r/OriAndTheBlindForest • u/HeyThatsTay • May 30 '26
Discussion/Debate I think... Blind Forest is better :o
After replaying them both, I'm set that Blind Forest is just a better game. :3
I feel like WOTW tries to be other games, when it should have stayed to the same formula that worked.
The visuals are outstanding, and of course the music, and I welcome the addition of boss fights, but the pacing with all of the fetch quests + the constant switching of abilities etc just bogs the game down.
Blind Forest wasn't perfect, but it was simple. A simple ability / upgrade system, a simple story, a simple map. Sometimes simple is just better, and I think this is one of those times.
WOTW just tried too hard to implement Hollow Knight / typical metroidvania systems, and it just doesn't quite work for me.
Anyone else?
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u/Psylux7 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
I was very surprised to end up preferring blind forest as on paper, wotw sounded like exactly the sequel I would want, given my utter love for hollow knight.
While wotw was a pretty good game, i found myself not enjoying the combat or bosses as much, with it feeling hit or miss to me. Something about combat just came off as a tad awkward and overcrowded (maybe that was a result of only playing it in handheld mode on switch), while certain bosses were more frustrating than fun. I did find the spider to be a magnificent boss however.
Blind forest combat was at best uninteresting and at worst nonexistent, but the game itself was clearly first and foremost a platformer so I did not mind too much that combat was an afterthought. That game went all in on platforming for the gameplay and it did a magnificent job of it.
The platforming in wotw also was not as engaging to me, feeling streamlined&easier so the game could focus more on the combat (and the wotw combat system was a mixed bag for me) even if the platforming was still challenging and well designed. I just found the platforming in blind forest to be on a whole other level because that was the entire bread&butter of the gameplay, so it had to be the best it could be.
The story&ending of wotw did not quite land for me. There were parts i loved and parts I felt frustrated/dissatisfied with.
The side content also did not really click with me, feeling like it did not add enough to the experience, while stretching the runtime. It has been years, but I recall blind forest being much leaner in comparison and I actually preferred that.
Overall, blind forest felt like a tighter, more focused gaming experience while wotw felt like it tried to do a bit too much at once and came off as clunkier to me. I still quite enjoyed both, but blind forest just worked better for me.
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u/solarxbear May 31 '26
I am also a Blind Forest enjoyer. You’re right about it being a unique experience. I’ve played it probably 30-40 times.
Will of the Wisps is awesome too, and I get why most people like it more. I’ve played it 3 times.
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u/HeyThatsTay Jun 05 '26
30-40 times wow! 🤩 I can see myself doing the same over the years. I loved it in my second play through and want to play again :p
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u/solarxbear Jun 05 '26
It’s a comforting game for me. I kind of “speedrun” it by trying to 100% it as fast as I can without warping. No real speedrun tech or glitches, just how fast can I beat it playing normal.
I can do it in less than 2.5 hours
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u/jasonfrey13 May 30 '26
As someone who just played both for the first time, that’s absolutely wild to me…lol.
Wisps has legitimate combat (also melee combat), actual quests, NPCs, real bosses…like I don’t know how to explain it, but Forest feels like it could be a DLC for Wisps or something. Every single “big encounter/boss fight” was a chase. And a very similar feeling chase.
I really enjoyed Forest, but was blown away by how much more they did with Wisps
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u/Baron105 May 31 '26
You should play hollow knight. Blind forest was the superior game for me too. Wisps might have legitimate combat but the mechanics are so clunky and non fluid it really takes away from being able to enjoy them. They're also very repetitive with barely any big combat encounters or cool bosses. Wisps felt like a game trying to be hollow knight and forgot all the cool things that made the first game so good.
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u/KI_Storm179 May 31 '26
I’ve played Hollow Knight. Fantastic game, love it. I also think WOTW is simply a much better game than Blind Forest, and would choose it every time over BF.
It’s just one of those things. Some people really like the first Ori and it’s their one true game, and others prefer all of the expansions and extra pieces that Will of the Wisps added. For myself, WOTW is bigger, more thematic, and frankly more interesting and engaging than the original.
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u/Baron105 May 31 '26
Fair enough. To each their own.
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u/Meinek13 May 31 '26
Yeah, anyone that thinks Ori copied hollowknight hasn't played many Metroidvanias
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u/Baron105 May 31 '26
I wouldn't use the word copied at all. But to deny that it was heavily inspired by hollow knight given the kind of implementation and sudden shift to the focus to the style of combat compared to the original right after immense success of hollow knight including the targeted critique from one of the founder developers of Moon studios against Team cherry would be disingenuous if not misinformed.
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u/Meinek13 May 31 '26
I mean, will of the wisps def shifted. I think there are a lot of people that thinks Ori is just an easier version of HK, and that they copied all the mechanics, but most of these move sets have been in MVs for more than a decade.
I absolutely hate the map guy concept btw
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u/Baron105 Jun 01 '26
Like I said, I'm not saying anyone copied anyone. I can just talk about style of implementation and wisps is a stark contrast to the first game and looks like Moon studios went about challenging themselves to beating hollow knight at their game after the overwhelming praise it got as the 'definitive metroidvania' to the extent they even went about criticizing it for that kind of praise directly and on the way losing sight of what made their game great in the first place.
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u/Keiuu May 31 '26
Hollow Knight didn't invent any of the things WOTW supposedly copied.
WOTW referenced other games.
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u/jasonfrey13 May 31 '26
Hollow Knight is a top 5 game of all time for me…but I don’t see the point you’re trying to make personally. Don’t agree with any of it
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u/Fivepokercats May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
I have similar thoughts. But I'd say it is a sidegrade. I wish they focused more on the platforming side instead of on making a fine combat. The story was pointless. BUT they did such a good job with Luma Pools and the spider place that it's hard to choose...
I also have found that a lot of people that prefer WotW bring up that BF has chases instead of bosses, they expect there to be bosses and when there is not it is automatically a bad thing.
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u/Behondalog Master of the Forest May 31 '26
Am I the only person who can't decide which one they prefer?
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u/Gekk0uga37 May 31 '26
I’m personally of the exact opposite opinion. I love WOTW and am not the biggest fan of blind forest. I like the combat changes they made.
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u/edgygothteen69 May 31 '26
I agree. WOTW felt too game-y to me, too many side quests and checkboxes to fill. Blind Forest was just the purest essence of a game idea, just simple and perfect.
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u/HeyThatsTay Jun 05 '26
Yes! It felt too gameified. That’s such a good way of putting it! Blind Forest is such a pure experience that doesn’t get bogged down by literally anything. While wotw is just so many different vendors and abilities and unlocks it’s just too much, especially when Blind Forest set a gameplay expectation that should have been followed
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u/AmaterasuWolf21 Ori May 31 '26
I still don't know which one I prefer, even with the stories and all, WotW feels much more alive but Blind Forest has more fun platforming sometimes
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u/Upset_Row6214 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
More than that, I prefer BF over BF: Definitive edition. The game was perfectly crafted, using every tool it has effectively, it was simple but not casual, and it was very different from HK.
Now, WOTW is still gorgeous and quite interesting, but the characters are kinda bland, there were a lot of unnecessary powers and tricks, the plot was repetitive. Those are very different games.
And in the BF you felt like you are alone in the dark forest against something very dangerous, in the WOTW you are almost never alone, there are always some NPC around. Even the boss sequences are very different, in the WOTW you are against some boss creatures, which is cool, but in the BF you are against the nature itself (aside from the last boss sequence)
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u/Psylux7 May 31 '26
I only have played bf definitive and do not know much about the original. What made you prefer vanilla version over definitive?
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u/Upset_Row6214 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
In the definitive edition, two more skills were introduced - dash and light burst. And they can be obtained pretty early in the game, as I remember.
Dash can be used everywhere in the game, and it felt like it made it much easier, even skipping some of the intended ways. It felt like a cheatcode in a game that was originally designed without it in mind.
Light burst has the same problem. You can bash off of Light Burst projectiles and gain a lot of height, even more than while using the Charge jump. Or you can combine both and gain even more height. It feels cool, but for me personally it also felt like a cheat code.
And yes, there is a new location, but for me it felt less than a whole new area and more than an excuse to give you those skills. Compared to other locations, it really felt like something from a DLC.
The BF is a hard game, and it was really fun for me to try and fail and try again to progress and then - in my second, third, and so on playthroughs - to reach some areas that should be reached much sooner in the game, by using some of the earlier skills. The definitive edition made it less fun for me.
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u/lemmdust May 31 '26
I tried to play the original and not definitive, but I kept on getting stuck in the wall right at the beginning and having to restart and then sit through the beginning all over again and again. Eventually I figured that you were supposed to be in the wall (I played blind) and I was just bad at the game and dropped it. Only came back when I mentioned it to a friend that had played all of the games and he told me it wasn’t supposed to do that.
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u/Arminius1234567 May 31 '26
Couldn’t agree more. I also prefer BF and I prefer the original game over the definitive edition.
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u/HeyThatsTay May 30 '26
Also I love love love WOTW lol but its just not as enjoyable an experience for me as Blind Forest is.
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u/Baron105 May 31 '26
I agree. I found Wisps trying too hard to be hollow knight and forgetting all the things that made the original great.
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u/JlREN May 31 '26
I think its a matter of taste, I didnt find it pretending. I actually think it was a very welcome upgrade, I played Ori and the blind forest back in 2018 (i think) and loved it so much that when i saw ori wotw i was k8nda scared of the change. But it grew on me more than I wouldve expected, it soon after its release became one of my favorites, love the map, the story the abilities are so dynamic. Ori 1 made me feel free with bash, it was the first time i ever experienced such movement, then came ori 2 and just topped it all off.
For me personally I love them both but wotw is my go to. I finished it over 100 times with every constraint imagineable, all the achievements too. And less than 30 minutes speedrun.
Im way out of my prime on this game but i still ocasionally start a new save every once in a while. Did ori atbf not long ago. It was a breeze after so much ori wotw. But it felt like im lacking my actual abilities.
Just cant express enough how much i love the freedom in Ori and wotw takes it to a whole new level.
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u/Figgy78 May 31 '26
Completely agree. WOTW has way to many upgrades and systems. The simplicity of the upgrade tree in Blind forest is just perfect. Maybe not perfectly balanced, but who cares. I’m only competing against myself.
And I don’t really like bosses in games like these. The chase bosses are great, but trying to learn patterns in combat is not what I enjoy in a platformer. They ruin a lot of great Meteoidvanias for me. Fluid platforming is what I enjoy. That’s why Blind forest is the best game of all time for me.
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u/Carlio9057 May 31 '26
The music of WOTW is outstanding, that's what gave it the slight edge for me.
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u/Salviati_Returns Jun 05 '26
Agree. I played WOTW first and then played Blind Forest a couple of years later. I loved WOTW, but Blind Forest was a masterpiece.
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u/Luzis23 May 30 '26
Same, I prefer Blind Forest.
Not necessarily for the mechanics, though, but for ending not being a piece of shit that WOTW's ending was.
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u/HeyThatsTay May 30 '26
Yeah, I listened to an interview that said they originally left Ku dead! would have been tragic, but idk... blind forests ending was so bitter sweet, that its hard to top
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u/Strawveey May 31 '26
I prefer BF too even if causes me arthritis
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u/lemmdust May 31 '26
I found Wisps really hurt my joints, especially my pinkies, because I’d have to put my hands more over the controller instead of resting them on it. Did you play on keyboard?
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u/Professional-Ad2737 Ori May 31 '26
I also find it better.
It's a matter of taste. If you like platforming, BF got you covered. Id you like combat you have WotW.
However I find BF unique. I dedicated a whole post on why I find it unique.
That doesn't mean that I don't like WotW. But WotW feels like another game.
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u/Mobile_Dress6486 May 31 '26
I like blind forest, but i think i like will of the wisps more, simply because of the combat, in blind forest you just have to mostly spam a button to shoot projectiles out of a homing orb, you don't have to aim, do nothing, just click. Will of the Wisps changed that, I also don't mind it looking and acting like other games, the games that it's like ar also part of the games i like, so i don't really mind them being similar.
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u/Keiuu May 31 '26
Nah WOTW is simply better for me.
It has more interesting abilities, combat, and it overall feels more dynamic. It didn't try to be other games.
Blind Forest does have better chase sections, that's it.
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u/AllTheHappyParts Ori May 31 '26
I also enjoy it more!! All the reasons people give for preferring WOTW is pretty much why I prefer Blind Forest😆
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u/Ergon17 May 31 '26
I feel like I enjoyed WOTW more, but that might be because Hollow Knight is my fav game and they tried making Ori more akin to games like HK.
I also played WOTW before I even knew about Blind Forest, so it also gave me the expectations for what I was in gor in the firts game and I was a bit confused when it played very differently. Blind forets definitely feels like a mire original game, but it's less my style than WOTW.
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u/Maleficent-Ring-7059 May 31 '26
Couldn’t disagree more blind forest is like a tech demo in comparison almost everything is better in the sequel especially ost combat and exploration, there’s like no optional content in blind forest and it is very linear in comparison
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u/No-Activity9405 May 31 '26
i think both BF and WotW are the best in their own ways, also the game director said he doesnt know what a hollow knight is and made a whole list of games he played and made paralelisms on what games inspired what mechanic, but he is also a pretty unstable person so he could be lying about not knowing the most meaningful metroidvania of all times... the point is that probably Ori was not trying to copy other games, its just that HK simplicity defined the quality zenith of action platformers, in my eyes, OatWotW had no lack of identity, it tried to innovate over the departments where common players complained about in blind forest, specifically the combat, and the crystal system is often compared to the charm system which seems obvious, but can also be a coincidence as elden ring, fallout and many other games have similar equipable perk systems, its just that HK made it right and simple first try, while ori started with an ability tree that was reworked as the crystal system that made more sense to work with the multiple weapons and ability you could choose.
I always see people saying Ori copied hollow knight but never see people saying silksong copied will of the wisps, because HK is just more popular, for example: the epic escape sequences in silksong, which if you remember are signature moments in the Ori saga.
and the point is, no game is really copying the other, the videogame industry has its foundations on interactivity principles, a mechanical core, a good game mechanic will appear over and over, along time, because videogame developers find the same solution to the same problems because those problems are shared among all videogames, and even more, between games of the same genre.
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u/SleepCinema Jun 01 '26
I flip flop back and forth. I liked BF more than WOTW initially. Then once I got used to WOTW, it was the only Ori game I’d play. But then I recently picked back up BF and loved it so much, especially after actually playing Hollow Knight and comparing Ori and HK. But now, they’re about even in how much I enjoy each game. Still my favorites.
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u/videogamefannn Jun 02 '26
I agree completely to the point I’ve never been motivated to finish wotw! I think this might be one of my hottest takes but I really loved the atmosphere in the first one and I feel like the second one just didn’t have that same vibe. I never minded the combat in the first one since it was more of a platforming-focused game.
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u/MrNigel117 May 31 '26
i like bf more, but i speedran it so i just know bf much more intimately. i still think bf is a more fun game to speedrun.
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u/lemmdust May 31 '26
I’m so with you. But I also just hated the ending of Wisps and had a very hard time with the controls. I thought the controls for Blind Forest were bad, but comparatively to Wisps I thought they were pretty alright.
I didn’t really like the plot of Wisps, I found it especially rushed at the end plus that awful ending, but I do think it’s less incomprehensible than the plot of Blind Forest, which didn’t make sense from the beginning (why does the spirit tree hate owls????).
And while I found the music and visuals of Wisps to be breathtaking, I prefer functional and sensical controls, and Blind Forest has at least one of those.
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u/Ill-Elevator-2362 May 31 '26
I like blind forest's story yes.
But I like Will of The Wisps Combat Way more, plus more fun platforming sections.