![]() Moon Studios listened to fan frustration over the manual save feature and opted for an autosave feature in the sequel. ![]() Blind Forest required players to expend energy in order to manually save their game progress, which caused much frustration when players died, sometimes causing them to lose hours of gameplay if they had forgotten or were unable to save due to low energy. One of the most notable feature changes is the change in the way the game saves. The sheer amount of explorable areas means that players should take their time to explore, and revisit areas as they unlock new abilities to find new secrets that were not available earlier on. In the sequel, developers have taken inspiration from the Rayman franchise, as well as Metroid and Castlevania, and upgraded character movement to allow the player to access more areas within the already large explorable world. It’s haunting, memorable, and perfectly in tune with Moon Studios’ artistry and mechanics.Will of the Wisps is a 2D platform-adventure Metroidvania that follows the series' titular character Ori, a white guardian spirit introduced in the first game. There’s delicacy to match Ori’s diminutive form, drama to carry the unfolding events, and bombast at the game’s most punishing moments. There’s some clear environmental messaging within Ori, and whether removing pollution from the water or helping Tuley – an adorable Groundhog-esque gardener – replant and revive the Wellspring Glades, it feels undeniably freeing to bring glory and beauty back to this eye-catching world.Ĭomposer Gareth Coker returns to provide Ori and the Will of the Wisps with an orchestral soundtrack that can match the emotional impact of those visuals note for note. For every element of storytelling or exquisite moment-to-moment gameplay, your heart will be stuck in your mouth as the camera pans out to take in a decaying structure or a revitalised lagoon. It’s impossible to discuss the emotional impact of Ori and the Will of the Wisps without including the stunning visuals and audio landscape. Speaking about them in the same breath as Pixar or Studio Ghibli would not be out of place. There’s tender moments throughout a spider baby nuzzling up to its gigantic mother, a twisted owlet cast out by its elders, and whether involving the heroes or villains, Moon Studios visual storytelling is note perfect. The pervading Decay that’s corrupted Niwen extends to all of its denizens, and you’re given a vision of either how things came to be this way, or how they are once Ori releases them from its clutches. I’ve already completed the quest, that’s why the NPC is not showing up, but he should be somewhere here. Those boss encounters aren’t purely a battle between good and evil. The side quest can be found in Inkwater Marsh talk to the NPC. ![]() It’s glorious stuff if you have the disposition for it. The game slows to a near pause while you switch between them too, giving you a moment’s grace within the fraught encounters and frantic button-mashing melees. That lightsabre might be the foundation of your arsenal, but by the end of the game you can have a bow that fires multiple bouncing arrows, a throwing star that returns to your hand and fire bombs. Giant wolves, spiders and beetles will throw everything at you, but the further you progress, the more options you have to deal with them. Evasion remains a key component to them, but Ori is far from unprepared to slice them up with his spirit sword or slug them with a spirit hammer. The boss fights themselves are heart-pounding affairs as well. Much like set pieces from the Uncharted series, such things can lead to some frustration, but Will of the Wisps manages to walk the line between dismay and success so well that you controller will stay in your hand. ![]() Will of the Wisps throws huge set pieces into the mix, asking you for near perfect platforming runs to evade the enormous, terrifying creatures that are set on your destruction. The game’s brutal difficulty extends into the incredible boss fights and escapes. Though they’re likely unnecessary for completing the game’s central narrative, this is the kind of world you’ll want to see in its entirety. You’re rewarded for further exploration with additional powerful skills, extra ability slots, or the means to revitalise and expand your hub village. I never found myself wondering what ability to use, instead it was always the means to implement it. It’s a perfectly crafted Metroidvania, opening up new areas as you gain the requisite skill. ![]() Ori may as well be a spirit ninja, and your fingers and thumbs his blades, as you chain together an inexplicably complicated route through a section that would have been completely impossible half an hour before. As Ori’s skills expand, so too do the obstacles put in your way. In an of that, it’s still teeth-grindingly hard. Fans shouldn’t worry though, as Will of the Wisps retains everything that made Ori and the Blind Forest so successful. ![]()
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