Ori and the Will of the Wisps

🍃 ORI AND THE WILL OF THE WISPS IS AN INDIE MASTERPIECE FINALE 🌳 REVIEWED ON: (GeForce GT 1030/i7-3770 ) -This review comes from a guy that has yet to re-play the first game and experience it to the end. Did try it back then, but never finished it. However I can vouch for the sequel being a completely different and more amazing experience compared to it's predecessor. This said let's break it all into parts to make it easier, and you can all experience the journey on my channel as well if you'd like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CquTuw_CeIQ&list=PLU-KGNqzKRtc&index=8 ✨ PLOT: This is the story and conclussion of our protagonist Ori, whom eventually finds his reason to be born. A seedling of light brought to the world with a purpose and a legacy for centuries to come. He shall bring hope to his land, the world possibly, and erradicate the roots of evil that have plagued his home for so long. The story has a message many would understand, but in order to do so you will need to beat it. Dramatic, sad, heart-breaking, and consequential moments await Ori, but all ends well when peace returns. Nothing shall be in vain, for the light is with him at all times. ✨ PERFORMANCE: The game worked surprisingly well for me, and there was no need to tune down the graphics much. I was able to experience the beauty of it's world, characters, music, and gameplay all in stable frames. This game is absolute cinema art in a canvas, playing with lag is not the way to go when we talk about how incredible it looks. This is one of the reasons I did not finish the first game back on my GTS450, and obviously the sequel would not launch for me until I got the GT1030. Some games are best taken seriously, not just to be played for fun. ✨ RE-PLAYABILITY: OATWOTW has a single story which concludes everything, but as you progress in order to complete it all you will need to explore a lot, meet characters, learn the ropes of your skills, and unlock various zones to proceed and or get stronger with time. The game is beautiful, but also frustrating at times, when you're near the end you come to terms with the fact that you were possibly raging for nothing, it all becomes easy once you get certain skills you REALLY need to bypass obstacles. I play my games on easy/normal difficulty because I'm here for the story, but the hard settings may even be more frustrating than expect to many. After you beat the game, you will be able to return to your last save, and complete everything you might have missed before the grand finale. As a Metroidvania and platformer, the map is quite intense/vast and it will take you a while to explore every nook and cranny, and get everything along with the achievements. I, of course am not a completionist but many out there would love taking their time more than usual. There is no new game+ because the end is quite realistic, but you will have the freedom to teleport elsewhere from your last save location and 100% the game. ✨ GAMEPLAY: The game has a lot to talk about, and is a perfect example of a great Metroidvania and GOTY in my opinion. As you start playing as Ori, he is but a fragile light with the basic knowledge from the first game, with time you will discover a lot of skills to aid you on your quest, some a need, while others you can try for fun. This game is quite original with HP and Mana buffs. Your life and Mana bars are quite huge, it just requires exploring a lot and finding fragments to unite and become stronger. The game also has bonus quests by characters, some short and some long, and also some tough "racing" missions in a way. I skipped those, too much for me. You will be free to adapt to your own playstyle by choosing the skills and weapons you really feel comfortable with, as I personally stuck up to the bow, flame, and sword up until reaching the end which requires a lot of precision and a special skill. Once you are overpowered, bosses will fall fast, but of course I did play it on low difficulty so that might differ for you all. Remember to explore, talk to characters, meet vendors, and get stronger for a better less-infuriating experience. I did get stuck at times, but as far as Metroidvania games go this is natural. 🌿 CONCLUSION: OATWOTW is an experience like no other any Metroidvania/platformer fan should have in their collection. Every step you take as Ori, feels like painting the world and leaving behind a mark nothing short of a masterpiece. It is sad to see it all end, but a well-polished story has no space for a continuation once all has been explained in great detail. The game will probably tug on your heart at times, but stay strong. This is one of those games that were created to keep you in the moment until the end, and a rewarding feeling for anyone expecting an emotional adventure that is not generic in any way.

It’s been over a month since I finished Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and it’s safe to say it quickly became one of my all time favourite games I’ve ever played. This sequel is a complete step up from the first. The concerns I had from the first game were vastly improved in this continuation of the story. Ori and the Will of the Wisps follows a spirit named Ori who must rescue an owl named Ku and heal the decaying world around them. After a foe separates them, Ori must navigate the new lands to find Ku. Along the journey, you’ll be introduced to new biomes, characters and improved combat mechanics. What I liked about this game was how gorgeous it is. There’s no doubt that the creators put their blood, sweat and tears into making it so visually vibrant and detailed. I have over 500 screenshots of this game and each area never failed to leave me in awe. The gameplay, from the combat to platforming, was very well executed and linear. If you’re familiar with the Blind Forest, various areas of the map require certain abilities to unlock. With that said, there will be lots of exploring and backtracking to get those abilities. The exploration of your home base was a nice touch as well. Having these little quests in between exploring was a fun time figuring out what goes to whom and solving the puzzles. I appreciated the spirit shrines and spirit trials. Those were a nice addition to improve your time and speed. They were quite challenging and I think it’s a great way to get better at that aspect of the game if you truly wanted to get 100% achievements. The chase sequences, if you read my previous review for the Blind Forest, you already know I HATED that part of the game and I still do lol. However, this time around it seemed to be less difficult? Certainly less frustrating and punishing than the Blind Forest. The storyline… guys, this storyline was just so damn good. I thought the first game was emotional, wrong, this one made me cry like a baby. Just when you thought things were alright, the devs decided to punch you in the gut with the fate of some of the characters. I won’t say more because I want this review to be spoiler free in terms of the events in the game. In the near future, I for sure see myself coming back to this game to spend time on my platforming skills and get the 100% achievement. Overall, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is definitely a game worth sinking all your time into and your money's worth.

I avoided this game since release because I didn't want to cry. Well, I'm older now. And these are older tears.