A Splendid Platformer
Ori and the will of the wisps
Ori and the Will of the Wisps (WotW) is the chronological sequel to the muchloved Ori and the Blind Forest from 2015. On the surface, WotW’s main ingredients haven’t changed much from its award-winning predecessor, and that’s good news since the original’s combination of dreamlike aesthetics, classic platformer gameplay and engaging story was what made it such a great game.
That allure has been taken up a notch in WotW, especially within the game’s numerous cinematic sequences. Throughout my journey, I was often marvelling at the sheer beauty of the game, from the NPCs, to the environments and even Ori himself as he nimbly maneuvers through levels. There’s a certain fluidity and smoothness to the graphics that gels very well with the series’ fantasy roots.
WotW’s aesthetics are also prominently featured in combat. After all, you’d be wise not to belittle the little munchkin - pair him up with the right abilities and suddenly he turns into the most badass mini-Jedi the forest has ever seen.
So, what really makes Ori a spectacular platformer? The secret lies in his amazing repertoire of traversal options. From simple movements like double jumps and mid-air dashes to more complex ones like swinging from chains of light, the sheer dynamicity of how Ori can get around really takes the platformer experience to a whole new level. What’s more, sometimes you have to chain them together too, especially when you’re running away from the boss in parkour-intensive sequences. This mobility features prominently in Ori’s fights too, and it’s pretty satisfying to slot in a few arrows in slow-motion before dashing in and dicing enemies up with your sword.
Speaking of enemies, I didn’t find the game particularly difficult, even the bosses. It’s your usual formula of observing their attack patterns and adjusting accordingly - there’s really not much more to it than that. The puzzles themselves aren’t as complex as they might appear to be too. Whether that’s a good thing or not is entirely up to personal preference though.
One of the main feedback the developers got forThe Blind Forest was that it was too difficult, so they’ve introduced
the Shards system, small quality of life improvements (such as sticking to walls) that Ori can equip. This ensures that no matter what kind of gamer you are, you’re able to enjoy the game at your own difficulty and pace. It’s difficult to find titles with as much freedom as this, so I’m really taking my hat off to Moon Studios for this one.
My main gripe with WotW is a fundamental problem shared by most platformers, although some handle it a little better than others. Basically, it has to do with having to backtrack and find a puzzle piece or ability to get past the new obstacle. In WotW, there are literally no “Fast Travel” stations, and it can be downright tedious having to hoof it all the way back somewhere you ignored twenty minutes ago.
It doesn’t help that monsters respawn after you travel a certain number of zones. Granted, the fighting is pretty fun, but even that can get a little dull if you have to fight the same thing six or seven times while trying to find out what you’ve missed.
The other bit is what we’ll call the game’s Race Mode (or Spirit Trials). Basically, you can compete with several ghosts of friends or random players to see who can get to the end of a “challenge circuit” first. However, its simplicity means that it tends to get dry rather quickly, since there’s not much you attain from winning except bragging rights and possibly some resources.
Still, that’s just two slightly rusty cogs in the whole WotW machine, and the game is a real masterpiece outside of it. So, I guess you could close an eye here if you’re looking for a decent platformer. Between its gorgeous aesthetics and crisp gameplay experience, there’s really a lot that Ori and the Will of the Wisps gets right, and the option of setting personal challenges or speed-running is always open to boot.
Some people have managed to complete the game within an hour, but if you’ve a fondness for platformers, taking it slow and seeing all that Ori’s forest home has to offer is a pretty solid idea.
CONCLUSION Gorgeous aesthetics, immersive music and extremely dynamic gameplay; a platformer to fall in love with.