Ori and the Blind Forest was one of my favorite games of 2015, combining ludicrously difficult open-world platforming with a simple, heartfelt story that had me tearing up by the time the credits rolled. If you haven’t jumped on board yet, now is the perfect time, as Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition launches tomorrow on Xbox One.
The game’s launch trailer highlights some of the new areas you can explore, with the glow from giant mushrooms helping to light Ori’s way. It also includes more information on Ori’s adoptive mother, Naru. While extra backstory is rarely a negative thing, I only hope that the additional narrative elements don’t detract from the Disney-like tale told in the original game.
Speaking with Xbox Wire, executive producer Mark Coates explains that the Definitive Edition‘s new areas shouldn’t be at odds with the rest of the game. Instead, they complement it.
“True to the original game, the two new areas — Black Root Burrows and Lost Grove — come with a unique theme in both graphical presentation as well as play mechanics,” Coates says. It’s in the former area where you’ll learn more about Naru, as opposed to adding the content into the original game’s locations.
The updated gamed also adds a fast travel function to the “Spirit Wells” scattered throughout the world, but it’s not clear if this can be used once the game has been finished. In the original Ori, once you completed the story that was it — no backtracking to look for more collectibles, which limited players from unlocking all of the game’s achievements.
“We wanted to make the Definitive Edition a celebration of sorts for our players and fans, and welcome them into the journey that we went through from the beginning to the end of the development process,” Coates adds. “All of these things make Ori very special.”
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition is out tomorrow, March 11, on Xbox One. It will cost $20 for first-time players and $5 for owners of the original game. Steam and Windows 10 versions will arrive at a later date.
