Ori and the Blind Forest: Complete Guide

A full guide to the original 2015 release of Ori and the Blind Forest on Steam: Soul Links and the Ability Tree, every core ability, an area-by-area route, missable warnings, achievement strategy (including Immortal, Elite and Supersonic), and how it differs from the Definitive Edition.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Steam Patch 3 (14 October 2015), the last update for the original release. This is a finished game; check the linked sources if something differs.

Original vs Definitive Edition: This guide targets the original "Ori and the Blind Forest" (Steam app 261570). The Definitive Edition is a separate product (released 11 March 2016 on Xbox One and 27 April 2016 on Windows) that adds Easy and Hard difficulties, a One Life mode, fast travel between Spirit Wells, full backtracking through the map, new areas, and two new abilities, Dash and Light Burst. If you are starting fresh and do not own either, the Definitive Edition is the better buy. The sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, released 11 March 2020.

Quick Start

• Soul Links are your checkpoints. Hold the Soul Link button to create a save point anywhere safe. Each costs energy, so you cannot spam them. Place one before every hard platforming section or fight.
• You can only spend Ability Points at a Soul Link. When you gain a point, drop a Soul Link to open the Ability Tree.
• Spirit Wells heal fully and save for free. Unlike Soul Links they cost no energy, so rest at every one you pass ("Safe and Sound" wants a save at every one).
• Energy is shared between Soul Links and Charge Flame. Do not blow all your energy on attacks right before a tough section.
• Grab the Magnet skill early. Auto-collecting Spirit Light orbs speeds everything up.
• Stomp breaks floors, Charge Flame breaks walls. Blue-cracked barriers and stone floors hide a lot of secrets and shortcuts.
• Treat the escape sequences as one-way trips. In the original release, grab everything inside the Ginso Tree, Forlorn Ruins and Mount Horu before you trigger their escape or finale, because the original does not offer the Definitive Edition's full backtracking.
• Patch 1 added save backups. Highlight a save slot and press Up to reach up to five previous save points for that slot. It is a lifesaver if you softlock or make a bad Soul Link.

Core Systems

Health, energy and pickups

Pickup | What it does

Health Cell | Adds a permanent health segment

Energy Cell | Adds a permanent energy segment (used for Soul Links and Charge Flame)

Ability Cell | Grants one Ability Point

Spirit Light (experience orbs) | Fills your Ability Point bar

Life and energy orbs / plants | Refill health or energy

Keystones | Open Keystone doors (usually two or four keystones)

Mapstone fragments | Restore Map Stones, which reveal the map of each area

The Ability Tree

The tree has three branches: Combat, Utility and Efficiency (each has its own completion achievement: "Combat Master", "Utility Master" and "Soul Master"). Each point unlocks the next node in a branch, and nodes deeper in the tree need the earlier nodes first.

Focus | Stand-out picks

Damage | Spirit Flame damage and extra-target upgrades, Charge Flame upgrades, Ultra Stomp

Economy and exploration | Magnet (auto-collects Spirit Light), cheaper Soul Links and more Spirit Light per orb, Map Markers, Sense (points you toward nearby secrets and pickups)

Survival and mobility | Damage reduction nodes, and Triple Jump if you are struggling with platforming

Suggested order for a normal run: Magnet first, then the nodes that make Soul Links and Spirit Light pay out more, then damage until you feel comfortable with Spirit Flame. Map Markers and Sense make collectible hunting far easier later. "Phenom" needs every node, so a full first run eventually buys everything anyway.

Abilities

Ori gains new movement abilities from Ancestral Trees and story events. The original game's core set:

Ability | What it does

Spirit Flame | Sein's auto-targeting attack; your basic damage

Wall Jump | Kick off walls; cling to surfaces

Charge Flame | Energy-costing burst that breaks blue barriers and hits groups

Double Jump | A second jump in mid-air (Triple Jump is an Ability Tree upgrade)

Bash | Launch off enemies and projectiles, redirecting projectiles back; obtained in the Ginso Tree

Stomp | Slam downward to break floors and flatten enemies

Kuro's Feather | Glide on air currents; key to the Valley of the Wind and Sorrow Pass

Climb | Climb walls freely

Charge Jump | Charged upward or angled launch that breaks barriers and can kill enemies on contact

The Definitive Edition adds Dash and Light Burst on top of these.

Area Route (spoiler-light)

The world of Nibel is a metroidvania, so exact order varies, but the critical path runs through three elemental dungeons that restore the Waters, Winds and Warmth of the forest.

Stage | Areas | Key goal

Opening | Prologue, Sunken Glades, Spirit Tree | Meet Sein, learn Spirit Flame and Wall Jump

Early game | Hollow Grove, Moon Grotto, Gumo's Hideout | Gain Charge Flame and Double Jump; chase Gumo and retrieve the Water Vein

First dungeon | Thornfelt Swamp, Ginso Tree | Gain Bash; cleanse the Ginso Tree's heart and survive the rising-water escape

Mid game | Valley of the Wind, Misty Woods | Gain Kuro's Feather; clear the haze from the Misty Woods

Second dungeon | Forlorn Ruins | Retrieve the element of Winds ("Solid Ground") and escape Kuro

Late game | Sorrow Pass, Horu Fields, Mount Horu | Climb to the top of Nibel ("Top of the world"), then restore the element of Warmth in the final dungeon and finish the story

Other notable locations include the Black Root Burrows (a dark cave area) and Horu Fields. The Misty Woods is a looping maze; follow the correct paths marked by the Mapstone and landmarks, and remember "Good Eye" (find the lost corridor in the Misty Woods) is an achievement there.

Escape sequences

The Ginso Tree climb ends with a rising-water escape, the Forlorn Ruins ends with a Kuro chase, and Mount Horu ends with a lava escape. These are the game's hardest sections:

• Create a Soul Link right before each escape if you have energy, although the escapes have their own internal checkpoints.
• Learn the route, don't react. Each escape is a fixed sequence of jumps, bashes and glides. Die a few times on purpose to learn it.
• Bash is the key skill in the Ginso escape; aim toward the next platform before releasing.

Area tips

• Sunken Glades and Hollow Grove: break every blue barrier you can once Charge Flame is unlocked; early Health and Energy Cells hide behind them, and "A New Path" wants five shortcuts opened.
• Thornfelt Swamp: lots of water. Nibel's water is polluted and damages Ori until the Ginso Tree is cleansed, so treat pools as hazards early and come back afterwards for what is underneath.
• Valley of the Wind: a long glide-heavy area. Learn to ride the updrafts and watch out for Kuro's shadow on the ground.
• Misty Woods: the paths loop until the haze is cleared ("Obtaining Clarity"). If you seem to be going in circles, you probably are; look for the correct exits and Keystones.
• Sorrow Pass: high, vertical and windy. Soul Link at the bottom of each climb.
• Horu Fields and Mount Horu: stomp-heavy puzzles and lava. Bring full health and energy.

Collectibles and Missables

• Health Cells, Energy Cells and Ability Cells are the main hidden pickups, plus Keystones, Mapstone fragments and large Spirit Light containers.
• Map Stones: restore every one for "World at Your Feet". Halfway earns "Halfway There".
• Secrets: "No Stone Unturned" needs all secrets; "Seasoned Explorer" needs half.
• Map coverage: "Master of the Forest" requires visiting 100% of the map, which is the one most often missed because of tiny unexplored pockets.
• Missable warning for the original: as noted above, clear each dungeon's pickups before its escape or finale, and use save backups if you realise you missed something.

Achievement Strategy

The original release has 50 Steam achievements. The three hard ones:

Achievement | Requirement | How to approach it

Immortal | Complete the whole game without dying | A dedicated run. Know every escape route cold, max out Health Cells, and only Soul Link in truly safe spots. Practise risky sections on a separate save first.

Elite | Complete the whole game without using an Ability Point | Points still accumulate; just never spend them. Harder without Triple Jump and combat upgrades, but the game is fully completable.

Supersonic | Finish the game in under 3 hours | Learn an efficient route, skip optional pickups, and use as few Soul Links as you can.

Many players do these as separate runs because each rule makes the others harder. The collectibles (all Health Cells, all Energy Cells, all secrets, all Map Stones, 100% map) are best cleaned up in your first, relaxed run.

Other useful ones: "Life Saver" (create 50 Soul Links) comes naturally; "Deadly Deflection" (kill 25 enemies by bashing projectiles back) is easiest to farm on projectile enemies near a Spirit Well; "Juggle Master" (juggle a rock five times without it touching the ground) is easiest with a movable rock on flat ground; "Phenom" requires every skill in the tree, so do not attempt it on your Elite run.

Counters to keep ticking during a normal run:

Achievement | Requirement | Tip

Flame Master | Kill 500 enemies with Spirit Flame | Comes naturally over a full clear

Blast Master | Kill 100 enemies with Charge Flame | Use Charge Flame on groups whenever energy allows

Deadly Detonation | Kill 4 enemies simultaneously with Charge Flame | Wait for a cluster of small enemies

Stomp Master | Kill 50 enemies with Stomp | Stomp small ground enemies once you have it

Power Player | Collect 200 Energy Shards | Grab energy pickups even when full

Bash Master | Bash off enemies 10 times in a row without touching the ground | Find a room with several flying enemies

Airborne | Double Jump 5 times consecutively without touching the ground | A movement trick rather than a counter; practise it in a tall, safe area

Flying Fury | Kill 3 enemies without touching the ground | Easy with Bash chains

Safe and Sound | Save at every Spirit Well | Stop at each one as you pass

Story achievements ("The Journey Begins", "Rotten Inside", "Run for Your Life", "Obtaining Clarity", "Solid Ground", "Top of the world", "Into the Fire", "The Journey Ends" and others) unlock automatically as you progress.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Soul Linking in unsafe spots. A Soul Link next to spikes or in an enemy patrol can trap you in a death loop. Pick flat, quiet ground.
• Running out of energy before a hard section. Energy fuels both checkpoints and Charge Flame. Top up from energy plants first.
• Ignoring the Ability Tree. Unspent points sit idle until you open a Soul Link. Check the tree whenever the Ability Point bar fills.
• Rushing escapes without learning them. Each one is a memorisation challenge. Slow down, watch the path, then go.
• Forgetting save backups. Press Up on a save slot to roll back up to five save points; this was added in Patch 1.

Advanced Tips

• Bash off projectiles for height. Bash works on enemy shots as well as enemies; combining Bash chains with Double Jump opens many secrets early.
• Charge Jump kills. Charging into enemies deals damage ("Deadly Dash" needs five kills this way).
• Use enemies against each other. Bash projectiles into other enemies and lure enemies into hazards ("Deadly Dodge", "Self Destruction").
• Magnet plus Sense makes pickup cleanup much faster; get both before a 100% sweep.
• Controller vs keyboard. Both are supported; the game was designed around a gamepad, and Patch 3 fixed a Windows 10 Xbox One controller "running to the left" bug.

FAQ

Should I buy the original or the Definitive Edition? If you are buying today, the Definitive Edition, since it adds difficulty options, fast travel, new areas and two abilities. The original is fine if that is what you own.

Can I go back after finishing the game? The original is less forgiving than the Definitive Edition about revisiting areas; the Definitive Edition explicitly added full backtracking. Clean up before the finale.

How long does it take? A first playthrough is mid-length for a metroidvania; the Supersonic achievement shows the whole game can be finished in under three hours by an experienced player.

Do my original achievements carry over to the Definitive Edition? No. The Definitive Edition is a separate Steam product with its own achievement list.

The game says I am stuck under a stompable floor or cannot leave water. What do I do? Patch 1 (May 2015) retroactively fixed the water-exit bug, the Mount Horu last-door bug and the missing Forlorn Ruins Light Vessel. Make sure the game is updated, and use save backups if you are softlocked.

Sources

• Steam store page: Ori and the Blind Forest
• Steam news: Patch 1, 2 and 3 release notes (2015)
• Steam global achievements: Ori and the Blind Forest
• Wikipedia: Ori and the Blind Forest