Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 298 sampled Steam reviews (285 positive / 13 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing26% mention it
- Visuals & art19% mention it
- Music & audio18% mention it
- Combat16% mention it
- World & exploration7% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Combat23% mention it
- Bugs & crashes23% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
87%
30 reviews
5-15h
98%
87 reviews
15-40h
95%
150 reviews
40-100h
100%
26 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 90 | 56 |
| Creator reviews (6 tracked) | – | 95 | 3 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 97% | 92 | 1165 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 93 | 211 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 94% | 88 | 162 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 464 total reviews in window · weighted 243.1 up / 16.7 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (185)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 95
“Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a gorgeous game with fast-paced action, an enormous, beautiful world to explore and a solemn story crafted very well.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Ori and the Will of the Wisps doesn’t reinvent the Metroidvania wheel but it does polish it up in such a way that it feels like a whole new experience. It’s a game that confidently showcases some of the best platforming and environmental puzzles of the year and does so with a picturesque beauty that makes this such a joy to play through.”
read full review ↗ - 90
- 100
“After spending more than 14 hours in the 2nd Ori I explored every nook and cranny of Niwen. I'm willing to say that Ori and the Will of the Wisps managed to balance new additions with proven concepts from the first game. That makes it a great sequel which you shouldn't miss. Now excuse me, I'm going to return back to Niwen once again.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an incredibly beautiful game with a rather weak plot and unpleasant technical errors, which can give you more than ten hours of meditative and very diverse gameplay. Given the lack of competitors this year, it is the best representative of the genre.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Ori and the Blind Forest was an outstanding masterpiece. Ori and the Will of Wisps is even better. It's a shame that bugs ruin overall great experience. Hope they will be fixed by the day one update.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The game improves upon its predecessor, and finds new ways to demonstrate their shared eco-friendly themes. ”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Ori and the Will of the Wisps is not just a great sequel; in many ways, it outdoes its predecessor. The addition of more customization options, a greater focus on combat and a better-developed story, all in a game that's running at 60 frames per second, allows the sequel to comprehensively outshine the original. However, this does come at a cost of stability, as several crashes and soft-locks were extremely demotivating. Overall though, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a must-buy for anyone even the slightest bit interested, and we're confident that the stability problems can be patched in the future. This is a supremely enjoyable platform adventure which everyone should experience.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a great metroidvania and a worthy sequel. The developers have used proven solutions borrowed from other games, but were clever and creative about it. The game is coherent and will surprise you more than once. Is it as powerful and the first part? No. Is it as fun as the Blind Forest? Definitely yes.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Ori and the Will of the Wisps in an emotional journey through a beautifully crafted world. Gareth Coker's soundtrack is sensational and the combat and exploration are as fun as they are satisfying. Moon Studios' new game is a must have for every Metroidvania fan, and an easy recommendation to everyone who has access to Xbox Games Pass.”
read full review ↗ - 96
“Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an unreserved masterpiece, one of those sequels that does so much more than a regular sequel would: it offers a great visual and audio experience, really stimulating and incredibly sweet for the soul. Some technical flaws and some narrative recycle are little problems compared to these aspects, although they undoubtedly remain.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“If you want a game that’s more of an experience than simply something to kill time, if you want something that showcases how artistic games can be, if you want an action platformer with plenty of approaches to combat, I can’t recommend enough that you pick up Ori and the Will of the Wisps.”
read full review ↗
Pure Nintendo
TheReviewGeek
Fintendo
INDIANTVCZ
GameMAG
3DNews
Slant Magazine
Nintendo Life
GRYOnline.pl
Fun Factor
SpaceNerd.it
Gamer Escape…and 173 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps Patch 3.1Nov 19, 2020
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps Patch 3Nov 6, 2020
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps Patch 2May 15, 2020