Ori and the Blind Forest was a 2015 Metroidvania platformer heavily inspired by The Iron Giant movie, and games like the original Metroid (duh) and Michel Ancel's 2D Rayman titles. Many fans of the series have been hoping that Ori and the Will of the Wisps would arrive sometime next year, but Microsoft announced during its E3 2018 press conference that the sequel will launch in 2019 instead.
In a recent interview with Daily Star, Thomas Mahler, CEO of the Vienna-based Moon Studios had a chance to reveal Austrian team's goals when it comes to designing Ori and the Will of the Wisps. “A lot of what we’re doing with Will of the Wisps is trying to perfect the genre, perfect Metroidvania. We looked at a lot of games that have come out since the first Ori - Hollow Knight, Axiom Verge - and studied them and researched them," Mahler explained.
"While we were making Blind Forest, we looked at all the message boards, all the feedback and it really helped us before and after development. So with Will of the Wisps, we’re keen to do what we can to make it perfect this time around - we want it to be absolutely perfect," the CEO said. Apparently, Moon Studios spent 18 months’ development time in the first game getting the movement mechanics and the feel of the traversal just right and with little to no doubt - they succeeded.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps's story will play off of the power of relationships. Environments are vast, providing the player with multiple avenues of exploration, although you’ll need certain abilities to reach specific areas. Metroidvania is a subgenre of the action-adventure genre, inspired by the Metroid and Castlevania series. The so-called Metroidvania games generally feature an interconnected world map to explore, though access to parts of the world is often limited by doors and bigger obstacles.
From the creators of the multi-award winning Ori and the Blind Forest comes the highly anticipated sequel: Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Embark on an adventure with all new combat and customization options while exploring a vast, exotic world encountering larger than life enemies and challenging puzzles. Seek help from discoverable allies on your path to unravel Ori's true destiny.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps will be released sometime during 2019.