Ori and the Will of the Wisps Reviews

I have played the game. It took 20 hours and was trying to strangle my computer the entire time. I experienced a ridiculous amount of lag and video stuttering. If I opened the map or entered a new room it took between 3 and 30 seconds to load. Warping usually took a full minute. The movement was mostly fine but if I moved too fast it would become clear the game had not loaded far enough to match my speed. I would get stuck in midair offscreen for seconds at a time. Twice I clipped inside the walls while trying to play normally, and had to die to get out. The first time I tried to quit the game crashed. Cutscenes would not play at any reasonable speed, were completely desynced from audio, and menuing was so slow as to be extremely irritating. Oh, and even though I went back to get 100% despite all this, due to an unaddressed glitch that apparently a bunch of people have, I am still marked as 86% complete on the last area and have not gotten the achievement. (Apparently this can be fixed by fighting the final boss again, which is good to know in case you're also experiencing it. I am not going to do that because I already have fought this boss.) For context, I am not attempting to play this on a brick; this is the first time I've encountered optimization anywhere close to as poor as this while playing a game. If it wasn't broken, it would be fine. The insane amount of detail in the art is respectable, but sacrifices gameplay, which is an issue. The platforming and puzzles are actually pretty good; they're what kept me engaged, which is saying something. There are a lot of different abilities, about half of which will ever be relevant, but that half is cool. I particularly liked the spirit races and combat shrines, which were fun and unique challenges. The music, as with the first Ori, is about 15 different arrangements of the same ten-second melody (from the first game), so get ready to get real sick of it. The story could be interesting, and certainly there are more characters to get invested in than the absolute NPC-drought of the first game, but for some reason I didn't. The only part of this game where I felt emotional was at the end of the Family Reunion quest. At least to me, it seems like the game wants me to take the story a lot more seriously than I am, while also giving me a lot less relevant information than I want (what is decay?? why is light different from tree?? why are things bad??)... and, as I might expect given the entire plot of the first game, it expects me to get invested in characters solely because they're presented as childlike. Ori, Ku, and most of the Moki have no distinct personalities apart from being cute and protectable. Ah well. I played this game because I hoped it would rise above the first one. I suppose it did, but that didn't save it. If you don't mind my criticisms (and you're playing it on a Seriously Macho Computer)... have fun.

How can you not love Ori hes so cute. Great gameplay, heartfelt story. What else is there to say? Just play the game instead of reading this, you can thank me later.

Story: 9/10 Gameplay: 9.5/10 Art: 10/10 Music: 10/10 Difficulty: 7/10 Ambiance: ∞/10 ABSOLUTELY DEFINITELY PEAK!

This game has amazing story telling and engaging music & soundtrack. visuals are nice. combat or maneuver is very very well done honestly. first time playing Ori game and glad I picked it. memorable game with great detail.

Ok, controversial opinion incoming. I love this game... but I think the original (Ori and the Blind Forest) was a tighter game. They are both fantastic stories, and you should play them in order. These are such well put together stories with beautiful visuals and epic music. These really are award winning Metroidvania games. Don't make the mistake of thinking they are easy though... these are meant to be challenging games. There isn't much that is "chill" about an Ori game. The first major escape sequence in this game (what you might think of as the first "boss battle") awards an achievement. At the time of writing this, something like 53% of players have that achievement. So half of the people who buy and play this game quit before the first escape sequence... which is too bad. It's understandable though... When you first get into it, the platforming can be different than you are expecting. You have to get used to the controls. Once you do though, moving around with Ori makes you feel great... it's just so smooth, and transitions from air to ground to wall, back to air... it really is a great feeling. But it does take some time to get there, especially if you haven't played the first game. At ~10 hours I'm at about 53% completion. I have spent a lot of time grabbing collectibles, so this game probably can go quite a bit faster. The world here is undeniably gorgeous. Is it better than the first game? Maybe graphically it's a bit sharper, but I'll be honest I find them quite similar in quality and pleasantness. Stunningly beautiful, dark but full of hope... the visuals really do make everything about these games. This second game has a lot more quality of life features compared to the first. A lot more ability types, upgrades, etc. Combat is much more focused and punchy. You can see that the developers took a lot of inspiration from games like Hollow Knight when they came around to this second game. Things like the map vendor, the ability that channels your energy to heal yourself... in many ways they combined the original Ori with Hollow Knight mechanics, and it works well. Combat in this game also can be quite varied, in that you have a number of abilities you can slot to your X, Y, and B keys. I found myself mostly sticking with what I liked rather than playing around, but there are definitely abilities here you can swap out when the time fits. This story also has various characters you meet along the way.... although this is kind of where I think it goes astray. The first game was a super focused, simple story that really resonated through the exploration and quests you did. This feels a bit more open, but in a way that makes it a bit less engaging if I'm honest. I think the first one had more emotion, and it was a more pure experience. The escape sequences in the first one created lasting memories for me, in a way that this game just quite hasn't. I also think the music in the first one was more epic in many cases. That said, I am loving this game as well and I will finish it out for sure. I recommend both games for sure.

I had this game in my wishlist for a long time and I now regret not purchasing it earlier. This will be one of the best single player experiences for me and I now wish I could play this game for the first time again. An amazing story, a beautiful setting and a breath taking world design defines this masterpiece. 9/10 game, I'd recommend this game any day of the week!

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a breathtaking journey that excels in every aspect. The hand-painted graphics are stunning, the gameplay is fluid and responsive, and the soundtrack is one of the best in gaming. The story is deeply emotional, drawing you in with its heartfelt moments. While easy to learn, the game offers a rewarding challenge that keeps you engaged. The 15-20 hour playtime feels perfectly paced, and at 75% off or under $5 during sales, it's an absolute steal. A must-play for fans of platformers and story-driven adventures. Pros: Gorgeous visuals with a hand-painted art style Smooth and responsive gameplay Incredible soundtrack that enhances every moment Emotional and captivating story Satisfying progression and exploration Cons: Some platforming sections can be frustrating Overall Score: 9/10

This game is more forgiving than its prequel. More story and battle oriented than the first game with bosses fights and skills. The addition of side quests made the game more immersive. Music was epic as usual. Nice narration, could grasp the story well. If you're looking for a good music, epic combat, challenging parkour, gear-turning puzzle and heart-clenching story, give Ori and the Will of the Wisps a try. Of course, completing the prequel first which is Ori and the Blind Forest first is recommended for a better grasp at the lore.

THIS is how you do a sequel! Taking everything the first game did poorly and turning it good and taking everything the first game did well and making it even better. Everything is just top notch in this game. The gameplay is fluid and smooth. Ori feels so good to control, every ability and attack just flows so well into each other. The combat is a massive step up from the first game where it was a shallow button mashing simulator, now it's an incredibly flashy and amazing feeling system. Assigning buttons to different abilities is such a simple yet effective system for quickly accessing whatever ability you need. And swapping abilities during action doesn't break the flow of gameplay too much. There are so many new abilities for platforming and for combat that by the end of the game you are just launching, grappling, bashing, dashing, wall hopping all in quick succession and you're not even thinking about what you're doing and it feels like second nature, which is something few games have managed to achieve. Visuals are somehow better than the first game, which already looked amazing. Every screenshot from this game could be in a gallery. All the areas are absolutely gorgeous and all the characters are so expressive and well animated. The first game used sprites of 3D models for animation which did look pretty cool, but it was definitely the right call to just animate the 3D models in this game as it just adds so much to the game feel. The story is probably the least improved part compared to the first game, but that's because it was already fantastic there. And it still is great here, it tells a much more complex story than the first game, still relatively simple by modern standards, yet it's executed so well that it'll have you bawling by the end. And the music is beautiful as always. It relies a lot less on the main Ori leitmotif which makes the few times it does appear feel so much more special. Hearing it right as you are about to defeat a boss or right as the escape gets to it's most cinematic part just [i]hits[/i] so well. The entire OST is just so well-composed. The crescendo in the Wellspring track, the opening chords of Baur's Reach, the beautiful vocals of Luma Pools, it all adds up and makes the OST full of great tracks. I didn't mention any major flaws because I'm genuinely stumped when trying to think of one. Worst part about this game is that it ends. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an amazing sequel to the first game that will have you hoping that they'll make an Ori 3 sometime in the future.

A quality platformer with excellent craftsmanship. It feels pleasant to the touch, has a good story, and is practically unrivaled in the audiovisual category. It will certainly surprise no one that Ori and the Will of the Wisps had no need to change functional narrative techniques. Once again, it relies on empathy with an ensemble of mostly cute creatures... And it works again. The creators manage to compose emotional story scenes for the strongest possible impact, and so the new Ori sometimes manages to pour the best kind of frost on your back. The story initially revolves around the owl Ku, the last descendant of the deadly dangerous, but also tragic Kuro from the first one. Ori and Ku's trip is interrupted by a cruel storm that separates the couple, and the white-haired protagonist tries to reunite with his owl friend. Of course, the initial premise develops further and gradually reaches much grander goals. The story is completely linear, which also allows it to progress properly. At the end, there is also a clear catharsis, for which the game certainly deserves praise. Actually, the only criticism in this regard must be directed at the antagonist. The strangely twisted pseudo-owl Shriek does not get enough space in the story to act as anything other than a necessary evil. Kuro was understandable, you could feel sorry for her, Shriek, on the other hand, is simply a game mechanic. You overcome her pitfalls and you are no longer interested. The adventure takes place in the Niwen forest and I have a feeling that the following statement will be about as surprising as the results of the North Korean elections, but it needs to be said: It is incredibly beautiful. [b] 50% [/b]