Ori and the Will of the Wisps has performed a trick that only a certain red-dungareed plumber can usually manage - achieve AAA status as a 2D platformer. Ori and the Blind Forest was undoubtedly one of 2015's critical darlings and this follow-up has emerged from a sea of resultant hype a square half decade later. Where the Mario games are about tight platforming, however, Ori and the Will of the Wisps offers a deeper, more mysterious world for you to get to grips with in classic Metroidvania style. That said, the game does feature some high-precision platforming! In keeping with the Metroidvania style, as you progress you unlock new abilities and that includes a whole raft of types of movement, which in turn leads to come very creative and finely-tuned leaping. Likewise, things like your combat abilities will level up, and as you get stronger you'll be able to explore more and more parts of the world. Like the first Ori game, it's that world that's the real star of the show. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is endlessly charming, and despite the fact that a great shadow has fallen over the forest, the inhabitants are pretty wonderful, too. The game is a masterpiece in atmosphere and world building, with elements of Disney, Studio Ghibli and the Moomins all swirling together into something strange and beautiful.
