Which is not exactly difficult, since stories are usually nothing more than serviceable. The story is perhaps a strong point in favor of O ri relative to its Metroidvania competitors. Yes, sure, they represent corruption, but they lack character and they are not visually pleasing or interesting. Most enemies are shapeless blobs with a few spikes here and there. And if we look at the enemies on display, then it’s abysmally worse.
Ori is pretty, but it does not show anything remotely interesting except for a few rare areas. Ori’s forest is… a forest? In a similar style of 2.5D, Trine was much more gorgeous at every turn. The backgrounds can be hit or miss, but they are beautifully colored and they have a strong personality. There are tons of cool monsters to behold and cute critters to encounter. While Rayman’s art can be hit and miss, it oozes creativity and originality. Ori’s greatest sin is its bland universe and lack of a ‘wow’ factor in its artistic direction. However… however… I must say that despite how pretty and smooth it feels, I was never in awe at what I was seeing. Ori’s dev team mentioned that they were inspired by Rayman, and it shows in the way the animation is seamless, the graphics are very sharp and the levels have been handcrafted in a way that the usual building blocks do not permit. The setting for Ori and The Blind Forest is a gorgeously animated forest and a little character that looks like a spirit version of Stitch from Lilo & Stitch.