After playing for around 3 hours, here's my honest review of Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a platform adventure Metroidvania game developed by Moon Studio. It was released on Steam and Xbox One earlier this year.
I installed the game a few hours ago and dived into it for almost three hours. Below is my honest review of the game.
The game takes place in the fictitious region called Niwen. The prologue begins with a cinematic showing Ori, our protagonist, looking at the horizon where the Spirit tree can be seen in the distance.
Beginning of Ori and the Will of the Wisps
By the end of the prologue, Ori and his Owl friend get separated, and the game begins as Ori is trying to find the little owl.
Ori can move, jump, and attack his foes. The game features a creative progression system. Technically you can complete the whole game without buying any upgrades, but you will have to because enemies get stronger as you progress. There are many collectibles that help Ori to be stronger. There are life orbs, spirit shards, spirit light containers, spirit shards etc.
Collecting life orbs can increase the chance of Ori's survival
A view into my current spirit shard list
As I was progressing, I faced a gigantic Wolf, the first boss in the game, which I had to fight off with a torch.
Ori fighting the Wolf
Also, throughout the game, there are Ancestral Trees that grants Ori many abilities such as Dash, Attack, Heal etc. that are required to access certain areas and keep progressing.
Ancestral trees grant different abilities to Ori, this one granting the ability to Bash
As I kept progressing forward to find the lost owl, I eventually met Kwolok, a friendly old frog who guided Ori in the right direction. That's where I am right now.
Also, there are old inhabitants of Niwen known as "Moki." They are also friendly creatures who help Ori in his quest.
Ori talking to Kwolok for the first time
The game is very well designed, levels are designed in such a creative way that push the player in the right direction even though people may feel lost at times because of the vast area to explore.
Also, the ability to assign different skills depending on specified needs is a great way to keep people engaged. The map is pretty massive, and there is a vast array of different skills people can utilize for their advantage. This adds up to the adventure this game can offer. Overall, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a brilliant game of this generation.
Rating
Gameplay: 10/10
Soundtrack: 10/10
Control and Game mechanics: 10/10 (Everything was so fluid, felt good)
Overall: 10/10 (A must play for adventure game lovers)