Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Genre: Metroidvania

Players: 1, Online Leaderboards

The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the Ori: The Collection bundle along with Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition.)

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the second game in the Ori series, with this entry originally seeing release on the Xbox One and PC in early 2020 and coming to the Nintendo Switch later the same year. Picking up after the events of the first game, Ori and the Will of the Wisps finds Ori as a foster parent of sorts to an owlet hatchling, Ku. While helping Ku learn how to fly, Ori and Ku find themselves crashing on an island in the midst of a storm. Driven apart, Ori tries to find his way back to Ku while also helping the island’s inhabitants.

While the visuals in the first Ori game was actually improved in the Nintendo Switch version, making it the definitive version of the game, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a different story, featuring backgrounds with noticeable distortions due to lower-resolution visuals than the Xbox One version made even more striking with the way the game displays depth of field blur effects, something that becomes even more noticeable in handheld mode. Suffice it to say, if you want this game to look its best, you’ll want to play it on your Xbox One or PC.

Having said that, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is nevertheless an absolutely gorgeous game, a feast for the eyes and ears for virtually every second you’re playing it. Where the first game was upon release quite possibly the most beautiful 2D game ever made, the sequel actually tops it in numerous ways, with some truly gorgeous lighting effects, interactive environments, and water effects. All of this on top of the first game’s already incredibly smooth animations, extremely detailed and animated environments, and beautiful use of color. And this is paired with yet another soundtrack that’s heart-wrenchingly beautiful, with wonderful vocals and instrumental themes.

The gameplay here has a few distinct changes from the first game as well. Gone is the first game’s ability to create your own save points by expending magical energy, with this game simply returning you to a nearby area after a death. In addition, the way you upgrade abilities has changed, with players now being able to customize an ability loadout in a way that’s vaguely similar to Hollow Knight, and there are now shops, mini-quests, and even a trading quest like the one in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Also, this time around combat is much more visceral, thanks to the way you’re now swinging a weapon at enemies rather than attacking them with a detached series of electrical jolts, a change I feel is a marked improvement.

And where the first Ori really took off when players discovered the “bash” ability that let them bounce off of enemies and projectiles (an ability that returns here), this game expands on it with a new “grapple” ability that lassos on to objects glowing blue. And much as with the first game, this ability comes to players in the game’s first “dungeon” of sorts, a delightfully-designed labyrinth of challenges that really shows off what this new ability can do, culminating in an epic chase sequence that arguably tops the one in the first game.

Bash and Grapple both work great together, and highlight what has always been one of Ori’s biggest strengths, its excellent platforming. However, this time around the combat has been improved as well, and that’s shown off in some epic boss battles, starting early on in a frightening encounter with a massive wolf creature. This game does an amazing job with its set pieces, and there are multiple memorable moments throughout the game.

Having said that, there are a few issues that make me hesitate to say that Ori and the Will of the Wisps truly tops its predecessor. In addition to the graphical flaws I mentioned earlier, this game also crashed on me multiple times while I was playing it. Thankfully, the checkpoint system kept me from losing much progress, but it was frustrating nonetheless. Edit: This issue seems to have been addressed in a post-release patch. Since the patch, I haven’t had issues with game crashing.

Another issue is that while the first Ori game was already a bit on the tough side, Ori and the Will of the Wisps cranks the difficulty up considerably higher in some areas, making for some frustrating sections. And while this game definitely improves on the first game in multiple ways, I have to honestly say that some of its best qualities are derivative of the first game.

However, even with its small flaws, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a fantastic Metroidvania, an outstanding sequel, and a truly must-play game with gorgeous visuals and music, superb Platformer gameplay, and enough changes and improvements to make it a distinct experience that’s different from the first game, even if it still shares a lot of similarities. Much as with the first Ori, this is a game that is absolutely not to be missed.

tl;dr – Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an outstanding sequel that improves on the first game in multiple areas, and changes enough things to make it distinct, although many of its best qualities are carried over from the first game. The Nintendo Switch version has a few technical issues, but overall this is still a gorgeous, incredibly fun, must-have Metroidvania.

Grade: A

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2020 Game Awards:

Winner:

Best Music – Out of all of the awards this year, the most difficult choices for me to make were selecting Best Music and Best Song. There were so many good contenders this year in both categories, and a lot of excellent ones simply didn’t make the cut. Animal Crossing: New Horizons could have easily been my pick for Best Music – it was in many ways the soundtrack of 2020 with its soothing tones helping ease the suffering for many in a difficult year. Similarly relaxing was A Short Hike, whose lighthearted soundtrack reflected the wonderfully light tone of the game, and became appropriately dramatic when needed. Nowhere Prophet’s combination of synth beats and Eastern instruments created an unforgettable sound that transports you into the game’s unique post-apocalyptic world. Likewise, Streets of Rage 4’s 80s-inspired synth and fast-paced beats does an outstanding job highlighting the old-fashioned action of that game, and Vitamin Connection’s unique blend of Japanese pop and hip-hop elements really sets that game apart and makes it something truly unique and special. But in the end, Ori and the Will of the Wisp’s soundtrack was so deeply beautiful, so nuanced, so varied, and just overall did such wonders emphasizing the surreal natural beauty that game had on display that I had to make it my selection for Best Music in 2020.

Best Graphics – I feel like all of the games I’m naming in the Best Graphics category this year come with caveats, and we’re starting to see developers really strain when trying to deliver graphically impressive experiences both on the Nintendo Switch and other platforms. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is no exception here – unlike the first Ori game, which managed to get improved graphics on the Nintendo Switch, Will of the Wisps isn’t quite up to par with the Xbox version. However, Will of the Wisps is also more visually ambitious, with some really gorgeous lighting and water effects, and it was undoubtedly a much greater task getting it to look as good as it does this time around. In the coming years, the Nintendo Switch is likely to fall even farther behind other platforms graphically, but games like Ori, as well as multiple other nominees in this category, show that the Nintendo Switch can still deliver a powerful visual experience if a developer is skilled enough at downscaling content to work on the Switch.

Runner-Up: Game of the Year, Best Platformer, Best Port/Remake, Best Graphical Style

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The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Genre: Metroidvania

Players: 1, Online Leaderboards

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the Ori: The Collection bundle along with Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition.)

I maintain that the second game in the Ori series is absolutely gorgeous on Nintendo Switch, but I did notice some low-resolution textures in places. That doesn’t seem like the sort of thing the Nintendo Switch 2 will fix, but it’s worth checking out. And after the massive improvement to loading times in the first Ori game, I’m keeping an eye on those here as well.

As it turns out, once again playing the game on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 seem to result in an identical-looking performance, and yes, those low-resolution assets are still low-resolution on Nintendo Switch 2 (but the game still looks great despite this).

The main difference on Nintendo Switch 2 is once again the loading times, though the difference this time isn’t nearly as stark as it was in the first Ori game. On Nintendo Switch, loading up the game takes one minute two seconds and loading a save takes 13 seconds. On Nintendo Switch 2, those times are cut down to 32 seconds and 8 seconds. Still a massive improvement, even if not quite as impressive.

Despite that there’s not a huge change in performance on Nintendo Switch 2, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is still a superb game, and an absolutely gorgeous one. And I absolutely recommend you to check it out on whichever platform you have available to you.

tl;dr – Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an outstanding sequel that improves on the first game in multiple areas, and changes enough things to make it distinct, although many of its best qualities are carried over from the first game. The Nintendo Switch version has a few technical issues (still present on Nintendo Switch 2), but overall this is still a gorgeous, incredibly fun, must-have Metroidvania.

Grade: A

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