Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Moon Studios' highly anticipated sequel to the studio's 2015 hit release, Ori and the Blind Forest, was released on March 11, 2020, exactly five years to the date of its predecessor. Originally announced during E3 2017 with a follow-up trailer at E3 2018 announcing a tentative 2019 release date, the game saw some delays in production that pushed its production back. The final release date was not announced until The Game Awards 2019 with a brand new trailer showcasing the game's stunning graphics and gameplay.

Before players pick up their controllers and delve back in control of titular character Ori, there are a few things that they should know about the new game.

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Changes from Blind Forest

Falling through a crevice

Will of the Wisps is a 2D platform-adventure Metroidvania that follows the series' titular character Ori, a white guardian spirit introduced in the first game. In the sequel, developers have taken inspiration from the Rayman franchise, as well as Metroid and Castlevania, and upgraded character movement to allow the player to access more areas within the already large explorable world. The sheer amount of explorable areas means that players should take their time to explore, and revisit areas as they unlock new abilities to find new secrets that were not available earlier on.

One of the most notable feature changes is the change in the way the game saves. Blind Forest required players to expend energy in order to manually save their game progress, which caused much frustration when players died, sometimes causing them to lose hours of gameplay if they had forgotten or were unable to save due to low energy. Moon Studios listened to fan frustration over the manual save feature and opted for an autosave feature in the sequel.

Ori's previous talent tree upgrade system has also seen an overhaul. The new system will allow players instead spend a finite number of points to upgrade and purchase new abilities for their character, while also limiting the number of upgrades and abilities that may be active at a time. Players will be forced to choose where they spend their points, but they will be able to shift the active abilities during different stages of the game, adding a layer of strategy to the game.

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Another big change that in Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the added element of competition. In a new mode called Spirit Trials, players compete against phantoms of their friends running through timed courses. While it does not offer a true multiplayer experience, the mode is a nice addition to the linear storyline of the main game.

Pick The Story Back Up

Ori and the Will of the Wisps begins where its predecessor left off: with the hatching of Ku, the last living descendent of Blind Forest's main antagonist, the gigantic owl Kuro. Ku is adopted by Ori and friends, but when Ori tries to help teach the owl hatchling how to fly, they encounter a fierce thunderstorm that separates the two.

The game follows Ori's journey to reunite with Ku through stunning landscapes with imposing monsters and incredible boss battles throughout. The explorable area in-game is also exponentially larger than Blind Forest's, with the addition of side quests to accentuate the linear main-story, as well as new characters and NPCs for the player to interact with.

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There's a Collector's Edition

For anyone who wants to further immerse themselves in the forest of Nibel, there is a collector's edition available. It includes an art book, original soundtrack and piano collections and a Steelbook emblazoned with the title and golden feather. The packaging on its own is beautiful, and the art book contains stunning illustrations based on the screenshots and videos that have been seen so far.

All in all, gamers looking for an immersive game with stunning graphics and a moving story should look no further than Moon Studios' Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is now available for Xbox One and PC.

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