Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an upcoming platform-adventure Metroidvania video game developed by Moon Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One. It is a sequel to the 2015 title Ori and the Blind Forest and was announced during Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017.

The game is planned to be a 4K UHD, Xbox One X Enhanced and Xbox Play Anywhere title.

Gameplay
Players assume control of Ori, a white guardian spirit. To progress in the game, players are tasked to move between platforms and solve puzzles. Similarly to The Blind Forest, Will of the Wisps is expected to feature a system called "soul links", which allows players to save at will, and an upgrade system that gives players the ability to strengthen Ori's skills. The game world unfolds to the player in the fashion of a Metroidvania, with new abilities allowing the player to access previously inaccessible areas. Some of the foundational gameplay elements were inspired by the Rayman and Metroid franchises.

The game story is centered on a new adventure to discover the world beyond the forest of Nibel, uncover the truths of the lost ones, and unearth Ori's true destiny.

Development
The game was announced at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 (E3) on 11 June 2017 with a teaser trailer. The trailer depicts new lands, and Ori with a young owl. Gareth Coker, who performed during the E3 unveiling, was similarly announced to return to compose the score. Moon Studios lead developers Gennadiy Korol and Thomas Mahler commented that the team is "crazy iterative" when developing the game. For example, the E3 2017 teaser trailer went through 2,000 iterations during polishing. As for setting the standard and vision of the game, Mahler said that "Will of the Wisps should be to Blind Forest what Super Mario Bros. 3 was to the original Super Mario Bros..

On 7 August 2017, AM2R developer Milton Guasti was announced to have joined the Ori team as a level designer. Moon Studios released a video in October 2017 that showcased the design program used to develop cinematics of the game. The program reportedly allowed animators to make changes while in progress and thus allows for a more flexible and streamlined process.

A second trailer was revealed at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 on June 10 2018, depicting new NPCs, bosses, movement and combat abilities, and revealing its 2019 release date.

Release
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is scheduled to be released in 2019.