Ori and the blind forest is a beautiful game. I quickly fell in love with the characters, enviroment, and story. The stories of Ori, Naru, Kuro, and Gumo were so fun to watch play out. but tbh sein is just kinda there I dont really feel like sein was all that neccesary. As far as gameplay goes, the mainline adventure is really fun. the challenges feel like they are just the right level of difficulty. Theres a wide range of combat, platforming, and some puzzle challenges that are really enjoyable to tackle. The escape sequences are where the game really shines though. each one of them are a blast to play and are similarly at a great level of difficulty. However, I do feel the ending is a bit anti-climatic gameplay wise. It is the worst escape sequences (just feels clunky and awkward at times) and doesnt even feel like the end. However, the actual cut scenes at the end are so great and really ties the story up well. The progression of the game is another high point. As you go along and learn new moves the environment feels more and more comfortable to explore. Like at a certain point (I think once you learn charge jump) exploring is just bliss. SO MUCH FUN. like thats the point where I became really invested in the exploration aspect. backtracking didnt even feel like a pain due to just how great Ori's movement started to feel. Speaking of movement, at its peak, Ori's movement is so good. you just have so many options it makes for a really fun time. the skill tree is okay, its a little annoying at times due to the fact that upgrades may not alline with the moves you have learned and the choices between upgrades aren't as engaging as I wish they were. My main complaint with the game is that in the early stages exploration seems like its being actively discouraged and I feel like I am wasting my time for trying new things. Overall though, it was a joy to play especially after the halfway point and was a great entry into metroidvanias for me.

really fun 3D mario platformer for the most part. I had a blast running through all the worlds, taking it all in. as far as movement goes, its pretty solid. I like the spin ability a lot. its a nice get out of jail free card and makes for some nice saves and also makes just about every jump feel plausible. I also just love the feel of moving mario in this game, I usually feel like I have control. It's not perfect tho. I sometimes found myself in weird gravitational situations where the correct direction was unclear and the camera gets caught in areas at times. I also think this game could use a faster movement option other than long jump (odyssey roll, kazooie). The galaxies are pretty great for the most part. There are some misses but there are also some big hits like freezeflame galaxy and toytime galaxy.
I do think the game is a little too linear tho which is the main reason that I feel lt falls a bit short of odyssey
I think some of its best work is done in the least linear levels and if they just used their engine and atmosphere for a much more open experience it could be even better than it is
I feel like exploration is really just not encouraged as there is a lack of a meainingful secondary collectable. I felt like I was always wasting my time by exlporing in the rare occasions it was an option
the game has tons of soul tho, I love the lumas, comet observatory, unique bosses, and toad brigade. And the pacing is pretty great too, each dome has some unique experiences and I like the way they split it up with substantial galaxies often being separated by small ones

Really great pacing throughout the game and good humor too.
The combat is really good even if it becomes a bit oversaturated at times
pretty much all of the bowser parts are straight heat and the Mario and luigi parts are have some really great things too
The final boss was really good and so was the fawful boss fight
Characters are solid (except for the emoglobins) but for some reason I do lack a bit of emotional connection to some of them
My main complaint that keep it from being a 10/10 is just too much fighting of the same enemies over and over again
I like to fight everything in each area and they just stuff the same guy over and over again way too much in my opinion
also for some reason I feel like other than the final fights the game dragged towards the end

A Short Hike finds a way to make hiking actually fun. The experience was uniquely immersive and had a wide range of ways to keep me interested. Hawk peak is portrayed beautifully and the game looks amazing. I also love the character designs. It obviously took a lot of inspiration from Animal Crossing in that regard. The game also just feels like if you took animal crossing and made it into a sandbox exploration game. Going around meeting and helping everyone just feels great and probably is the best part of the game. If I were to nitpick, I would say the fishing is just okay. Other games do it much better and are more suited for it. It feels a bit out of place here but for players who haven’t played stardew or AC its good. The movement complements the environment perfectly and feels very empowering by the time you get all the golden feathers. I think it works great for this game, but I think it would need a bit more options if it were a full-length game. The dynamic music as you go from trail to trail was super enhancing and added to the fun of exploration. Speaking of exploration, this game kills it in that regard. It gives the player complete freedom to play the game in any way or order they’d like. Pretty much everything is on the table. The game maximizes everything that it has and is satisfied doing just that. It doesn’t try to be anything more than a short, but oh so sweet, game.