Game of the Month #112 (May 2024) - Ori and the Will of the Wisps

From the creators of Ori and the Blind Forest - the acclaimed adventure game with more than 50 awards and nominations - comes the highly-anticipated sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Embark on an all-new adventure in a vast and exotic world where you’ll encounter towering enemies and challenging puzzles on your quest to unravel Ori’s true destiny.
How long is Ori and the Will of the Wisps?
When focusing on the main objectives, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is about 12 Hours in length. If you're a gamer that strives to see all aspects of the game, you are likely to spend around 18 Hours to obtain 100% completion.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Genres:Action, Adventure, Platform
Developer:Moon Studios
Publisher:Xbox Game Studios
NA:March 11, 2020
EU:March 11, 2020
JP:March 11, 2020

Started this game last month and just finished it.

Great experience, by the end game Ori becomes insanely agile. It's so satisfying going back to the early sections and mopping up the left over upgrades. I would say this game was far easier than the first - that or my skills have improved!

9/10.

I played this game years ago and I remember really liking it. It has some pretty solid platforming and level design.

I started it last night. I played for 4 hours to what I would consider to be the first dungeon. It's been a while since I played the Blind Forest, but this one seems a lot more combat-focused. At first I wasn't really sure if I would like that, but it's growing on me. So far I think the music in Blind Forest is better, Will of the Wisps doesn't have a track that's sticking with me yet.

Started it yesterday and played a bit more earlier today. I'm about 3 hours in and I cleared what I think is the first "dungeon" and am now in the part where you reunite with Ku and need to escape from the big Owl monster thing.

So far, I'm very much enjoying my time with the game. For some reason I think the movement and mechanics seem to click much easier with me than the first Ori game, not sure why. It has been a while since I played the first one, but I seem to remember there were a couple of movement options that felt somewhat awkward on the first one personally. However, I haven't found anything like that so far, so that's definitely a personal positive!

I also love how it feels to move. Even after a couple of small upgrades, it feels like you move so fast and that you can just zoom around if you react fast enough to where you should be going next. Looking forward to playing more of this soon, hopefully!

WOTW took everything great about TBF and cranked it up to 11. Better combat, better platforming, better movement, better boss fights, better levels and better music. Really hoping we get an Ori 3.

Out of curiosity, I decided to take a quick look on Ori reviews on YouTube. From the thumbnails alone I got this:





Then a quick scroll on the comment section of IGN's review:









Wow, people really like this thing.

WOTW took everything great about TBF and cranked it up to 11. Better combat, better platforming, better movement, better boss fights, better levels and better music. Really hoping we get an Ori 3.

I'm kinda happy that they skipped Ori 3 for No Rest For The Wicked instead. I'm playing the early access and I'm loving it.

Out of curiosity, I decided to take a quick look on Ori reviews on YouTube. From the thumbnails alone I got this:





Then a quick scroll on the comment section of IGN's review:









Wow, people really like this thing.

That's some high praise. I hope it lives up to the hype.

By the way, the first game was GotM three years ago. For anyone interested in checking out its thread, here you go: https://howlongtobeat.com/forum/thread/2363/1

Ahhh Ori 2! I played the first game during the GOTM too. I'm definitely going to pick the second game up soon!

Had my first session:

Reached the wellspring

Not much to say basically more Ori. It's still with it's tight controls vibrant world and easy to follow paths. It's still a well designed and fun game. I'll keep up my playthrough maybe have more to say then but for now yeah i'm still enjoying ori

I finished Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

First off, I think this has better gameplay than the first game and has a lot going for it in that aspect. However, I would say the first game was better performance-wise (at least on the Switch). The game crashed on me three times, multiple instances where loading areas couldn't keep up with my movement so I would get stuck on invisible walls for like half a minute, and a glitch I had run into during the Baur's Reach area where I had to exit the game in order to get a puzzle to function properly.

Will of the Wisps gets the same 9/10 that I gave the first game.

I personally liked the gameplay on the first one a little bit more but the completion of the story was fantastic. Totally came full circle and brought tears to my eyes.

05/05/2024 12:52 AM
reached the blind forest

Damn the build mix house questline has quite the sad ending ends up going to back into the blind forest to be affected by the decay so he can die with his family.

05/05/2024 11:18 PM
Met shriek and now collecting the wisps did the bear and the moutain now heading into the shadow forest

So yeah the basiclaly more of the same. Well tight controls well designed levels. I think it's a little harder in places and some of the new skills so far are really the same as the old. I feel the new character though could offer some more variety but haven't seen much with them will see have used they are. This to me now is just more of the same and for Ori thats is not at all a bad thing

— 05/06/2024 10:05 PM
Finshed the shadow forest and heading to the Luna Pools. Basically following a side quest to pass objects to people who need them. Good way of providing a series of routes for people in the game
— 05/07/2024 11:31 PM
Made my way to the luna pools. Doing some combat trials on the way
— 05/08/2024 10:05 PM
Finished the Luna pools. Had a feeling I'd have to face kiwlooh but thought he'd survive like the spider. Think I'm getting into the end game
— 05/09/2024 10:03 PM
Okay I did the secret zone Midnight burrow. Speaking of metroidvania secret areas I'd have to say that was rather easy compared to other ones i've played. Making my way through Silent woods again now.
— Yesterday at 11:02 PM
Made my way through the silent woods and reached the desert. Now got the ability to tunnel through sand so currently going back to the areas with sand to pick up collectables
— Today at 11:52 PM
so just finished Ori and yeah I have to say basically more of the same. Still really enjoyed my time with it. I felt my biggest complaint is that the new character you can play is barely used and should've been utlizied a bit more but overall nothing really to complain about. As always I'll try to write a full review in the coming days

Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Completion May 11, 2024
Main+Extras 18h 1m 4s
Notes 91% All collectibles
Review
+Well designed Metroidvania world
+Great mix of bosses and chases at the end of sections
+Excellent gameplay and feel throughout
-Doesn’t do much different from the original
-New character is not utilized enough
Overview: Ori and the will of the wisps is an excellently made sequel to Blind forest with a new well built world and great mix of bosses and chases in the main sections of the game. It however doesn’t do much new from the original and fails to properly utilize a new character added to the game which is only playable in two sections. I still recommend the game especially for those who enjoyed the original and it still an incredibly well designed game worth a play through.
9/10

When I got back into gaming back in 2019 this Ori and the blind forest was one of the first games I beat. I enjoyed it so much I immediately went to Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Man the way this game comes full circle from the beginning of blind forest to the end of will of the wisps is just beautiful. When I figured out at the end of the Will of the Wisps who the narrator and the tree was it brought it tear to my eye.