Yeah this might just be one of the best games I've ever played.

Ori and the Blind Forest was already a really well made Metroidvania-type game as it is, and this game basically dials everything up to 11. For one thing I definitely felt more invested in the story in this game - not only did it feel easier to follow but manages to do so while beefing it up in terms of characters, worldbuilding and lore and hitting a lot more emotional beats with the relationship between Ori and Ku. Plus, without spoiling it, the ending definitely feels impactful with how the story plays out.

Gameplay-wise, the world definitely feels much bigger in scope while also still being a lot of fun to explore. Admittedly I didn't really touch upon any of the side quests in my playthrough, but some of them manage to incentivize exploring while also touching on story beats that fit in with everything going on in the plot. The combat and movement feel really good here too - there's a lot of fluidity in how Ori controls plus a lot of options for movement and combat that you unlock throughout the game. Exploring, platforming, and fighting bosses and enemies all feel even better and more satisfying in this game than in Blind Forest, especially as you unlock more abilities on both fronts throughout the game. Plus there's also optional abilities and upgrades to unlock, including warping to Spirit Wells you've unlocked/lit from any point in the game which really cuts down on backtracking. The bigger scope overall lends itself well to replay value with the side quests and unlockables. The game's also decently challenging without being too frustrating or anything, making for a title that actually feels really satisfying to play all the way through.

And the visuals are outright stunning. Much of Blind Forest's art style is retained over here, but there's an added bit of 'oomph' to everything that really helps kick the visuals up a notch with it's lighting, character design, use of color and so on. It's especially good looking on the Series X which seems to have support for Supersampled 6K (or 4K 120FPS if your TV supports it), and the result is that the game just looks absolutely beautiful.

I mean, what else is there to say? Ori and the Will of the Wisps takes everything that worked well about Blind Forest and manages to improve upon everything in terms of scope, world design, visuals, core gameplay and atmosphere. I'll be honest it took me a little bit of time to get around to playing this game and frankly my only regret is not playing it sooner. It did manage to make for a great experience to christen my Xbox Series X though.