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

Ori and the Blind Forest was a safe metroidvania that expressed creativity in its gorgeous "watercolor" world and grandiose soundtrack, but not in its game design. It's an amazing game, but its lack of innovation in the genre was ultimately disappointing. It's a safe, samey, disappointing 4/5 - a game that makes sure to be a "great metroidvania," but doesn't take any risks by trying to be more. How could a sequel improve upon this safe foundation? To achieve masterpiece status, a sequel would need to take risks and strive to innovate the genre, or at least, find a way to express creativity in its game design. Ori and the Will of the Wisps, while being an impressive sequel, unfortunately borrows its improvements from other games in the genre, notably Hollow Knight, and fails to cement Ori as a unique and genre-defining metroidvania that it was so close to being. || Spoiler-free || || I will be referring to each game respectively as atBF and WotW || The praise for Ori's art direction, soundtrack, and story continues to be sung by fans, and even by those who witness aspects of the game in passing. The praise is fully earned in WotW, somehow improving on the beauty of the first game. Even the dark, dangerous, and creepy areas in WotW are beautiful. Both of the Ori games are giant watercolor paintings to explore, and the world lives because of that. In the first game, this caused some conveyance issues. Some traps, such as spikes, blended in with the environment in enough places to become frustrating for me. In WotW, these visual issues were corrected, giving me no frustration and much more time to take in the vibrant environments. Accompanying this incredible art style is some of the most atmospheric moments I have experienced in a platformer. Moments that included Shreik were especially atmospheric, and genuinely made me uneasy as I avoided its attacks or gaze. Moon Studio's attention to its art direction and atmosphere is nearly unmatched. Even small things, like how the environment reacts to Ori's movement and weight, further show their passion. Speaking of movement, not enough is said about how well the Ori games execute such fluid and stylish movement in a 2D game, let alone a Metroidvania. The movement in Ori rivals that of any game with excellent locomotion, but more on that below. The button-mashing and inconsistent combat in Ori atBF was arguably the biggest disappointment for many. Ori WotW completely changed its combat system in both offense and defense, giving Ori a sword and abilities for precise attacks, and throwing quicker, varied, and more dangerous enemies at Ori that required more dodging and planning. It was immediately more enjoyable, and for about five minutes, I was convinced that Ori WotW would surpass my expectations. Unfortunately, after swinging Ori's new sword around and looking over the new abilities, I realized why I enjoyed them so much; Hollow Knight is one of my favorite games of all time. Ori and the Will of Wisps shares a similar combat system with Hollow Knight. Ori did not copy Hollow Knights combat system, but HK fans will feel the similarities. If you remember what disappointed me about the first game, then my disappointment here will make sense. Naturally, I love the combat in WotW, because I love the combat in Hollow Knight. I was disappointed that the series again chose a safe and samey route. This specific comparison to Ori and the Will of the Wisps is maybe worn out at this point, and fans and devs of the Ori series alike are tired of the conversation. Still, I knew nothing about Ori or these debates when I first played the games. My immediate comparison to Hollow Knight in WotW was simply from my love and experience of playing Hollow Knight. After moving on from Ori for some time now, these comparisons have actually bothered me more than they did when I played, not because I think it is abhorrent to borrow positive elements from successful games, but because of how much more Ori could have been if it had tried to do its own thing. Ori is a type of spirit creature and therefore uses mostly energy-based attacks. In the first game, Ori shot balls of button-mashed energy. This combat system simply failed due to poor execution, and it didn't flow well with the movement in the game. It was a unique attempt at combat, and despite the failure, I appreciated the attempt to be different. Changes needed to be made for WotW, but the route that Moon Studios chose is disappointing. At first glance, the new combat system seems to be consistent with Ori's character. Ori has mostly energy-based abilities. The issue with the sword, however, is that it's just energy-based because it's not a physical sword. It's just so simple, and it really feels like it doesn't fit with Ori's character both lore and gameplay-wise. Moon Studios had created a spirit creature with unmatched movement and powerful energy-based abilities, endowed by the spiritual forces of light in the world, and what do they give this character for its basic attack? A sword. In response to the criticism of the first game's combat, it seems like Moon Studios decided to just give Ori a sword and some abilities, and make the sword combat and abilities similar to other successful games, like Hollow Knight. Improvements were going to be made, and one has to question how unique any game is, including Hollow Knight, but it doesn’t change the fact that the combat in WotW doesn’t stand out. At this point, it can be argued that I'm complaining about something that I see as the biggest improvement in WotW, and that's true. WotW's combat is great. It's fun and fluid, stylish, and it fits with the movement much better than the first game. It feels amazing. It looks amazing. The abilities are powerful and flashy. It’s a tried and true combat system that is executed well. I wanted Ori to be more than that. The movement in Ori is fluid, satisfying, and graceful. Ori seriously has some of the best locomotion in 2D gaming. The "bash" ability - allowing Ori to fling itself off of enemies or projectiles in midair - just adds to the potential for locomotion. Skilled players can reach secret or unintended areas with the bash ability due to its limitlessness, allowing Ori to chain bashes in midair. It feels amazing to prance through Ori's world, and that's because Ori is a movement game done extremely well, and the bash ability stands out. Why not center combat around movement or even around the bash ability itself? Instead of going the safe route and giving Ori and sword and some familiar abilities, why not try to innovate and create a combat system that builds upon movement, the biggest strength of the game? Imagine if the combat in WotW was completely based on the bash ability. Instead of a sword, Ori uses energy-based attacks to toss, pull, and push enemies around the environment. Enemies don't die instantly, instead bouncing off the environment in ways that could lead to bash chains. Colliding enemies together causes massive damage, and rewards skilled bash maneuvers. Maybe the bash timing gets reduced and becomes much more skill-based, and Ori dies in just a couple of hits. The environments could be littered with more traps that enemies could be manipulated into with different toss, push, pull, and bash abilities. These are just my thoughts at the moment. Ori's biggest strengths are its movement and bash ability, so why not center combat around those? Ori has potentially the most fun and satisfying movement/locomotion in 2D gaming, and certainly in metroidvanias. Imagine if Ori had also managed to create a new style of 2D combat that specifically focused on movement, making each aspect of the game cohesive, instead of separate parts. Perhaps the worst sin in movement gaming is disjointing the movement and combat, but even worse is when the combat stops your forward momentum. Sonic the Hedgehog was first released in 1991 and is a great example of creating a cohesive combat and movement system. Sonic's movement and combat are both very simple, but they cohesively work together and operate as one part. Sonic is a movement game, and Sonic specifically attacks with his movement. Attacking doesn't stop Sonic's movement, which is the main strength and focus of the game, and successful attacks even add to his momentum, further complimenting the movement. It's a shame that both Ori games, released nearly 30 years later, couldn't find a way to at least build upon the simple and necessary idea of cohesiveness in movement games. More than that, I was expecting Ori to make a breakthrough in this specific aspect of game design in WotW. Instead, in potentially the best 2D movement game to date, Ori's momentum is halted when attacking, and the combat is totally disjointed from the biggest strength of the game. I could forgive the combat for being safe and samey if the rest of the game was innovative and unique, but the comparisons to Hollow Knight don’t stop there. As stated, these comparisons have been dragged through the internet many times. The issue isn’t that Ori copied Hollow Knight or “stole” ideas from it. Even if that were true, nearly every game could be accused of doing that (including Hollow Knight, which was accused of that). Also, shouldn’t games use successful ideas from others and try to improve upon them? Isn’t that how any artistic medium evolves? No, my claim isn’t that Ori copied Hollow Knight and therefore doesn’t deserve praise. My claim is simply that I was personally disappointed by the similarities, and wanted Ori to dive deeper into its own strengths. What then can be said of Ori and the Will of the Wisps? It improved upon the first game in every aspect. Better music and visuals, which seemed impossible, and without the conveyance issues. A bigger more interesting world that feels more alive and connected than the first. A more emotional story with more highlighted moments. Wonderfully crafted characters with so much charm. Vastly improved combat and even smoother movement and platforming. Incredible attention to atmosphere throughout the game, especially moments involving Shreik. Satisfying secret challenges that tested players' mastery of the movement and combat in the game (I really enjoyed those). Well-designed and gorgeous boss fights that were challenging, and did use the movement system in engaging ways. It stands as one of the most polished and well-executed Metroidvanias in the genre. After all of these amazing improvements, what can be said of Ori and the Will of the Wisps? It was disappointing. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an impressive sequel with an incredible art style, award-winning music, and passionately crafted characters and environments. It's an extremely polished metroidvania that improved upon its predecessor in every way. It disappoints by failing to stand out or innovate in its game design, and by borrowing its biggest improvements from better games. I highly recommend Ori and the Will of the Wisps but advise setting more realistic expectations than I did. Gamers will experience one of the most polished Metroidvanias in the genre, but one that may be too familiar. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a disappointing 4.5/5, or 9 out of 10. Played in: 2022 Played on: PC (used controller) Playtime: 12 Hours Status: 100% Completed.