2015's Ori and the Blind Forest was a stellar and imaginative Metroidvania that focused heavily on an element of the sub-genre often left unexpressed: isolation. Following its tragic opening that set the stage for a lone forest spirit's journey into a dangerous world, the game connected you with its beautiful melancholic world and pushed you to face its hidden dangers head-on.
With the upcoming follow-up from Moon Studios, that lush world and humbling sense of scale from the original is expanding in scope. Ori and the Will of the Wisps leans further into the titular character's introspective journey, yet it feels much less lonely this time around. Instead of a small cast of characters struggling to survive in a crumbling world, Will of the Wisps has you connecting with inhabitants outside of Nibel forest and learning how Ori fits into the larger world. I got to spend some time playing the opening hours of Ori's next adventure while also speaking with Moon Studio about how the surprise success of the original game paved the way for the next adventure.
Picking up almost immediately after the original game, Will of the Wisps sees Ori and friends, including the guardian Naru and the spider-like scavenger Gumo, come together to raise Kuro's owl hatchling--the previous antagonist's sole heir. As their collective bond grows, Ori and the young owl are unexpectedly separated from their home and find themselves in a new land beyond the Nibel forest. Lost in a foreign land, Ori will have to gain new powers and friends to help them defeat a growing evil force, and reunite with their family.
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