Ori And The Blind Forest Is Getting A Surprise Switch Release

There are lot of games out there that follow in the footsteps of Metroid and Castlevania, comprising an action-adventure subgenre known fondly as "Metroidvania." One of the best games in that subgenre, in my opinion at least, is Ori and the Blind Forest. Today, we learned that Ori and the Blind Forest is heading to Nintendo Switch and that it's release is right around the corner.

The Switch version of Ori and the Blind Forest was revealed at the tail end of Nintendo's Indie World Showcase today. Though there were some who were expecting a Switch release for Ori and the Blind Forest, this news is still surprising because the game is published by Microsoft Game Studios. That means up until this announcement, it was an exclusive to Xbox One and Windows.

The version landing on Switch will be Definitive Edition, which offers a few improvements over the original game. Ori and the Blind Forest Definitive Edition features new areas that weren't in the base game, along with new difficulty modes, abilities, and new secret areas to uncover.

Ori and the Blind Forest Definitive Edition will be joining other Metroidvania titles like Hollow Knight, Guacamelee 2, and Axiom Verge that are already on the Switch, so the console has definitely become a good console for scratching that platform adventure itch. Xbox Game Studios and developer Moon Studios are working on a follow up to Ori and the Blind Forest called Ori and the Will of the Wisps, which will be out on February 11th, 2020.

Perhaps Ori and the Blind Forest's impending arrival on the Switch means that we'll one day see Will of the Wisps on the console as well? Time will tell, but at the moment, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is only confirmed for Xbox One and Windows. Ori and the Blind Forest Definitive Edition, on the other hand, will be out on Switch on September 27th, so just a little more than a month from now.