Ori and the Blind Forest is Microsoft’s Next Exclusive Indie

Do you like indie games? You might like Ori and the Blind Forest, which looks to be about the most indie game I’ve ever seen. Nice, 2D art style? Check. Wide-eyed and/or naïve characters? Check. Moment of emotional loss likely …

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Do you like indie games? You might like Ori and the Blind Forest, which looks to be about the most indie game I’ve ever seen.

Nice, 2D art style? Check. Wide-eyed and/or naïve characters? Check. Moment of emotional loss likely to lead the protagonist on a journey of self-discovery? Big check.

The game is the latest from Moon Studios, who are just about impossible to find through standard web searches (I had to search for their game’s Twitter account and click the link in the bio). Their only other project is Warsoup, a first-person shooter slash real-time strategy game. That seems to make Ori a change of pace for the team.

Very little was said about the game during Microsoft’s E3 press conference, where the game was announced alongside the above trailer. However, further investigation of the studio’s site reveals a blurb calling it “a 2D Metroidvania game with a strong focus on platforming, story and atmosphere.” It’s also been in development for about four years.

Metroidvania, you say? Now we’re talking.

The game is set for release on PC and Xbox One sometime in 2014.

Steven "The Future of Games Journalism" Strom plays entirely too much Dota 2. He sometimes plays games when he's not too busy writing about them and their place in our culture, and thinks maybe they're not just a fad after all.