E3 2019 Spotlight: Check Out Ori and the Will of the Wisps

By: Noah Friscopp

A Modern Classic

Here at Kidzworld, we are huge fans of Ori and the Blind Forest. The exploration and platforming on top of the breathtaking graphics and an emotional story make it one of the best games to grace the Xbox One.

"Jaw-dropping gorgeous visuals with silky smooth, pixel-perfect gameplay and a story that pulls at the heartstrings, all wrapped in a beautiful musical score. Ori and the Blind Forest is a masterpiece of the genre. Every fan of exploratory platformers that offer a challenge owes it to themselves to play this game."

This portion from our original review nailed it, so to say we were all ready for a follow up is an understatement. Announced during Microsoft's 2017 E3 conference, Ori and the Will of the Wisps looks to outdo everything the original game accomplished.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps - E3 2019 - Gameplay Trailer

New Dangers and Powers

The new trailer from this year's Microsoft conference immediately sets a tone of danger and tension, with a huge spider chasing after our small hero as it cuts between some of the many hazards that Ori and the player will face in Will of the Wisps. Ori might be small, but he is far from defenseless. Ori, being a guardian spirit has access to several abilities throughout the game that he did not have access to before including an ethereal sword, hammer, and bow as weapons and movement abilities such as a roll and a healing spell for when the game gets too heated. There are more, but those will be up to you to find. The platforming and exploration were the main focuses in The Blind Forest, but this time combat is going to play a more prominent role as well and hopefully bridge the gap between the play styles. Moon Studios wanted to create a game that feels a lot closer to the classics that Ori draws inspiration from, while still keeping and improving upon everything that made the original so unique.

A Beautiful and Perilous World  

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a "Metroidvania" game, Metroidvanias are games that are inspired by the classics Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. In these games, instead of platforming your way through a bunch of levels, you instead get let loose to explore a vast map full of twists and turns that gets bigger as your character grows in power. There are new abilities to unlock, secrets to find, and boss monsters to battle in these games and Ori. Even though games like Metroid and Castlevania have beautiful worlds in their own right especially for the time, The Will of the Wisps takes full advantage of modern console graphics to make the enchanting places Ori finds himself in come to life.

The Artwork is Astounding

Something that The Blind Forest and The Will of the Wisp have in common are their excellent graphics and art style, nearly every area in these games looks straight out of a dream. The team behind the game cite many inspirations behind the look of the games with The Lion King being a huge one and if I had to guess, the works of Hayao Miyazaki as well. Admittedly, it is much better to let the game and artwork speak for itself:

Share Your Thoughts 

What do you think of Ori and the Will of the Wisps? Try saying that five times fast... Let us know below!