrinth.
The best retro remakes and reboots out there aren't afraid to get weird with it – as Shadow Labyrinth being a dark and gritty Pac-Man game shows us
Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor in Superman
After Superman, I'm convinced that Lex Luthor is already a more exciting supervillain than Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom
Laezel BG3 evil ending
After 2 years, I've renewed my love for turn-based RPGs with these 5 games like Baldur's Gate 3 I can't stop recommending
A screenshot of Total War: Warhammer 3 showing grave guard soldiers jumping out of a siege tower beneath a grey sky
After 2,537 hours of playing Total War: Warhammer, I'm almost ready to say goodbye to Creative Assembly's best strategy series
Fallout: New Vegas
I'm going back to the five best post-apocalyptic games I ever played, thanks to Death Stranding 2 giving me a taste for the terrible
The Sims 4 Enchanted by Nature fairy
After 2000 hours of creating a fantasy save file in The Sims, I've decided to rank all 8 Sims 4 occults, including the new Enchanted by Nature's fairies
  1. Zion Wright grinds along a wooden balustrade in in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4's San Francisco level
    1
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 review: "A nostalgic, must-play hit for fans"
  2. 2
    College Football 26 review: “Thanks to rivalries and dynasty, this is the greatest show on turf”
  3. 3
    Mecha Break review: "This mech battler makes up for lacking customization with a varied roster that lets me live out my Evangelion fantasy"
  4. 4
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  5. 5
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  1. David Corenswet as Superman inside the Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn's Superman.
    1
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  2. 2
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  3. 3
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  4. 4
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  5. 5
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...