Ogu and the Secret Forest review

In the year 2024, pretty much every video game you play is inspired by a handful of different wonderful titles that are beloved by gamers everywhere. Anyone who loves card games has probably played a Deck Builder with a few similarities to Slay the Spire at this point, and whenever anyone dies and loses all their currency in a game we know that FromSoft are to blame. It always surprises me how few games try to follow in the footprints of Zelda though, given it’s one of the most successful and long living gaming properties I can think of. Perhaps the scale of Zelda games are just too daunting to follow in the footsteps of, or maybe the fact they’re such critically acclaimed games means trying to one up them is almost impossible. Ogu and the Secret Forest isn’t scared of such issues, and is an absolute delight of a game.

Our hero Ogu is an adorable little creature, who one day while adventuring around in the wilderness is teleported to another world. In this world it is said that a hero would emerge to save the day, and help fix The Great One’s power. This involves finding six magical stones from a variety of themed dungeons, and gaining new powers, items, and friends along the way. The overarching story of Ogu and the Secret Forest is a simple one, but the interactions with the charming and cute critters of the world make for a world that’s a joy to explore.

At the start of Ogu and the Secret Forest you won’t have a whole lot of tools to make getting past obstacles easy, just the ability to run as fast as your furry legs can manage and a bug net to swing around. Admittedly this makeshift weapon will serve you well against trash monsters and grass that needs cutting, but there many more abilities and items you’ll need to find all the important bits and bobs needed to succeed.

Although some of these abilities don’t sound exciting, they’re crucial upgrades that hugely open up the game. The first you get is the ability to push round boulders around, possibly even into a hole to fill it. If that’s not enough maybe lifting rocks is more your style, or maybe even an ability that doesn’t involve rocks at all. Your hat collection will feature more of the flashier skills, but with only one head these can only be worn one at a time.

Hat options range from adorable to awesome, and while some are crucial (like a helmet with a light for pitch black areas) others might just provide a handy boost in battle, or make it more likely to find materials after you defeat an enemy. You’ll probably spend most of your hard earned cash on a variety of hats to suit your mood and situation, and it definitely helps that they look great on Ogu.

To fuel your hat addiction you’ll need to get yourself a fat stack of cash, which is fortunately easy thanks to the vast amount of side quests littering the titular Secret Forest. Whether you’re expected to gather missing roof tiles, fight a variety of enemies or fish up a whole load of Jelly Trout, there’s always something to keep you busy with tempting rewards for doing so. If you want to do absolutely everything in this charming little game you’ll have your work cut out, and I was able to spend hours just happily checking off my quest list and receiving all manner of rewards.

Variety is the spice of life and of Ogu and the Secret Forest, and that’s exactly what I was looking for in this adventure. All of the game’s dungeons are themed differently and have a unique array of puzzles, from using tiles to connect pipes all the way to mixing colours to open locked doors and to stop cannons from firing. Despite relatively simple gameplay and mechanics, Ogu mixes things up enough and has enough charm to keep you invested from start to finish.

I really enjoyed my time with Ogu and the Secret Forest, but it has a few issues that stop it from being an instant classic. The worst of these are the menus, which are a pain to navigate and don’t feature any shortcuts to get to the screens you want to quicker. Scrolling through page after page to find your map or objectives is just painful, and the longer you play for the more it will frustrate you. The amount of side quests will also be too overwhelming for some, and with no easy way to know which will reward you with riches, and which will reward you with a few jars of jam it’s a bit of a crapshoot. Finally the combat should probably be mentioned, because the simplicity of it makes it serviceable more than enjoyable.

Ogu and the Secret Forest is a lovely Zelda-like game with charming characters, varied gameplay, and a whole lot of hats to wear. It does have a few annoyances, like hard to navigate menus and slightly average combat, but as a total package this is one adorable adventure that absolutely delivers.