Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an excellent return to this bright and beautiful open-world platformer, with an affecting story to bolster the white-knuckle challenge.

Time and the enhanced power of the Xbox Series X has given Ori and the Will of the Wisps the superior technical performance to match its smart, precise gameplay.

Artful animation and visuals combine with tightly designed exploration, though beware persistent technical issues.

It's inconsistent and sometimes annoying, but ultimately a charming, challenging, heart-string-pulling fable.

Others provide functionality, like Twilen, the opportunistic merchant who sells Ori shards, equippable stones that provide our hero with active skills or passive buffs. You won't need to interact much with Wellspring Glade's inhabitants to finish the story, but you'll unearth a treasure trove of side quests and secrets by dedicating time to the village. The more grounded, yet still clever, conversations with these new characters adds an extra layer of connection to the game's world.

A gorgeous, tear-jerking platformer which improves on absolutely everything in the first game and ranks among the finest Metroidvanias available today.

Better than its predecessor and a little longer, Will of the Wisps pounds out excitement at every turn

The soulful platformer returns to an extraordinarily beautiful world filled with new characters, challenges – and myriad foes to engage in combat

A gorgeous platformer that builds on the original without ruining what made it so special. If you have Game Pass, there’s no reason not to play this.

Presuming these techy mishaps are rectified, Ori And The Will Of The Wisps is one of the most charming, engaging, visually striking and emotionally touching games I’ve played in a long time. It’s difficult but fair, complex but intuitive, and gruelling but conquerable.