Tonight at the 2019 Game Awards a new trailer was shown for Ori and the Will of the Wisps, a visually stunning platform game coming in 2020. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest was first announced during 2017’s E3 and is developed by Moon Studios and published by Xbox Games Studios. The game most recently had a release date set for February 11, 2020, but has been delayed.
Ori and the Blind Forest released in 2015 and won Best Art Direction at the Video Game Awards for that year. Players once again take control of the guardian spirit Ori, and revisit the dreamlike and colorful Metroidvania-style world of the Forest of Nibel built by Moon Studios. Both the developer and Xbox Games Studios shared during E3 2019 that Ori and the Will of the Wisps would continue to provide the well-tuned and gorgeous side-scrolling 2D action as well as introduce some quality of life enhancements to the save system and to the game’s skill tree structure to allow for more creativity and individuality.
Moon Studios have also added a new mode to Ori and the Will of the Wisps called “Spirit Trials,” an asynchronous time trial mode that will allow players to race their friends and the Ori community and see who came make the fastest times. Activating structures in the game world will trigger the ghosts of other players to appear so you can challenge them and try to beat their best times at any time.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps will release on March 11, 2020 and will be available for PC and Xbox One, as well as via Xbox Game Pass. Ori and the Will of the Wisps will also be part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program, making the game playable on either PC or Xbox One with one single purchase.