‘Ori and Will of the Wisps’ takes cue from ‘Zelda’
One of the hardest parts about making a sequel is to not repeat yourself. If a follow-up is too similar to the original, it feels unnecessary and fans will ask, “Why wasn’t this an expansion pack?” Gamers are a tough crowd to please. What separates a good sequel from a mediocre one is the approach the developers take. Sure, they need to polish and fix the original’s flaws, but at the same time, they have to come up with a new angle. A sequel must balance the familiar with the novel, and “Ori and the Will of the Wisps” does that adeptly. The follow-up carries over the fine-tuned platforming of 2015’s “Ori and the Blind Forest” and expands on it by improving the combat and adding depth to the characters. Although “Will of the Wisps” appears to be a Metroidvania-type game, Moon Studios modeled the sequel after a different game altogether — “The Legend of Zelda.” “Will of the Wisps” begins almost immediately after the end of “Blind Forest” with the birth of an owlet named Ku. Ori, Naru and Gumo take care of the fledgling owlet and try to raise it, but Ku is saddened by her inability to fly. Ori fixes that with a gift of a feather from Ku’s late mother, Kuro. With the keepsake tied to its wing, the two set off and explore the world outside of Nibel. Unfortunately, a storm hits and the two end up separated. That mishap kicks off the first act, which focuses on Ori reuniting with Ku, and that sets up the basics of “Will of the Wisps.” Players will notice an emphasis on combat as Ori uses a spirit sword to slash at foes and a bow and arrow to target them from a distance. Players can sub in other weapons and abilities depending on their playstyle and that gives each play-through different feel. That’s amplified by the concept of Spirit Shards that players collect through the campaign. These items are rewards for exploration or solving puzzles, and they offer bonuses that help make “Will of the Wisps” easier in areas such as combat and traversal. Of course, players who want a challenge can refrain from using the shards and get an achievement for it, but most players will want to experiment and figure out which combinations of weapons, shards and abilities work for them. Moon Studios opens the game up in the second act, and players are given free rein to venture through five themed areas with the goal of finding the wisps of Niwen. These spirit pieces are the only way to stop the decay that has ruined life in the area. Players can explore the Luma Pools, Midnight Burroughs, Mouldwood Depths, Windswept Wastes and Baur’s Reach in any order. Each zone holds a special ability or introduces a new type of obstacle. The freedom in “Will of the Wisps” leads to some difficulties. Initially, players will run into tough boss fights or they could find an area that needs another ability to access. If that happens, players will have to backtrack and meander through new zones to find powerups to boost spirit energy and life. They can also locate shards that enhance an ability. After essentially leveling up, the challenging bits will suddenly be more manageable. That’s especially true for combat rooms or boss fights. Unlike “Zelda” games, not every dungeon in “Will of the Wisps” has a climactic skirmish. Sometimes players just have to run away or sneak past tougher adversaries such as Shriek, a dangerous bird of prey. These change of pace chase scenes will test a player’s precision in platforming. Sometimes they’re well done, but often they can feel repetitive as players master the challenges through trial and error. Everything players learned collecting the wisps will be important in the final act at Willow’s End. That’s the ultimate test of platforming and combat as Ori deals with a level where the floor, walls and ceilings are essentially covered with lava. They’ll have to use their abilities to whip across platforms or catch projectiles and redirect them at adversaries. Moon Studios does an excellent job of scaling the challenges in each themed dungeon. Despite the variability involved, players will find that the progression of challenges is manageable. One of the elements that didn’t go as well are the side quests. The developers don’t do much with them as the tasks nonplayable characters hand out are mainly fetch quests. They don’t go much beyond that. That’s a lost opportunity along with some characters such as Howl, who appear important but suddenly go missing for the rest of the game. Despite that, the rest of “Will of the Wisps” is a near-pitchperfect sequel that delivers everything fans and newcomers would want.