10 Video Games That Immediately DEVASTATE You
4. Ori And The Blind Forest
There’s something to be said about humanity’s love for animals and the feelings we can all quite quickly amass when it comes to the cute and cuddly. The more animals the better and who can say they don’t love videos of unlikely animal friends like dogs and cats expressing their affection for each other?
That’s the same kind of feeling that players get from Ori and the Blind Forest which opens with the loveable lumbering Naru chancing upon the tiny infant Ori. Taking Ori into her home, Naru takes care of the child as if she were her own and we see them working together to forage food before cuddling up for sleep. Basically, it’s adorable… and then, of course, the game ruins it.
An event hits the forest that wipes out all sources of food. In a scene of masterful directing we see Ori rushing past her memories to Naru who, in an act of sacrifice, has prioritised Ori and starved because of it.
As if that wasn’t upsetting enough, the game’s narration and text describe Ori’s cries as falling silent and as “an orphan once more” just in case you wanted an extra kick in the heart.
The Ori series is a masterclass of beautiful sights and sounds and it all starts with absolute emotional devastation.