Ori and the Will of the Wisps Review (|\/|4r|<)
My heart: I played the original twice, and I definitely remember a better, more confident experience, but gave it an 11.4/10 ...
My brain: was overwhelmed by this one; it's maybe even more of an Action RPG than I expected with all the NPCs vs. sidequests, combat, and there's a huge world to explore! As one of few who didn't like Bastion at all, there's definitely a bittersweet taste due to my preferences. However, having finished this game in Normal mode, and as an (inefficient) explorer/someone inspecting every 'nook and cranny', I managed to make the game rather underwhelming closer to the finish — compensating the intensity, but maybe a too relaxed experience while enjoying the view, and making enough screenshots = lack of balance/players too spoilt with abilities and such? I felt too invincible at a certain moment, and it was mostly the beautiful music, scenery and the emotive storytelling that prevailed for me in this sequel and kept me going!
Where it was rather stressful for me in the beginning — not confident enough in a fight, because of the lack of affinity with battling in general — I think I found the borders of arrogance near the end 😇 As a result, an important message to potential players: even though you will face 'dead ends' if you start exploring as much as possible right from the start (like I did), if you want an easy experience in Normal mode, and it's in your nature to discover, go ahead! If you prefer to stay focused on your main path, aren't thát distracted by sidequests etc. (unlike me) in general, and want to have a more challenging/brave experience, you know what to do instead. Fun fact though: there are Leaderboards that don't seem to update after a finish anymore; I was @ 85% by then, but a few of my friends were @ 87%, and 1 even @ 98%, so 'OPri' for sure!
Furthermore, it's rare, but even after so many hours, I'm still not 100% confident while playing this game with a keyboard (and so many buttons) ... Xbox Game Studios, right? I had expected the following notice: "A controller is strongly recommended to play Ori and the Will of the Wisps". Talked about this with a friend, who initially started with keyboard controls, but soon realized the controller was the way to go. As a fan of both Super Meat Boy, and SMB Forever, I was excited for the Spirit Trials (races), but I wish there were just a few buttons mapped ... The escape sequences on the other hand were a breeze, and reminded me of aforementioned auto-runner.
10/11.4 — overwhelming in a good and bad way, but I now only feel to play the original once more!
New to the series? You definitely don't want to skip the original (Definitive Edition), but if you're very much into Action RPGs, combat, tactics etc., maybe think twice, and who knows start with the sequel ...