Review of Ori and the Will of the Wisps, refining the formula

The spirit of the forest returns to fight the darkness, Moon Studios returns to delight us with its particular vision of the classic Metroidvania, in the awaited Ori and the Will of the Wisps
"Ori and the Will of the Wisps" have finally arrived at our homes, it took five years and a few delays of hard work for Moon Studios to introduce us to the new adventure of the most iconic spirit of the forest in video games (maybe I'm exaggerating, but I felt like saying it, the complaints to the comment box). It has been a long journey to update one of the best Metroidvania of the last years and try to stand out, in a moment in which the genre lives a golden age both for the number of titles and for their quality.

The new title of the now studio "First Party" of Microsoft, has the difficult mission to shine under the long shadows of acclaimed works such as "Axiom Verge", "Hollow Knight" or the same "Ori and the Blind Forest". While it is true that the formula of the Metroidvania seems a bit corseted, the Austrian studio has managed to adapt to modern times and expand in all aspects of its new title, all without giving up its identity.

Same roots, but better in every respect

"Ori and the Will of the Wisps" is first and foremost a textbook sequel, one that has taken all the weaknesses of its previous installment (which were not too many) and turned them into strengths, either by polishing the existing or giving a substantial change to the mechanics. In essence, we find ourselves with a title that at first sight could have seen the light of day a year or two after the first Ori. It feels familiar to the eye, to the ear, and most of all, to the controls.

We will begin our adventure with Ori and his family, together and in harmony in that forest that we had so much trouble saving. It won't be until after about fifteen minutes that, already in flour and in a different forest and much more in need of a luminous spirit, we will notice that Ori's control (a little less fine than it should be in the first installment) is now more precise than we remembered. Not only that, before we get used to it, the plot will throw up one of the biggest (if not the biggest) changes in the title from its predecessor.

This time we'll have a deeper combat system, with melee and ranged weapons, thus relegating to oblivion (or almost) that living chaos that was the combat of "Ori and the Blind Forest", in which the player could contribute little or nothing other than pressing the "X" button on the controller, praying that our automatic attacks would go to the right enemy. The new system allows us to attack with our heads, letting us measure our space, choose our battles and how to face them, and if we are good at using the mobility options of the environment, it gives us the possibility to turn our adorable spirit of light into a graceful and lethal whirlwind of destruction.

The changes don't stop there, the system of progression has also undergone a major facelift. Gone are the old branches of linear progression to make way for a dual system of skills and enhancements. I say double because, as in the previous installment, we're going to have to differentiate the skills that are necessary to advance in the plot (in itself the base nucleus of the Metroidvania) and that we'll be getting throughout the adventure, from the skills and upgrades that we'll be able to unlock by buying them from certain NPCs (all very nice of them asking you to save their forest but charging you for everything) or finding them by mapping.

This serves to update the formula and so that the player can prepare to face the different challenges, having to choose, of course, between the improvements obtained which we want to equip at every moment. It also has a side effect in the exploration, already present in the previous title, which now acquires capital importance when improving Ori. It's not the same to go bareback against the game's bosses (yes, the new combat system brings us bosses under our arm like freshly baked breadsticks) than to go prepared with improvements in weapons and the damage we do (to give an example that the Tribeca CEO will agree with).

Exploration that, like the rest of the game, has undergone a kind of upgrade. As I have dropped before, to the experience cores and the maximum life and energy enhancements, we now add the spiritual fragments (which will provide us with enhancements), time races (with which we will gain experience) and battle arenas which will increase the number of fragments we can carry. In addition, there are a series of side quests to delight all those who want to know more about the inhabitants of this new forest.

"Ori and the Will of the Wisps" are more than its predecessor in every respect and although in general things have gone very well I have, personally, a couple of problems with the title, because sometimes more doesn't equal better. This is the first time I've been in Metroidvania and my mobility has become more chaotic and imprecise as the title has progressed. The problem is that there are too many options to move around, some of them very similar and all of them necessary, so much so that the "LB" and "RB" buttons end up being used several times, each one performing several functions in a contextual way, which generally does not work badly at all, but there are situations (especially in fights and races) where we will end up moving without having total control of what we do.

And call me crazy, but I get the feeling that Moon Studios knew that the control mechanics at the end of the title are too complex and random. This is the only way to explain the difficulty of the title and that it is so permissive with the errors (in general the environment does less damage and Ori has more life than in the previous delivery). Both in the fights and in the exploration, "Ori and the Will of the Wisps" is a much more affordable game than its predecessor and from here I recommend you to go directly to the hard mode if you have just passed the first installment or if you are experienced in the genre.

My second problem comes with the state that the game has come out (and is still coming out). At least the PC version of the Microsoft Store has landed plagued with technical bugs, with collision boxes (hitboxes for English speakers) that don't work properly, audio problems and some minor control issues (until the arrival of the first patch you couldn't use the crosshead to control Ori). In addition, although the artistic section stands out over its predecessor, visually it has ups and downs, with objects and characters in the background that look excessively pixelated when playing in FullHD. In no case have I found any serious problem that would prevent me from continuing, but all that lack of polish has tarnished the luster of a product that on the other hand is outstanding at the artistic level and fantastic in the gameplay.

Conclusions, don't miss Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Moon Studios has achieved the not inconsiderable task of improving their work. They may have been ambitious in some respects, but "Ori and the Will of the Wisps" are clearly better than its predecessor in every respect. It is a must for all of us who enjoyed the first installment of the adventures of the little Ori and a game that no Metroidvania fan should miss.