4.5/5 ★ – DanteSnowcone's review of Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

An incredible follow-up to an already incredible game. Moon Studio added things I enjoyed while still preserving the gorgeous, emotional experience I loved in the first one. It’s been a while since I played the first game, but the only negative that stands out to me all this time later is the combat: you pressed a button and your shots homed in on enemies. There wasn’t much to it. Will of the Wisps moved things in the right direction, and I enjoyed the mix of classic chase sequences with combat-based bosses. The fluidity of Ori’s movement supersedes the fact that attacks lack any uniqueness from other games, so it feels great all the time. On that note, world traversal is better than ever. I struggle to think of a 2D game and feels as fun to move around in as this does. It’s smooth, graceful, melodic, and responsive, and each new move adds something fun to your movement arsenal. I hope Moon finds a way to capitalize on this further, because nothing feels quite like Ori. The story of the game is simple, but damn their storytelling is excellent. I feel so many feelings for a game that has so little dialogue. It’s all thanks to their phenomenal music and art direction, so major props to them. Everything is beautiful, even the wastelands, and I can’t help but feel sympathetic toward the main antagonist. It’s just such a beautiful game, and you notice how beautiful it is constantly. My only recommendation: don’t play this on a Switch. The hardware is simply too outdated. But if you like platformers and metroidvanias, it’s one of the best ones out there. Time Played: 13 hours Played on Nintendo Switch