Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition

Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition is one of the most notable arrivals of an earlier exclusive title on Switch, and technically it's a surprisingly clean conversion. The game tells the story of a small being of light trying to save a dying forest, and it does so with almost no spoken word, relying instead on imagery, narration, and music. Visually it's a hand-painted environment with several layers of parallax, luminous mists, and soft particle effects that, even years later, rank among the most beautiful in the genre, and on the Switch's small screen they may stand out even more than on a television.

The gameplay is built on a classic metroidvania structure. The interconnected world gradually opens up new abilities, from a double jump through wall-climbing to the bash, a rebound off enemy projectiles and fireflies that serves both for movement and for deflecting attacks. It's the bash that turns the game into an acrobatic exercise, where the player quite literally flies between dangers. Combat is present, but the core of the difficulty lies in movement and precision, culminating in the famous escape sequences where water or lava surges after the player and a single mistake means starting over. The game also uses a manual save system powered by energy, so the player decides for themselves when to secure a return point.

Compared to the original release, the Definitive Edition adds further areas, abilities, and a choice of difficulty, making the whole more accessible even to less patient players. Gareth Coker's orchestral soundtrack is an integral part of the experience, sustaining tension and emotion in places where other games would reach for dialogue. Critics especially praised the combination of audiovisual craft with precise controls, and the game became proof that a metroidvania can also be an intimate emotional narrative. Today it stands as a modern classic of the genre, and on Switch it's one of the best ways to experience it.