At last year’s E3, Microsoft showed off gameplay trailer for Ori and the Will of the Wisps. The game won’t make it out in time for 2019, but it is coming soon. This year during Microsoft’s E3 presentation, new and updated gameplay was shared, displaying more detail on the long-awaited sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest, a visually beautiful action platformer in the “Metroidvania” style that won Best Art Direction at the Video Game Awards in 2015.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is being developed by Moon Studios and Xbox Game Studios, and the team is looking to expand and improve on what made Ori and the Blind Forest so well-received. Will of the Wisps keeps the same colorful and imaginative art style from the realms of myth and fantasy, and it seems like this next installment of Ori will only push that envelope further.
The new trailer from E3 2019 includes a first look at never-before-seen gameplay and a closer look at the revamped combat system, showing Ori battling gigantic bosses in the game’s gorgeous environments. Some enemies in the trailer are a massive spider, lava-spitting monster, and a tentacled something or other that looks a bit Lovecraftian. From the new trailer, it looks like there will be plenty of puzzles to overcome in these beautiful new environments that make up the world surrounding the Nibel forests.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps will also bring a few quality of life improvements over the first game, and will fine tune the progression system of the first game with a redesigned save system and an upgrade tree that allows for more creativity.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps now has an official release date of February 11, 2020, and the game will be available on Xbox One, PC via Windows 10 and Steam. Ori and the Will of the Wisps will also premiere as part of the Xbox Game Pass.