Ori and the Will of the Wisps

⭐ 9.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

This is the follow up to Ori and the Blind Forest which I loved, but ultimately failed to be a game I thought about much after the fact and failed to leave any type of lasting impression. I think that will be different after Will of the Wisps because I think this series came into its own with this entry and will be remembered among platforming classics.

This game has a ton of great elements. I played this on Xbox Series S and it looked and felt astonishingly great at 60 fps. The music was great in the first, and this one was even better with a few more diverse tracks. The final levels felt especially haunting and at times pretty epic. The art style in this series is classic, and again this game stepped it up with some great background design. There is this one bug-themed level that's unique and creepy and amazing.

Like Tim pointed out, the platforming is the real highlight. This is the smoothest, most satisfying platforming I've played. There are so many creative puzzles and challenges, and when you get to the end of the game and have all these upgrades you feel like a platforming god as you chain all these things together. It allows for some creativity, though I also admit the game allows for some cheesing where you can basically just run over spikes to get across something if you have enough health.

This game gets a lot of those little things right. Adding the central hub is huge as you always feel like you're building towards something, and the characters in this game are just so darn charming. The skill upgrades and diversity are a welcome addition also. While I appreciated the emphasis on combat and bosses, I also felt they could use a bit of work. The combat is excellent, but you never feel the need to master it because you can just spam buttons till you win. Still, the boss sequences are incredible for their cinematic value alone.

Anyways, overall this game is incredible. I found it a little too easy, and wish they could have expanded it somehow to get to 40 hours, but they also offer a hard mode that I'd recommend if you have any experience with this type of game. Otherwise, this was a near perfect experience for me. I am really hoping that Moon can find a way to make a bunch more of these games and expand the universe a bit. If Nintendo can find a way to make a million platformers based on the worst universe fiction has to offer, I am hopeful that Ori will find a way back onto my screen.