Love the game but gotta gripe about the ending.

[themaestro13]

*SPOILERS (obviously)*

So I love this game and all (this is actually my second 100% playthrough) but something's always bothered me about the ending and I've finally realized what it is.

This is a story about how these characters deal with loss. The tree loses Ori and reaches out for her. Ori loses Naru and goes on a quest. Kuro loses her children and seeks vengeance. Gumo loses his race and becomes selfish and greedy. Naru even loses her father and becomes a bit too clingy with Ori. All that's great - really tugs at the heart and gives the story weight.

But then you get to the end and it's like everyone breaks out the rainbows and ice cream. Naru coming back to life always bothered me but it also means Ori doesn't really deal with that loss, and that's kind of the central internal conflict in the game. It's not just some poorly implemented deus ex machina, it kind of violates the game's core theme. I get that they're going for a hopeful, uplifting ending (and as I write this I'm realizing how interestingly the other character's arcs were resolved), but that one in particular feels like the game missed the point of its own story. It doesn't feel like you can really make a game about dealing with loss and then stop short on the sombre reality of learning to move on.

Anyway, thought I'd share since it just hit me. Still think it's a beautiful game.

[MetalOverlord]

Originally posted by themaestro13:

Naru coming back to life always bothered me but it also means Ori doesn't really deal with that loss, and that's kind of the central internal conflict in the game.

Ori never knows about being brought back to life. We actually don't know if Ori comes back to life after being killed by Kuro. There is a whole guide dedicated to different theories. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=508519213 If you are interested you can check it out.

[themaestro13]

Huh, I guess I always assumed that creature sitting on the stump at the end was Ori and there just like a missing scene or something. That would make more sense, though.

Both super interesting comments that give me more to think about. Thanks for sharing!

[YellowDemonHurlr]

I don't think there's a single "this is what the story is about, and nothing else" sort of approach that works with Ori--the developers let folks make what they will of it, even to the point of letting Ori be whatever gender you wish. Is it about dealing with loss? Sure. Is is about how love can cause you to do bad as well as good? Sure. Is it about how ostensibly opposed cultures can actually be quite similar? Sure.

What I can tell you is that Naru's return is something of a narrative necessity. She needs to be there at the end so Kuro can realize that in her rage, she's done to others what happened to her.

Now, they could also have brought this about by developing the Spirit Tree more. Ori is his child, and he loves her, but we never really get to see that. Kuro's "oh my god, what have I done?" moment could have been in response so the Spirit Tree mourning Ori, but that would require more character development than we got and, well... trees aren't exactly the most expressive characters.

In my opinion, Naru's resurrection isn't really a deus ex machina because it doesn't come from nowhere: it's a direct consequence of Ori's actions--she helped Gumo, which prompted him to help Naru, which prompted Kuro's revaluation and change of heart. So you could say that the real moment Ori saved the forest was when she pulled that rock off Gumo's legs. The rest was just making sure those ripples had a clear path to work their magic.

You could wrap a theme of ripple effects around that. The Spirit Tree's ignorance or indifference sent out bad ripples which prompted Kuro's roaring rampage of revenge, which caused just about everybody to die. Ori's good ripples prompted good turns from other people, which saved the forest.