Review Day: Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Switch)

There are no major spoilers in this review.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a platformer in the "Metroidvania" genre, where further exploration nets you new tools that can unlock previously inaccessible areas. It combines a reasonably tight control scheme with visuals and music on par with anything in the Rayman series.

As the titular character, who isn't quite a bunny, you explore various environments in search of your owl friend and ultimately get swept up into a grander adventure. The game world is split up into several zones you can explore at your leisure and tightly choreographed chase scenes with very little room for error.

There are three difficulty modes, but they only seem to affect the health of enemies -- the acrobatics needed to get through the levels remains tricky even on Easy. The different movement abilities are fun to chain together, although the "Bash" ability is awkward to aim with the Switch's joystick. There are also time trials sprinkled throughout the world that require you to move as quickly as possible between two points, but they don't have a worthwhile reward for the time and practice required.

The orchestral score is nice and complements the unique color schemes of the different zones well. The story is pretty simple but expresses vibrant emotions that even a four-year-old can pick up on.

I would have enjoyed playing this game on my own, but also appreciated that it was a perfect game for playing with a youngster watching. In spite of a few scary bosses, Maia got really into the storyline and renamed two of her stuffed animals Ori and Ku (to go along with Revali from Zelda).

Final Grade: A-