Ori and the Will of the Wisps Review
Played on Xbox One (base)
Developed by Moon Studios
Released 11th March 2020
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the sequel to the beloved Ori and the Blind Forest, released back in 2015. This continuation of the vibrant world that Ori finds themself in has ambitions embedded in it: lead developer Thomas Mahler stated that "The idea is that Will of the Wisps should be to Blind Forest what Super Mario Bros. 3 was to the original Super Mario Bros."
Story
The story is an adventure worth experiencing as it mixes joy with sorrow elegantly. It's a story of hope and loss, light and darkness and doesn't ever even hint at being as simplistic as a concept of ‘good and evil’, and this is true for the first game as well. I previously gave Ori and the Blind Forest an 8/10 overall. However, each element in this game tops what Blind Forest was. Despite this game having little dialogue, it expresses the strong hitting and heavy mood through well-crafted cutscenes, world-building, and environmental storytelling.
Gameplay
The gameplay is wonderful. I spent a good 18 hours enjoying my experience as I dashed, swam, slashed and blazed my way through, and I haven't even hit the tip of the iceberg of what crazy combinations of traversal and combat I could've done. The traversal is amazing and fun, to the point that I only started fast travelling towards the end of the game so that I can 100% it. Imagine every possible form of transportation that isn't vehicular and that's what you get to gradually build up to and use in the game. The combat is the same, enhancing the experience before. In Blind Forest, my main complaint was that combat stopped feeling as fun towards the end as it became monotonous and that I could easily get lost in the gorgeous world of Nibel but in this game, I could not only mix and match abilities and weapons to my liking and upgrade them, but also find my way quite clearly with only taking a couple of wrong turns - All because of how memorable the environment is. On top of this, the collectables that you find and savour aren't garbage: they were health bonuses, shards that unlocked perks like taking less damage or triple jumps, Gorlek Ores that allow the upgrading and development of the hub area and even more. On top of that, the combat challenges and speed trials were challenging but heavily enjoyable, making me want more by the end of each one while I was still trying to recuperate from my intense breath-holding and butt-clenching. The main issue I had with this game is that I would be able to rapidly pass by areas where some sections of the world didn't load in time, halting my experience to a frustrating stop.
Bossfights
The boss fights were superb and incredible. Each fight had a great mix of challenge, atmospheric pleasure and enjoyment. The boss fights were so amazing that even I, an arachnophobe, loved the spider boss fight so goddamn much it might be my favourite one.
Characters
The characters are minimal when looking at the main narrative itself, however, when talking to the NPCs about side quests or even doing small talk with them, you get not only get to enjoy even more of this breathtaking and detailed world but also get a sense of the characters and enjoy seeing them to the point you'd start talking to them each time you see them on screen.
Atmosphere
If you were to use every connotation of the word beautiful, gorgeous and breathtaking, you wouldn't even of made any progress in describing this game's atmosphere. I only give 11/10 to games that amaze me in that aspect of the game, from The Last of Us Part II's world-building and graphics to Undertale's melodies to now Ori and the Will of the Wisps' music, world design, character design, lighting and overall beauty. I spent many times throughout this game muttering the words "This is so beautiful" and it damn right is. From the sizzling sands of Windswept Waste to the chilling splinters of Baur's Reach, I was immersed and loved each area. However, the reviewing asshole within me feels like deducting a point on some audio glitches (Yet I'll happily blame them on my aging hardware).
Story- 9.5/10
Gameplay- 9.8/10
Bossfights- 10/10
Characters- 8/10
Atmosphere- 11/10
Near Perfect
Ori and the Will of the Wisps will possibly remain the most underappreciated title that Xbox has in its exclusive catalogue as it blends the most gorgeous visuals with the most fluid gameplay.
