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Ori and the Blind Forest Definitive Edition Announced (PC/XB1)

BriGuy

Member
As long as it's reasonably priced, I'll be there on day one. Ori was just about the perfect metroidvania, save for its length.
 

Navy Bean

Member
As long as it's reasonably priced, I'll be there on day one. Ori was just about the perfect metroidvania, save for its length.
Yeah, it's just a great little game. I had fun from beginning to end. And the art style and music were sublime.
 

Exentryk

Member
Still working through the game, so I've only done the first one, but were they really that bad? The water one was great.

They are a trial and error process.

1. You look at the first screen, and then die.
2. You look at the first screen again, and try to figure out a path upward, and die again.
3. You manage to get to second screen, and die.
4. You die again at the first screen.
5. You get to second screen again, and try to figure out a path upward, and die.

Keep repeating this until the end (10+ screens). This is quite different from the base game where you have all the time in the world to figure out how to get to the next bit. It feels satisfying when you figure it out. But with these rushed escapes, it's mostly frustration. Once you do complete the whole run though, it is immensely satisfying, much more than those smaller wins.

Perhaps adding a few checkpoints (every three screens?) might make this less frustrating for people. Or add some way to view the whole path (all 10+ screens) before they even begin the escape (let people jump to any screen at any time if they pause so they can see where they are going).
 
They are a trial and error process.

1. You look at the first screen, and then die.
2. You look at the first screen again, and try to figure out a path upward, and die again.
3. You manage to get to second screen, and die.
4. You die again at the first screen.
5. You get to second screen again, and try to figure out a path upward, and die.

Keep repeating this until the end (10+ screens). This is quite different from the base game where you have all the time in the world to figure out how to get to the next bit. It feels satisfying when you figure it out. But with these rushed escapes, it's mostly frustration. Once you do complete the whole run though, it is immensely satisfying, much more than those smaller wins.

Perhaps adding a few checkpoints (every three screens?) might make this less frustrating for people. Or add some way to view the whole path (all 10+ screens) before they even begin the escape (let people jump to any screen at any time if they pause so they can see where they are going).

Again, only talking about the water one, but figure it out? There's only one way to go and it was fairly clear, maybe some timing issues, sure, but it was always evident which way you had to go and how you needed to do it. Granted, the bit where you have to wait for the tentacle thing to shoot at you could be unclear because it feels like it takes forever to take a shot and you had to stand in a specific spot for it to even detect you.

I have nothing against them modifying the section based on majority feedback though, but it would ruin the feel of the escape if they split it up into chunks.
 
Probably talking about those escape sequences. They were a real frustration for some people.

That's a good point, but I don't think their difficulty tweaked. I just think the hazards should be more noticeable.

In the first one, it can be difficult to see spikes or enemy projectiles
In the second one, it can be difficult to see water torrents or icicles
in the third one, it can be difficult to see rocks

And on top of this, the camera shakes a lot (which is one thing I dislike about escape sequences in general). I'd say most of the difficult comes from figuring out what the hell is going on. The paths themselves are straight forward, but sometimes I forget what to do because I'm distracted by everything else that is happening.
 

Exentryk

Member
I have nothing against them modifying the section based on majority feedback though, but it would ruin the feel of the escape if they split it up into chunks.

I do understand this point as well, and thus something like this should be optional in the menus. Like turn on "pause free camera" or something.
 

Navy Bean

Member
That's a good point, but I don't think their difficulty tweaked. I just think the hazards should be more noticeable.

In the first one, it can be difficult to see spikes or enemy projectiles
In the second one, it can be difficult to see water torrents or icicles
in the third one, it can be difficult to see rocks

And on top of this, the camera shakes a lot (which is one thing I dislike about escape sequences in general). I'd say most of the difficult comes from figuring out what the hell is going on. The paths themselves are straight forward, but sometimes I forget what to do because I'm distracted by everything else that is happening.
All true, but when you finally beat the tree section it's really an awesome feeling... The other two less so, but I just loved the difficulty of the tree.
 

dLMN8R

Member
I thought the escape sequences were essentially perfect boss fights.

I mean, look at the first one:
  • Required you to use what you've previously learned
  • Amped up the difficutly
  • Turned up all the drama, including graphical presentation and music
  • Instant retry in cases of failure
  • Entire thing doesn't take too long - a couple of minutes tops - so it's not a slog once you learn how to beat it
  • Incredible sense of accomplishment once it's beaten
  • Seamless transition into a rewarding and surprising cutscene
  • Final resolution as you end up in peaceful, calm environment


I think it's the context that's getting people into the wrong state of mind about those escape sequences. Think of them as boss fights and it makes so much more sense.
 

Exentryk

Member
I thought the escape sequences were essentially perfect boss fights.

I mean, look at the first one:
  • Required you to use what you've previously learned
  • Amped up the difficutly
  • Turned up all the drama, including graphical presentation and music
  • Instant retry in cases of failure
  • Entire thing doesn't take too long - a couple of minutes tops - so it's not a slog once you learn how to beat it
  • Incredible sense of accomplishment once it's beaten
  • Seamless transition into a rewarding and surprising cutscene
  • Final resolution as you end up in peaceful, calm environment


I think it's the context that's getting people into the wrong state of mind about those escape sequences. Think of them as boss fights and it makes so much more sense.

Especially liked that bolded part. That was probably my favourite part of the game. It is even my desktop wallpaper for this reason :D

The current way of escape sequences works great, but you have to understand that it doesn't work for everyone. For those people, an option like I mentioned earlier would be nice.
 

Dark_castle

Junior Member
Especially liked that bolded part. That was probably my favourite part of the game. It is even my desktop wallpaper for this reason :D

The current way of escape sequences works great, but you have to understand that it doesn't work for everyone. For those people, an option like I mentioned earlier would be nice.

That's great. It doesn't have to work for everyone. Game should focus on doing its own thing than trying to cater to all audience. I think the escape sequence they had is perfect. Not too difficult, but requires effort, learning and persistence, and is quite rewarding when the player made it through and feel the calm after the storm.
 

Exentryk

Member
That's great. It doesn't have to work for everyone. Game should focus on doing its own thing than trying to cater to all audience. I think the escape sequence they had is perfect. Not too difficult, but requires effort, learning and persistence, and is quite rewarding when the player made it through and feel the calm after the storm.

That's one point of view. But as you can see from posts in this thread earlier, some people just stopped playing the game after they got to these escape sequence points. They were wanting to play the game more, but couldn't get past these sections and gave up.

In the end, it is up to the dev if they consider having some options for these people, or just keep your game hardcore and have no options.

If I were the game dev, I'd at least have the option, as my goal would be let as many people experience my game as possible. If people were leaving mid way, I'd like to know why and would rectify that problem. There is no harm in adding an option. It doesn't upset the hardcore, but solves the problems for other people. Game is still the same, but more people can experience it now.
 
"spend money, play it and then spend money again to replay the better version"

uhhmm :/

it's a good game but i don't agree with that

It's a great game right now (probably in serious contention for my GOTY against some pretty strong contenders) and the "problems" the devs are fixing are minor annoyances that'll do more to improve future replays for existing fans than to make the game worth playing for new people. If someone's already bought it, might as well enjoy a phenomenal game now and make a call whether an upgraded version is worth it down the line.
 
Anyone know if the original supported 21:9 on PC?

Also, if they could give us some higher resolution art so the game didn't look bad at 1440p, that'd be pretty cool as well. I'd definitely buy the new version for that :)
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
I can say with certainty, as an owner of the original game, I'd gladly pay 60€ for this definitive version if it was released as a retail game.Best Xbox One game so far imo (obviously not counting Rare Replay, because I prefer Banjo-Kazooie over pretty much anything).
 
Awesome news. Despite the pre-patch bugs, I had great times with the game. And even though I prefer the dlc/upgrade/expansion pack to be free for people that already own the game, I don't mind paying a discounted price for the definitive edition.


@Thomas: So, is there anything you can tell us about the sequel?
 
Awesome news. Despite the pre-patch bugs, I had great times with the game. And even though I prefer the dlc/upgrade/expansion pack to be free for people that already own the game, I don't mind paying a discounted price for the definitive edition.


@Thomas: So, is there anything you can tell us about the sequel?

I think people should see the DE as the Ori DLC, but instead of 'just' some extra content, you get a full new version that also has a lot of features fans requested us to add to make the game perfect :)

And I'd LOVE TO talk about other projects we're working on, but I can't yet. Right now finishing up the Definitive Edition is our highest priority item, but we're always dabbling with something. Something that gets us very excited ;)
 

Red Hood

Banned
Won't take long now until we're getting The Game: July Edition, August Edition, September Edition. What the fuck, Ori just released a few days ago? Will current owners get a discount of some sort?
 
Won't take long now until we're getting The Game: July Edition, August Edition, September Edition. What the fuck, Ori just released a few days ago? Will current owners get a discount of some sort?

Hey, we stated multiple times already that people who supported us and bought Ori will definitely get a very good deal here. We'll also make sure that people who buy Ori now will have a nice way of upgrading to the Definitive Edition, so no worries :)

And yeah, we get that people can be snarky about seeing a DE after the original game launched in March - We wanted to do DLC in a way that fit nicely into the game instead of having it just slapped on top of everything and we wanted to do the things fans requested, so that's why everyone gets a whole new version now, not just some DLC for people who already got the game. We listened to all the fans and read all the reviews and we just hope that with the Definitive Edition, people won't have anything to criticize anymore :)

I'm sure once you guys see what we did, everyone will be happy about it - As stated in the original announcement, the idea was to simply make it the best version of Ori and to add the DLC in a really meaningful way and the only way we saw this working was by making the Definitive Edition.
 
Won't take long now until we're getting The Game: July Edition, August Edition, September Edition. What the fuck, Ori just released a few days ago? Will current owners get a discount of some sort?

Day 2 special editions . Its only a matter if time. Glad i waited. Think ill wait another few weeks for the "even more definitive edition".
 

nbnt

is responsible for the well-being of this island.
Had to read the thread title more than once to make sure I'm reading it right. Announcing a definitive edition.. 5 months after release? And it's not even a free upgrade. I mean, I played Ori on my XBO and really really liked it, but yeah, that's just.. yeah. :|
 
In an age where broken releases, overpriced DLC, paltry content and lackluster support seem like they're becoming the norm, it's easy to be cynical of these kind of announcements.

I'm not one to fangirl over a game studio, but Moon seems to be an exception to this trend. Ori was in many ways a love letter to fans of various games as well as a labor of love for them, and I see the definitive edition as a "director's cut" to provide even more of the same. They have an opportunity to make things even better, and that's saying something given how high the bar was already set for the game.

From the sound of things, it seems like this was the best option to make what they're offering available to everyone. I respect their dedication and transparency in addressing and communicating with their fans and I'm eagerly awaiting this announcement. Even if this "comfortable upgrade" asked me to spend a few more bucks, I have no doubt that the return would be worth it.
 

dLMN8R

Member
Won't take long now until we're getting The Game: July Edition, August Edition, September Edition. What the fuck, Ori just released a few days ago? Will current owners get a discount of some sort?

Why are you so cynical?

Ori and the Blind Forest came out five months ago, and they're announcing a new version + DLC which will come out probably months from now.


It's not just cynicism actually. it's like an intentionally, fully embraced pessimistic mindset. It accomplishes nothing while making you personally enjoy games less because you're attacking things for stupid (if not inaccurate) reasons.

I just don't get why anyone would go about their day thinking in this way. It's just really sad and depressing to think about trying to put myself into this mindset, especially over a game as beautiful and optimistic as Ori.
 
Maybe OP could put some of the info Thomas provided in the first post? The shitposts overreaction and cynicism from people who can't be bothered to read the thread are getting annoying.
 

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
The game was priced low and it was complete. Developing substantial expansions costs money - developers have salaries so they can live their lives. It's like we're conflating baked in merchants in RTM games bring up CC info screens to buy baseline content with expansions.
 

Shpeshal Nick

aka Collingwood
Hey, we stated multiple times already that people who supported us and bought Ori will definitely get a very good deal here. We'll also make sure that people who buy Ori now will have a nice way of upgrading to the Definitive Edition, so no worries :)

And yeah, we get that people can be snarky about seeing a DE after the original game launched in March - We wanted to do DLC in a way that fit nicely into the game instead of having it just slapped on top of everything and we wanted to do the things fans requested, so that's why everyone gets a whole new version now, not just some DLC for people who already got the game. We listened to all the fans and read all the reviews and we just hope that with the Definitive Edition, people won't have anything to criticize anymore :)

I'm sure once you guys see what we did, everyone will be happy about it - As stated in the original announcement, the idea was to simply make it the best version of Ori and to add the DLC in a really meaningful way and the only way we saw this working was by making the Definitive Edition.

So I'm confused. I bought the game at launch (you may remember I was the one tempted to hold off until GwG), so am I buying the entire Definitive Edition at full price? Or am I buying the DLC/Update only that turns my version into the definitive ( a la Street Fighter 4 upgrades)?
 
So I'm confused. I bought the game at launch (you may remember I was the one tempted to hold off until GwG), so am I buying the entire Definitive Edition at full price? Or am I buying the DLC/Update only that turns my version into the definitive ( a la Street Fighter 4 upgrades)?

He cant say yet but he has heavily hinted that it will be dlc/update for current owners.
 

Shpeshal Nick

aka Collingwood
He cant say yet but he has heavily hinted that it will be dlc/update for current owners.

God I hope so, because as much as I adore Ori, no fucking way am I buying the full game twice within a year. That's highway robbery.

I'm fine with buying a DLC add on.
 
God I hope so, because as much as I adore Ori, no fucking way am I buying the full game twice within a year. That's highway robbery.

I'm fine with buying a DLC add on.

He said there will be a nice upgrade path. They will probably just do a deep discount on the DE version in-line with what the added content would cost on its own
 
Day fucking ONE for me even if I had to pay full price again. Ori is one of the best game I have ever played ever since I got my Atari 2600 more than 3 decades ago!
 
So I'm confused. I bought the game at launch (you may remember I was the one tempted to hold off until GwG), so am I buying the entire Definitive Edition at full price? Or am I buying the DLC/Update only that turns my version into the definitive ( a la Street Fighter 4 upgrades)?

The guy's posted a bunch of times that the price will be reasonable for existing owners, but he's not going to tell us yet whether it's a DLC upgrade for the original game or a second release that's discounted when you already have the first version.
 
The guy's posted a bunch of times that the price will be reasonable for existing owners, but he's not going to tell us yet whether it's a DLC upgrade for the original game or a second release that's discounted when you already have the first version.

I'll go out on a limb and say it started as the first, but quickly expanded into the latter, as they often do.
 
The guy's posted a bunch of times that the price will be reasonable for existing owners, but he's not going to tell us yet whether it's a DLC upgrade for the original game or a second release that's discounted when you already have the first version.

How about if someone doesn't want to buy the upgrade but wants the bug fixes?
 
I just posted in the OT yesterday but it's totally dead. This game is nothing short of a masterpiece. I can't believe a gaffer was one of the lead devs! I looked at his thread history and it's so interesting, he asked some really simple game-related questions in 2013 saying he was working on a metroidvania/zelda/whatever type game. Who would have thought he was working on this masterpiece?

And anyone complaining about the escapes needs to get gud. I beat the first one last night after 10 or 15 tries, so incredibly rewarding and that
cutscene that came after
...gah damn.
 
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