A more ambitious sequel that's still breathtaking. The combat gains real depth, and the animation remains stunningly fluid. A few performance hiccups linger, but the emotion and staging sweep everything away.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer1 player7+
Description
The spirit Ori roams an imperilled forest to help an owl and restore the balance. Published by Xbox Game Studios, released worldwide in 2020. Interconnected exploration, deeper combat, abilities to unlock and a painterly, moving art style.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
Luminescent forests, shimmering waters and showers of particles: everything here looks painted with light. Layered backdrops and silky animation elevate every leap, turning the platforming into a fairy spectacle that stirs emotion long before the challenge.
Gareth Coker wraps the forest of Niwen in a lyrical orchestra and ethereal choirs that brush against fairy tale. The music swells in the breathless escapes, suspends before a vista, mourns the story's losses. That cinematic breath matches every leap and every fall, carrying the emotion of Ori's journey with a delicacy that lingers.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Gliding, soaring and bouncing wall to wall delivers a flow of movement few metroidvanias reach. The deeper combat varies your approach without breaking that lightness, and the escape chases tighten the nerves like little else. A few technical hiccups linger, but the precision of the jumps and the readable level design keep every traversal a pure pleasure.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Glide along a wall, soar, bounce from foe to foe: movement flows like an aerial choreography. The fights gain real bite while the world opens into a web of secrets. The grace of motion and the beauty of the scenery make exploring intoxicating, and the urge to press on never fades.
Beyond the classic duels, it's the chases that strike hardest: fleeing a collapsing colossus through a shattering world, platforming and shots synced to a heart-wrenching score. Each escape fuses pinpoint piloting, reading the chaos and raw emotion, pushing the confrontation to the edge of a playable, living painting.
An underrated gem
A sequel overshadowed by Microsoft's own console, Ori and the Will of the Wisps suffered from arriving late on Switch, long after the initial buzz. A shame, because it outdoes its predecessor: richer combat, a larger interconnected world, and a painted art direction that catches the throat. Its beauty hasn't aged a day. Worth rediscovering for its emotion, perfect for fans of narrative platformers.
Is Ori and the Will of the Wisps still worth playing in 2026?
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a breathtakingly beautiful metroidvania. Its painted art direction and orchestral score strike a rare emotional chord, while the escape sequences rank among the most tense in the genre. Compared to the first game, combat fleshes out and gains variety, without losing the fluid movement that is its signature. A few technical hiccups and a sometimes punishing balance to the chases remain. But the whole forms a dense, generous and moving adventure that has aged very well. For genre fans, it is an experience that leaves a lasting mark.
