Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a platform-adventure Metroidvania video game created by Moon Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. It was announced at E3 2017 and is a follow-up to the 2015 game Ori and the Blind Forest. The game was released in March 2020 for Windows and Xbox One. A version for Nintendo Switch was released in September 2020 by Iam8bit, and a version optimized for Xbox Series X/S was released in November 2020 as a launch title. The story continues from Blind Forest and follows Ori, the main character, in a new area called Niwen.
Moon Studios, based in Vienna with contributors from around the world, developed the game. It introduces new melee combat and uses three-dimensional models in layered backgrounds, unlike the two-dimensional artwork of Blind Forest.
Upon release, Ori and the Will of the Wisps received high praise for its story, characters, visuals, combat, exploration, environments, chase sequences, and soundtrack. It is seen as an example of artistic achievement in video games. Some technical issues, such as frame rate problems and visual errors, were addressed with a fix released on the same day as the game.
Gameplay
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a 2D Metroidvania, a type of platform game that focuses on exploring, collecting items and upgrades, and returning to areas that were previously unreachable. Players control Ori, a white guardian spirit. As Ori, players must jump, climb, glide, and swim across platforms to solve complex puzzles. The game follows a Metroidvania style, where new abilities and upgrades allow players to access areas of the map that were once blocked. Some of the game’s core mechanics were inspired by the Rayman and Metroid series.
Unlike its predecessor, Ori and the Blind Forest, Will of the Wisps uses automatic saving instead of manually placed "soul links." The sequential upgrade system from the first game has been replaced with a system of "shards," inspired by the Final Fantasy series' "materia" system. Players can find or purchase these shards to improve Ori’s abilities and attacks. Ori’s attacks are managed through a radial menu, and health and energy orbs can be collected throughout the map. Unlike Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori does not travel with Sein.
A new mode called Spirit Trials was introduced at Gamescom 2018. This mode challenges players to reach a goal as quickly as possible. To encourage competition and strategy, players can view the best times and routes used by others. Will of the Wisps also includes side quests from NPCs, which reward players with collectible items like Gorlek Ores. These items are used to expand the game’s central hub area.
Plot
The story happens right after the events of Ori and the Blind Forest and is told by the Spirit Tree. Kuro's final egg hatches, creating a baby owl that Ori, Naru, and Gumo name Ku. They raise Ku as part of their family. Ku is born with a broken wing and cannot fly until Gumo attaches Kuro's feather to it. Ku and Ori go on a flight that takes them out of Nibel and into Niwen, where a storm separates them.
Ori searches for Ku and finds Kwolok, a toad who watches over the Inkwater Marsh and the Moki, the people of Niwen. Kwolok tells Ori that Ku is in the Silent Woods, a place once home to the Moki but now an empty and ruined graveyard of owls. However, because the waters of Niwen are polluted, Ori must fix The Wellspring to enter the Silent Woods. Kwolok gives Ori a wisp called the Voice of the Forest to help guide them. Meanwhile, Naru and Gumo travel to Niwen by raft to find Ori and Ku.
After Ori fixes The Wellspring and cleans the water of Niwen, they enter the Silent Woods and reunite with Ku. However, they meet Shriek, a twisted and cruel owl who was abandoned at birth and rules over the Silent Woods. Shriek attacks Ori and puts Ku into a coma.
After Ori mourns Ku’s condition, Kwolok explains that the Voice of the Forest is not strong enough to help Ku. The Spirit Willow, a tree that once protected Niwen, has passed away, and its light was broken into five wisps that spread across Niwen. This caused the forest to become corrupt and led to the death of the Willow’s guardian spirits and Shriek’s parents. Kwolok asks Ori to find the other four wisps—Memory, Eyes, Strength, and Heart of the Forest—and combine them with the Voice of the Forest to restore the tree’s light.
Kwolok leaves his marsh to help Ori find one of the wisps, but his body is taken over by the Stink Spirit, a creature born from the forest’s decay. The Stink Spirit had stopped The Wellspring from working. Ori defeats the Stink Spirit, freeing Kwolok, but Kwolok dies from his injuries. Before dying, he asks Ori to restore and protect Niwen.
Ori finds all five wisps and combines them to create Seir, the Golden Light. Ori and Seir go to the Spirit Willow, and Seir brings the tree back to life. However, the tree tells Ori that it can no longer carry Seir and asks Ori to merge with the light to heal Niwen. Ori must leave their old life behind. The Spirit Willow dies, and Seir is returned to Ori. Before Ori can merge with Seir, Shriek appears and takes it. Ori defeats Shriek, who returns to the Silent Woods and dies under the bodies of her parents.
Ori merges with Seir, healing Niwen and restoring Ku’s broken wing. Naru and Gumo arrive just in time to see this. Ku, Naru, and Gumo find where Ori and Seir merged and discover a new Spirit Tree beginning to grow. They help the tree grow and continue living as a family. It is revealed that the Spirit Tree telling the story is actually Ori, who is now the new guardian of Niwen. Eventually, the Spirit Tree fully grows, and a new spirit guardian falls from it, starting life anew.
Development and release
Many players finished Ori and the Blind Forest in about eight hours and considered it a positive experience. However, the game’s community noted that there was little reason to return to the game after completing it. Players wanted more content. This feedback influenced Moon Studios, leading them to create a game that is three times larger in size, scope, and scale than Blind Forest.
Ori and the Blind Forest, Moon Studios’ first game, was both critically and commercially successful. Daniel Smith noted that players requested more Ori content after finishing the game in about eight hours. The team aimed to expand the game’s scale and scope while keeping its story connected. Thomas Mahler, a lead developer, compared Will of the Wisps to Super Mario Bros. 3 in relation to the original Super Mario Bros., stating that Will of the Wisps should serve as a significant expansion of Blind Forest.
Blind Forest ended with Ori returning Sein, an entity from the Spirit Tree that granted Ori combat abilities, back to Nibel’s Spirit Tree. This inspired the team to design new melee-focused combat for Ori that included projectile-aiming elements, which shaped the story’s development. The original Ori used only two-dimensional artwork. Jeremy Gritton, an artist from Blizzard Entertainment, was impressed by Blind Forest and joined Moon Studios to lead art development for Will of the Wisps. He helped transition major character art into three-dimensional models placed in layered backgrounds to create seamless visuals. This approach also improved the game’s cinematic production. Milton Guasti, a developer from AM2R, joined the team to assist with level design, including recreating the original Blind Forest map within Will of the Wisps and adding new levels around it. Gareth Coker, who composed the music for Blind Forest, continued to create the soundtrack for Will of the Wisps, adding unique themes for each character Ori meets.
Due to the game’s expanded scale and scope, Mahler and Gennadiy Korol, another lead developer, described the team’s development process as “crazy iterative.” For example, the E3 2017 trailer underwent 2,000 iterations during polishing. The team grew from about 20 members when Blind Forest was released to 80 members by the time Will of the Wisps was completed. However, most team members worked remotely from home offices, with few in the same location.
Smith estimated that Will of the Wisps was three times larger than Blind Forest, which caused delays in its development. He explained that the interconnected nature of Metroidvanias means changes to one part of the game often affect other areas, requiring more time to achieve the desired quality. The sequel was first announced at E3 2017 without a release date. A second trailer was shown at E3 2018, with a planned 2019 release. By E3 2019, the game was delayed again, with a new release date of February 11, 2020. A final delay was announced at The Game Awards 2019, setting the release date to March 11, 2020. Xbox Game Studios also announced a Collector’s Edition on that day, which included a piano music CD, a steelbook, premium packaging, an art book, and an original soundtrack MP3 download.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps was released for Xbox One and Windows 10 on March 11, 2020. It supports 4K UHD, Xbox One X Enhanced, and Xbox Play Anywhere. Both versions were added to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass program at launch. Smith stated that inclusion in Game Pass helped more players discover the game, benefiting the Ori franchise, Moon Studios, and Xbox.
A Nintendo Switch version was announced during a Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase and released digitally on September 17, 2020. A physical version of Will of the Wisps and its predecessor was released on December 8, 2020. During Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase in July 2020, an optimized version of the game was announced, running at 4K resolution and 120 frames per second for the Xbox Series X (later confirmed for the Xbox Series S). This version was released on November 10, 2020.
Reception
Ori and the Will of the Wisps received "universal acclaim" from critics on all platforms, according to Metacritic, except for the PC version, which received "generally favorable reviews." By June 2020, more than 2 million people had played the game. In mid-November 2020, the number of players reached 2.8 million.
Chris Carter of Destructoid praised the game, calling it a masterpiece and saying it is "a hallmark of excellence." He noted that while the game has some flaws, they are minor and do not significantly affect the experience. Carter highlighted the game’s visuals, improvements in combat from the previous game, and "dramatic chase sequences." He also mentioned frame rate issues with the Xbox One version.
Michael Goroff of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave positive feedback but noted performance problems with the Xbox One edition before a patch was released. He said the game improves on the mechanics of its predecessor, expands the world, and adds new moves, but it does not stand out in a crowded genre of emotional platformers.
Andrew Reiner of Game Informer praised the game’s graphics, story, and combat, calling it better than its predecessor. He said the story is fantastic, the world is beautiful, and the gameplay is excellent. Steve Watts of GameSpot gave the game a positive review, commending the combat, exploration, story, and "gorgeous animation and environments." He also mentioned occasional visual bugs.
Eight months after its Xbox One release, Mike Epstein of GameSpot gave the Xbox Series X version a higher score, praising improvements and fixes to technical issues.
Austin Wood of GamesRadar+ called the game "one of the best platformers ever made" and praised its music, world, and platforming. He noted minor flaws but said the game is a strong contender for "game of the year." He also mentioned that the final level was slightly underwhelming.
Brandin Tyrrell of IGN praised the game for its return to the original style, its story, and its additions to the game world. Tyler Wilde of PC Gamer gave a favorable review, praising the platforming, boss fights, and visuals but noted that some combat elements were not enjoyable.
Josh Wise of VideoGamer praised the game’s graphics, music, and platforming but said the story was "thin." Tola Onanuga of The Guardian called the game a "feast for the senses" but noted that some enemies became tedious over time.
The game was listed among The 10 Best Video Games of 2020 by Time and among the best games of the eighth video game generation by Game Informer. It also appeared in the top ten of The Washington Post, Paste, Polygon, WhatCulture, Ars Technica, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Digital Foundry, and Game Informer’s Game of the Year Countdown.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps was nominated for several awards in 2020, including "Best Visual Design," "Xbox Game of the Year," and "Ultimate Game of the Year" at the Golden Joystick Awards, where it won "Xbox Game of the Year." It received three nominations at The Game Awards 2020 but did not win any category.
At the 2020 NAVGTR Awards, the game won four out of five nominations, including "Outstanding Art Direction, Fantasy," "Outstanding Original Light Mix Score, Franchise," and "Outstanding Control Design, 2D or Limited 3D." It was also nominated for "Outstanding Gameplay Design, Franchise" but did not win.
At the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the game received five nominations for "Adventure Game of the Year," "Animation," "Art Direction," "Audio Design," and "Original Music Composition." At the 2021 SXSW Gaming Awards, it was nominated for "Video Game of the Year," "Excellence in Animation, Art, and Visual Achievement," "Excellence in Game Design," and "Excellence in Score."