Ori and the Blind Forest’s producer wants his beautiful Xbox One exclusive to play as good as it looks (interview)

A lot of the big games at last week’s giant Electronic Entertainment Expo tradeshow in Los Angeles focused on fancy graphics and lots of shooting, but Ori and the Blind Forest, an Xbox One exclusive coming out this fall, really stood out for me.

Technically, Ori does have incredible graphics and plenty of shooting, but it couldn’t be more different from your standard triple-A production. It’s a 2D platformer that focuses on exploration (a genre often called Metroidvania, referencing the two series, Metroid and Castelvania, that popularized these kinds of games). Instead of fancy rock textures and particle effects, Ori looks like beautiful cartoon brought to life, and you’re shooting balls of spiritual energy instead of bullets or grenades.