A child abandons their dark city-world by ascending into the clouds above in the form of a dragon.
Most of the gameplay is spent drifting through the dreamlike skyscape as a dragon, dipping in and out of the clouds in search of Yeouiju (blue orbs). Collectables and upgrades that expand stamina or allow the dragon to see farther are also scattered about the clouds in the form of colored orbs. Ascending uses stamina, which is indicated by the markings along the dragon's body and replenished by resting or dipping into cloud cover.
The dragon can switch to a human form by touching the glowing tiles on platforms. Certain actions needed to progress the game, like powering "Titan Towers", can only be performed in the human form. The child can be returned to dragon form at any time by pressing the triangle button or jumping from a ledge.
There are eight "Titan Towers" powered with the orbs collected as a dragon, initiating a Shadow of the Colossus type battle with the tower's owner. Every titan has weak points on its body in the form of crystals that are shattered through a simple mini-game. Getting to and exposing the crystals is often a puzzle in and of itself, albeit a very easy one. There are no health bars or timers. The only real danger to the player is getting pushed back a little bit or suffering a temporary stun.
The game uses an awkward control scheme: L2 to descend, R2 to rise, and X to sprint. They work well enough during the mellow exploration sections, but really get in the way of the dynamic titan fights. Its easy to fly too close or drift too far from the titan, and if the camera gets caught on something it will prevent the dragon from moving.
Oure has the same open-ended, imaginative exploration of playing in an empty cardboard box. It isn't deep or challenging, but the soft color palette, low stress atmosphere, and fluid motion of the the mythical serpentine creature make Oure a soothing game to relax with. Technical complaints aside, it is clear a lot of love went into Oure.
First posted to videogamegeek.com
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