One of the most refreshing surprises at the Microsoft E3 2014 press conference was the new IP Ori and The Blind Forest from developer Moon Studios. After four years in development, the vibrant atmospheric platformer is coming to Xbox One and PC later this year. While the reveal video showed several bright, colorful locales, the first hands-on I had with Ori was in a darker, yet beautiful, Sunken Glade, right at the start of the game.

You play as Ori, an adorable white bunny forest spirit who can nimbly jump from one 2D painted area to the next with ease. The Sunken Glade, and all of Ori and the Blind Forest, has an amazing watercolor aesthetic, and uses parallax to create a wonderful sense of depth in the forest. Trees in the background and foreground make the world seem large, and leaves flutter down the screen as you play, adding yet another layer to the enchanting picture.Aside from the incredible beauty of the game, which is admittedly hard to look past, Ori controls well and has some interesting Metroidvania ideas within. Taking a hint from Zelda, Ori only has three Life Shards, or hit points, at the start of the game. He’s quite fragile, but soon enough he finds another friendly spirit named Sein (pronounced Sign). Sein, who reminded me of Navi from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, is a little puff of light who guides Ori on his quest and aids him in battle.Players use Sein to attack both the creatures in the world and the environmental hazards found within. Sein is ranged attacker and slashes enemies down from afar without the need to target them. As Ori and Sein defeat monsters, who light up when they’re in range of the two, Ori earns Spirit Lights, which are basically orbs of experience. When Ori levels up, players can choose new abilities from an ability tree for him and Sein. The one I chose enabled Sein to attack three times per swing instead of once.One of the more unique aspects of Ori is the Soul Link mechanic, allowing players to create checkpoints and save their progress only if they have enough of a resource called Spirit Energy to do so. Spirit Energy is hidden amongst the levels and earned through killing enemies, but it’s not exactly common. It’s important to create Soul Links strategically, as Ori and the Blind Forest is surprisingly difficult and you only have so much Spirit Energy to spend to create checkpoints.The difficulty comes in the platforming sections and puzzles you’ll have to solve as the little critter. After exploring the Glade for a bit, Ori eventually unlocks the wall jump power-up, which comes complete with a sickeningly cute animation. Rather than zigzagging from wall to wall, Ori simply pounces up one side of a wall, similar to what you’d find in Mega Man X. I couldn’t help but smile watching him pad his way up cliffs and trees. Boop, boop, boop!After unlocking the wall jump power, there’s an intense section where Ori has to dodge fireball-shooting plants while traversing up walls. This section reminded me of some of the brutal platforming in Super Meat Boy, but it was exhilarating, especially when I didn’t have enough energy to create a new Soul Link. More power-ups will be unlocked as you make your way through the adventure, and you’ll be able to revisit locations with new powers to uncover more secrets, collectables, and areas.Ori and the Blind Forest was an incredibly pleasant surprise at this year’s E3, and as my demo drew to a close I was impressed to learn that Moon Studios is made up of developers who collaborate all over the world, rather than work in a single location. It seems to be working however, and I’m anxious to see more of this lovely gem.

Leah B. Jackson is both an Associate Editor at IGN and Corgi megafan, and not necessarily in that order. Follow her on Twitter and MyIGN