In various games there seems to be this apparent need from the developers that a stealth section needs to be included. I'm normally ok with this but I have never really enjoyed games where stealth was the entire game and I will almost always quit those games and this is even the case with really big games such as Assassin's Creed which are fun games, but the stealth necessity sections, which are a lot of them, annoy me to the point where I will normally quit because of it.
I was not that pleased when stealth was introduced into Ori and the Will of the Wisps but thankfully, it is done in an easy enough fashion that you will get past it once you figure out that it is a stealth section and you figure out where you are actually meant to hide.
As is often the case with extremely well-made games, our enemy here, who turns out to be the main enemy and is focused on quite heavily in the story, is a character just known online as Shriek. I don't remember if he is given a name in the dialogue that is in the game.
He is presented as an unwilling villain that is only that way because the world rejected him (or her) because of their deformations. Whatever the motivations end up being for wanting to destroy everything, there is no denying that Shriek is a very intimidating figure.
When we first enter this area, Shriek is watching from the distance but as soon as Ori steps on a twig (rookie mistake Ori!) Shriek is drawn to the area and is searching for whatever made that noise so he can kill it.
You move when he looks the other way and then rush to the next hiding spot, which might not always be as evident as you want it to be.
The good news is that you will figure it out after a couple of tries because simply running into the distance hoping to get away from him is clearly a futile effort since he swoops down and fells you with a single gigantic hit.
It happens so rapidly that the only thing you really see is the screen flashing red and then you are gone. That's one hell of a smack there! That is for sure. You respawn back at the start and I am once again going to praise this game for how they really do a fantastic job of checkpoints in 95% of this game. My only beef so far would be the chase sequence with the corrupted frog boss, but hell, these games have choke-points frequently and you just have to keep at it until you get past.
At least they don't have some 50 second long mandatory dialogue sequence that you have to sit through like Plague Tale had towards the end of that game.
It's made pretty evident to you, even without using any words, that you are meant to find a new hiding place in the distance, not try to engage in any way. I love it when a game can manage to communicate that to the player without directly stating it on screen.
That being said though, I wonder how many people got to this part, presumed they were missing a piece of equipment that enables them to get past this, and simply walked away. Probably not very many since almost anyone is lazy (me) and will just consult the internet when they run into issues like this.
Quick side note: Are you old enough to remember a time where if you got stuck on something like this that you were just stuck? This was a time before the internet and it was a time when I was the most "stubborn" or "devoted" depending on your perspective. There are very few games in the 80's and 90's that convinced me to quit with their difficulty. I guess I'm just older but I feel like we stuck with games a lot longer back in those days before we could just patch the game or look online for an easy solution. Anyway, moving on.
Once you get past the stealth section (and there are only 3 total hiding places that you have to find) I was relieved to see that they provide you with a save point which is also a warp point so if the next section is something you aren't good at, you don't have to go through all the stealth stuff again unless you want to. What kind of lunatic would want to do that is beyond me.
The next section I think, is the last one that you will face in the game before proceding to the last zone and both of these are pretty difficult. I say "difficult" but they are also very fair. This is one thing I really appreciate about this game. none of the sections other than the Kwolok (corrupted Frog guy) section are anything that I would consider borderline game-breaking and points where people would just quit on the game. I ended up initially quitting Blind Forest because I was stuck on a place where a "chase" was happening and there was no way to exit it... you had to keep at it until you win and I am happy that the devs apparently addressed this in the sequel and gave everyone a way out if they got too frustrated at a particular part.
There is plenty else to explore while you hone your skills or "recharge your batteries" while considering going back and having another try.
You do gain skill at this game over time. Some parts are really tough but I recall a particular chase sequence where i thought it might be a repeat of Kwolok but instead I blazed through it on my first try. I will admit that some of it was luck as I just happened to hit the correct button in my spastic scramble to hit something that would help and was just very lucky to be correct.
But in this section you will be reunited with our old friend "Ku" who IMO is one of the cutest characters in any videogame ever
I'm getting near the end of this game and while I do enjoy progressing I am already starting to feel a bit sad that it will soon be over. I do NOT 100% games so once I succeed (presuming I do) in getting to the ending I will just call it a day and move on to something new.
I am already concerned that the next thing I play will "suck" simply because this game is so absolutely stellar.
I highly recommend this game if you have cheap access to it. Of all the games that I have paid more than a few dollars for in the past 10 years this one is in my top-10, maybe not just of the past 10 years but perhaps EVER.
all non-credited images are screens from my own gameplay
