So as of the time of this writing I have not fully completed the game but have gotten a good idea and understanding of what is happening as well as the mechanics of the game. I have unfortunately not played the first but I plan to after completing this one, who plays games in order anyways? I will start off saying that this game is much harder and more in depth then I had ever thought it would be but with that said the difficulty is not a bad thing and probably more of a testament to my own inability to properly jump in a platformer.

Gameplay

Ori and the will of the wisps plays with the same concept of any 2d platformer ever made, you move side to side jumping to and from different areas trying to reach your goal. Unlike other platformers though there is plenty more than that to it. You do of course jump a lot but also climb, slide, and latch to things. Latching is so far the most useful skill to make my life easier while playing. There is plenty to discover as well while you traverse the well designed beautiful areas or even the dark gloomy areas. It’s easy to play this game on a point to point basis without exploring everything of course completing the main objectives. I would not encourage that though, being so many little secrets to find and side missions to do you will only hamper your full experience. Now to be fair not everything is perfect there has been a few times that i found when i jump right at the edge of running on a ledge it didn’t quite register there being ground to jump from and id just fall and have to try again also possibly my lack of ability in platformers could be showing and it was a rare occurrence. I can’t also forget the fun and well done puzzles that only require a bit of thinking and exploring to understand them. They are not so easy that you don’t need to think about it for a bit but neither are they so difficult that they will push you to not play. So far I’ve enjoyed what I’ve done and probably will continue to.

Combat

Let’s talk a bit about combat. I was not expecting the level of skill needed to hit something without dying a lot to be high in this game but i was very much mistaken. It’s not crazy difficult but you will have to stay on your toes if you plan to live long that is for sure. Luckily you are given plenty of skills and such to handle the challenge. You’ll acquire

several different melee abilities and even ranged abilities to help you with any of the creatures you will encounter. It is a lot of fun though jumping around with your blade like a small little ninja slicing and dicing all opposition you will encounter. You will encounter bosses as well requiring you to use skill and your abilities to take them on. Combat is swift and fairly easy to control with the ability to strike from pretty much any position whether the enemy is above, below, in the sky or on the walls you have all that you need to take them all on.

Story

Let’s keep this brief. I hate spoilers as much as anyone. You start off in a lush forest with your companions living your life and helping one in particular grow and live teaching them how to be the creature they were born as. Things happen and you are forced on a journey in a new unknown area learning to survive and require that which you lost. Short and no spoilers just how it should be. With that things are very interesting and always look for the hidden things to discover more than is needed to continue the story, it’s worth it. The world is vibrant or gloomy depending on where you are but the art style doesn’t ever disappoint.

End

I’m not the best at words and I’m not going to sit here typing lavish words when it’s not needed, this game is masterfully done with few flaws and as I continue though it I will never regret a second of the time I put into it. You can purchase Ori and the Will of the Wisps through our partner DLCompare. I urge anyone with even a small inkling of interest to try this game, I would be fully surprised if you regret it.