My first hour or so with Ori and the Will of the Wisps felt familiar. Too much so, if we’re honest. Ori and the Blind Forest released in 2015, on the leading edge of the “It’s Metroid, but—“ trend. There were a few harbingers of the flood to come, in Guacamelee and Axiom Verge and Dust: An Elysian Tail. But Ori and the Blind Forest entered a scene that was relatively empty.


Will of the Wisps, not so much. And as I dutifully gathered my double-jump and my air dash, flitting through a lush forest scene in the same old ways, I felt worried—or rather, wearied. Developers don’t need to reinvent the wheel with every game, but the Metroid tires are looking pretty worn after the last few years.

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Source: Ori and the Will of the Wisps feels familiar, but finds the extraordinary in the ordinary