This analysis was written before the use of the "Day One" release package that corrects certain technical errors. However, Gamereactor decided to publish the original criticism because, despite technical failures, they were not enough to affect the final test of the game. We also remember that, looking at how the bugs we encountered during our first game were still available after the 1-day installation, we would have to reuse the game from normal to rare, which was not possible given the circumstances. Enjoy the review.
Usually, there are two types of sequels or secondary parts. Some are similar to those in the Mass Effect trilogy, that is, they are completely organized from the start and have scripts that contain hundreds of pages. Others are like the ones of Last of Us, Final Fantasy X or Life Strange, as they suddenly wake up thanks to the success of the first game. Although it is common, if you find a golden egg hen, it seems more reasonable to bet on a successful startup rather than risking a new start. However, this often creates a different result, as it can be difficult to pull an already finished story. Although these conclusions offer a variety of possibilities, they already have an end point, a specific point to complete, so there is no need to do a Stud above that point or replace it with a comma. After all, it was the point that was there to give the game a complete finish.
So, we can already imagine at what stage the Ori and Will of Wisps are. The first installment was challenging and beautiful. They were able to tell the story of a small forest spirit who fought against the evils of nature, and that story was told by the game's character itself, with little space to cut. Ori's first game, in which he escaped the grim legions of the evil Kuro and tried to get his life back in the jungle, left a mark on the history of video games. This beloved white creature has managed to save not only his mortal home but also the genus Metroidylvania. His success spawned a whole new wave of similar titles, among them the existing and acclaimed Hollow Knight and the Dead Cells.
It's been five whole years since the launch of the first adventure (though some have recently come to terms with Nintendo Switch), but we've been able to see the sequel's light and, as Hollow Knight can be inspired by then Ori and the Blind Forest, it looks like he's now taking a few notes of the Hollow Knight.
It was really interesting to see how the situation had changed and finally both games were encouraging each other. However, this is not enough to ensure that the sequence will leave a mark on our memories. It is clear that the same early success is not achieved by simply copying everything that was working right then. So, the shadow is full on Ori and Will of the Wisps, a shadow where the game never escapes, no matter how hard you try.
At first, it seemed like Money Studios was aiming to develop a sequel in the same way that Bioware did with Mass Effect, that is, thanks to the previous one for the solid foundation it provided and to build something completely new. During the first hour of the game, we can see how Ori surprised us with a very different formula, one similar to Hollow Knight, which seems to have improved greatly. Instead of a simple take on the plot that guides us throughout the game with a complex narrative, the story is now narrated through lengthy and detailed film episodes. In fact, it almost looks like a semi-RPG, with the introduction of new NPCs where Ori can interact and complete the mission assigned to him. In addition, to this they have added challenges, new trial mode and many new actions that will allow us, for example, to buy and develop skills or build our home. As if that wasn't enough, we will now have autosave work, unlike the original, but we won't be fooled by the idea of security; The Ori and the Wills will be much harder than before. We just have to fight with the first employer to check. Even in the ordinary difficulty, it requires several attempts to get rid of it, not to mention the fact that it also requires a lot of patience and wonderful self-control if we do not want to interfere with the wall control. We don't have any problems with the difficulty, but we did have the outdated and incorrect methods used for actual uploading.
In any case, considering all these progress, it seems that we have enough to create a good and complete sequence. However, in other important matters we see that it is still the same game. In fact, if we played Blind Forest and just after the Will of theps, we would probably be paralyzed.
At first glance, it seems that Will of the Wills has a much clearer atmosphere, but this is only the first impression. Initially, the player contemplates a long event in which Ori's new life is introduced and the friends he encounters in the first game, Gumo, Naru and Ku, a little owl. However, we can see that the events of the first title have gained momentum; For example, Ku has a small wing that does not allow him to fly. However, your stepfamily will try to find a way to help you so you can fly in the sky. Later we see an emotional moment when friends finally find it, but something doesn't end well and our heroes, who are eventually separated and away from home, must find a way to bring them back to safety for their nest.
However, once we get into the depths of the (literally) forest, which looks like Nibel, the Orient, we will know that it is being torn down by strange corruption.
What we didn't expect was that Ori would disappoint us with the music and the visual style, but it's hard not to feel that Will of the Wings is not as bright or different as it was before. Many places are confusing to each other and look like one, and few places are memorable, except for something like Moldwood Deplies or Luma Pools, because otherwise its good quality design, we would have lost them.
Unfortunately, the set doesn't compensate for the fact that many aspects of the game are copied directly from Blind Forest and its worn formula. Al walking through Niwen we find many of the same enemies, known, unlocking skills that we've already been using for hundreds of times, avoiding the dreaded gaps and passing through the same poisonous lakes and rivers, knowing in advance that we can dive into those areas and explore them freely once they're cleaned. Not that Will of theWps hasn't produced, in fact the opposite, RPG elements are expanding the possibilities and giving it a new style, it just seems like Money Studios hasn't used their full potential.
However, the most important thing is that it is still a difficult and exciting game at the same time, where failure promotes other efforts. We have some skills from the previous game, but also a lot of new and small things we can collect throughout our journey to improve ourselves. Functional skills are available in the circular menu (three of which can be assigned to keyboard shortcuts when playing on a PC), while those that are placed are put into special launch spaces, though we can get more of this as the game progresses. So, all this makes Will of Wills give us the feeling of being very personal, very enjoyable and with a little taste when it comes to fighting enemies.
The introduction of the NPCs transcends the history of the game, not to mention the fact that it's pretty and impossible to dislike, even if it is sometimes a standard pop style set. Each race lives and communicates with the Orients differently, but they all have something in common, a catastrophic epidemic that destroys their home. So, as an existing tender creature, Ori will do his best to help them, bring the supplies they need, find their lost relatives, rebuild the city thanks to the minerals they find or even plant the seeds they will find in distant places.
We can say that Ori and the Wills have Skyrim syndrome, its second content has more complex ambitions and amazing twists with a larger structure. In fact, they finally reveal the main story and seem very deep and interesting.
As we mentioned earlier, it should be said that it is similar to the Blind Forest and its source. It's as if Money Studios wants to repeat those moments that worked well for the first time, such as coming out of a burning mountain, the parts of a bird that the opponent looked at with harsh and shining eyes, and the rescue of a vulnerable friend. Each scene of chaos already existed in the first game, so it ends up dramatically reducing the value of the sequel, as it does not attempt to be a new installment, but instead raises previously successful ideas.
It may be that, when we played, our happiness was affected by some unpleasant mistakes that made the game difficult. Though it was because it was a pre-release version (there will be a refuge to come out), the game has crashed so many times, that we stuck to the main menu. We experienced a blur and failure of the whole game, we saw things burn and the image rate dropped to 20 fps. However, the most interesting thing was undoubtedly the autosave system did not work properly and when we died, it did not matter at what time, it uploaded a save file but progress was lost, at least until we restarted the console. Hopefully, the following updates will help fix these bugs, but the fact is that these issues have left us with a bitter taste. We will update this space when we confirm the repairs.
In the end, Ori and the Wills will be nothing more than a real progression. It presents the player with new and challenging challenges, expands the mysterious universe and sometimes revels in the way we expected. Despite some flaws, the game assures us many hours of Thanksgiving inspired by the Hollow Knight and RPG element. Unfortunately, it's not the same and, most importantly, it's not as memorable as the Blind Forest, even though it's trying to be like it, and you can see it's trying …
