Guessed by @UnderwaterFunktown
As I write this shortly after The Game Awards happened, I recall that it was that show that first introduced me to Ori and the Blind Forest. It was nominated for best art direction that year, and I just remember seeing the shortest snippet of gameplay during the nominations, and I was immediately enamoured by it. It won the award of course. I was at a friend's that night, but when I came back home, the first thing I did was to try and get my hands on this game.
What can I say, I'm a sucker for good-looking games.
I didn't expect to be turned into a deeply emotional mess within the first 10 minutes, though.
In many ways, this was the first great indie game for me. I had enjoyed other indie games before it, some of them quite a lot, but I always thought of them as simpler experiences, most indies seemed happy to just replicate a retro style of gaming that had long been forsaken by the industry, but they didn't used to bother much with creating a world or story you cared about. Ori was the game that showed me, yes, indie games can be that as well. They can immerse you in their worlds as much as they can give you fun oldschool gameplay. And in doing so, they can be something entirely new.
Nowadays, most of my favourite games that come out are independent, but that started with Ori. And hell, it even continued with Ori. This little spirit will always be in my heart.
