APRIL 2020 PCWorld 87Ori and the Will of the Wisps
PROS- Gorgeous.
- Moving through the world is exhilarating.
CONS - Doesn’t build the difficulty early enough.
- Can feel a bit over-familiar.
BOTTOM LINE
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is more than the sum of
its parts, but only barely. Increased mobility and a
bevy of beautiful environs carry the day, but it’s still a
fairly familiar adventure with some awkward
middle-chapter pacing.
$29
lot of time on it (go.pcworld.com/t1me)
mere weeks ago, and don’t want to rehash it
all here. Still, it’s worth pointing out, as we
give our final verdict. Moon Studios has an
eye for the cinematic, a knack for taking the
ordinary (i.e., “a door”) and turning it into
something extraordinary, be it a hibernating
bear or a decaying watermill or a lost temple
filled with sand.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is at its best in
these moments, when scenery and story and
player skill all come together for a perfect
escape sequence, or a fiendish platforming
puzzle, or even just a quiet moment of
contemplation in the wilderness.
Plenty of games nail the mechanics of
Metroid. Few are able to disguise them so
well.
BOTTOM LINE
It’s really a wonder to behold, and as I said
in our preview: Ori and the Will of the Wisps
is more than the sum of
its parts. Is it just
another Metroid
homage, one among
many? Absolutely. I
think it’s one of the
best-playing, sure, but
it’s still well-trod
territory of late.
I found myself
gripped by it though.
As I said earlier, I wish
it was longer. That’s usually the sign (or at
least one sign) of a good game, in my
experience. I wanted one more
environment, one more collectible, one
more challenge, just one more reason to
spend more time in that world.
I waited five years for a second outing
with Ori. Now it’s done and I’m right back to
waiting. So it goes.