History VideoGame / OriAndTheBlindForest

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Kuro [[spoiler:wanted to create a world devoid of light because it threatened the life of her only remaining child, something she wouldn't have allowed after already losing her older children to it. And in the end, she sacrifice himself for her only child, [[AllForNothing even if it means thwarting her own plan]].]]

** By inputting the KonamiCode very fast in a specific spot (namely, under the one waterfall where [[spoiler:Gumo takes you after cleansing the Ginso Tree]]), Ori will gain a rainbow trail that shows up when using the dash ability. Ori literally gets a [[VisualPun Rainbow]] [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Dash]].

* FinalDeathMode: The aptly-named One Life mode; after you run out of health, your only options are to retry or quit to the main menu.

* GeniusLoci: The Spirit Tree has shades of this.
* GiantFlyer: Kuro is ''massive''.

* GreenAesop: The entire game is about half-focused on restoring the forest to its former, green, vibrant self.

* HarderThanHard: Above Hard difficulty in the ''Definitive Edition'' is One Life mode. It's exactly what the label suggests — you can't die ''at all'', or else your save is erased and you have to start all over. You can't copy any saves in this mode either.

** Nibel Forest, so vast the game never leaves it.

* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler:The primary cause and theme of the plot.]]

* PowerUpMagnet: Spirit Magnet ability allows Ori to attract most pick-ups. Upgrading the ability to Super Spirit Magnet collects them instantly.

* SpringJump: The last major ability Ori gains is the ability to jump straight upwards (and sideways) .

* UpdatedRerelease: ''Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition'', which adds some new content along with some gameplay improvements.

* NintendoHard: Oh boy is it ever. Even the Easy and Normal modes are still very challenging. This game will make even masters of platform games cry. Advancing in some of the later areas requires slingshotting yourself off ''projectiles'' launched at you, in real time. In the ''Definitive Edition'', at least one section requires you to do this ''with your own projectiles''!
* NoDeathRun:

* AbilityRequiredToProceed: As is standard for the genre. There are many places that tease you by being just out of reach without the proper abilities.

* {{Foil}}: Naru to [[spoiler: Kuro. Both are mothers who care dearly for their children, and both are creatures of the dark that can be harmed by light. Where Kuro lost her children, Ori lost their mother (although this is not [[DeathIsCheap permanent]]). The events of the game are ultimately driven by the actions of both characters as influenced by their love for their children, for where Kuro destroys the spirit tree and the balance of the forest out of grief for the death of her chicks, Naru raised the child that would ultimately undo the blight. And finally, the final confrontation occurs not between Ori and Kuro, but Naru and Kuro. Ultimately, the forest is saved when Naru's motherly love for Ori reminds Kuro of how she loves her own chicks and she rushes to undo her own damage before it kills her last child.]]

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:When Gumo turns, he turns ''hard''. Rescue-them-from-a-mad-bird-god, [[BackFromTheDead bring-their-mother-back-from-the-dead]] hard.]]

** [[spoiler:Kuro, realizing she was so obsessed with hunting Ori and Sein partly out of grief-stricken revenge that she almost let her nest burn in the forest fire she caused.]]

* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Ori the ''kodama''.

In 2017, Moon Studios announced that they're developing a sequel called ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps''. The teaser trailer was released in June 2017, and the game was released on March 11, 2020.

* DarkIsEvil: Kuro, the giant black owl[=/=]crow who doomed the forest and is out to kill you. The name means [[MeaningfulName "black" in Japanese]]. [[spoiler:Subverted in that she's not evil, merely driven mad by grief after the Spirit Tree accidentally killed her children. She believes (not without merit) that Ori is a threat to her sole surviving unhatched egg.]]

* RuleOfThree: The three Elements required to bring life back to Nibel: water, wind, and warmth.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: [[spoiler:At first, the game makes Kuro out to be an evil, rage-driven Curse God that wants to destroy the forest, and portrays the Spirit Tree and forest spirits as innocent victims. Later, you find out that the only reason Kuro became a ''tatari-gami'' and attacked the Spirit Tree is because the Light that the tree was using to try to find Ori killed her babies. That corrupted her and forced her to take extreme measures to save her last egg. Basically, the ENTIRE plot is caused by a huge and tragic misunderstanding that could've been avoided if the two parties had communicated with each other, or at least paid more attention to the possible consequences of their actions. To restore the forest, you basically have to fight a mother who is simply trying to protect her children. But on the other hand, if you don't, the whole forest dies.]]

* NoPronunciationGuide: In the opening to ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'', The Spirit Tree reveals that "Nibel" is pronounced "knee-bell". WordOfGod says "Sein" is pronounced like "sign."

** A more specific example INSIDE the forest is Misty Woods, which literally [[ChaosArchitecture changes its layout when you move inside of it]].

Amidst a violent storm, a young forest spirit named Ori is torn free from the mystical tree that fathered them. The turbulent winds blow them deep into the dark forest, to where they are discovered by the motherly Naru. Life for the spirit and their new family is good... until one night, when the tree finally calls out for its lost child, inadvertently setting in motion a terrible chain of events that threatens to destroy the forest and all of the life it contains.

* AdultFear:
** Naru hurrying Ori into their cave when the sky is alight. [[spoiler:And even more heartbreaking, Kuro hurrying back to her nest to protect her children from the same. She doesn't make it.]]
** Made even worse by the ending. First, [[spoiler: Naru finds Ori seemingly dead after being attacked by Kuro.]] Then, [[spoiler: the forest fire caused by Mount Horu's eruption is shown to be spreading close to Kuro's nest, and threatening to burn her last surviving egg. In other words, the actions she took trying to protect her child nearly killed it in almost the exact same way.]]
** It's how the plot kicks off. [[spoiler:When the Spirit Tree realizes that Ori is missing as a result of being swept away in the storm, he sends his light to try and find him. Unfortunately, his desperate attempts to find his own child accidentally results in Kuro's children being burned alive.]]

* HarderThanHard: Above Hard difficulty in the ''Definitive Edition'' is One Life mode. It's exactly what the label suggests — you can't die ''at all'', and if you do, your save is erased and you have to start all over. You can't copy any saves in this mode either.

* OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous: As a small white spirit being, the most that one can really figure out for certain is that Ori is a child. Their gender is never explicitly stated within the game itself.

* RhymesOnADime: Sein has a marked tendency to rhyme while speaking.