Ori and the Will of the Wisps Torrent is an immediate successor to Blind Forest that continues Ori’s tale, albeit in a slightly different manner. The sequel has elevated the combat, expanding Ori’s arsenal to include a plethora of new weaponry and skills to empower you to fight confidently and competently. Soul Shards, too, introduce passive abilities, although it’s surprising how many of the most effective ones – such as Adhesive Surfaces and Life Accord – unlock in the early game, potentially limiting spontaneous experimentation.
Discussing the tender narrative without inadvertently smearing it with my careless fingerprints is challenging, so I’ll spare us both and refrain from attempting it. However, I assure you it’s everything you anticipate/wish/crave, especially if you invested quality time in its precursor. You assume the role of the eponymous Ori, brutally separated from your companion, Ku, and dispatched through the expansive reaches of Niwen in pursuit of them. It’s a story of affection, bereavement, and allegiance, and of how each entity – and everything – forges its trail in this realm. Appearances are often deceptive, and sorrow can taint even the most luminous of spirits.
Ori possesses more than just a sword and bow in their arsenal. While your sword is technically “cost-free” – meaning it doesn’t deplete any mana or energy when swung – other abilities, like a potent spike or a burst of radiance, consume it. Consequently, you must regularly adapt your attack strategies based on your resources and the adversaries you confront, naturally.
Regrettably, combat is a hit-or-miss affair – literally – due to an array of technical challenges. This review arrives a bit late because, before a day one patch, autosave malfunctioned (or failed to function entirely at times), resulting in the loss of hours of progress – a regrettable situation, considering the welcomed addition of the autosave feature. Even after the patch, however, the game is plagued by slowdowns, frame-rate drops, and complete freezes, occasionally lasting 10+ seconds, on my Xbox One X.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps Torrent is simultaneously one of the most outstanding and exasperating games I’ve played this year. While its imperfections are few, they exert a substantial and prolonged impact on the overall experience. In numerous aspects, its gratifying platforming stands unrivaled, but with a multitude of significant technical issues, it’s challenging to wholeheartedly recommend it in its present state, even with the application of the day one patch. Perhaps I’ve simply been unlucky, but a stutter-free screen isn’t merely a luxury for a platformer of this nature – it’s a prerequisite.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps Torrent System Requirements
- OS: Windows 7/8/10/11
- Processor: AMD Athlon X4
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GTX 950
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 20 GB available space
