Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Moderate overall intensityWhat's in it
The story centers on death, grief, and self-sacrifice, including a graveyard of fallen owls, a young companion left in a coma, and the tragic backstory of an orphaned, rejected creature.
Stylized melee and ranged combat (sword, hammer, bow) against fantasy creatures and bosses; no blood, gore, or dismemberment.
Tense chase sequences fleeing a large, deformed owl create dread and startle moments, but without gore or graphic imagery.
Ori fights woodland creatures and beast-like enemies as a standard platforming combat mechanic.
Who can reach your kid
What it is
In Ori and the Will of the Wisps, one player controls a tiny white forest spirit across a fantasy landscape rendered in a painterly, hand-drawn style. Movement drives the experience: the character leaps, scales walls, glides through the air, and swims underwater, all while working through puzzles and opening up fresh regions. Fighting relies on a spirit-forged blade, a hammer, a bow, and unique powers, aimed at tainted beasts and oversized bosses, and it stays free of gore in a stylized form. Emotionally, the mood leans heavy and mournful; the storyline confronts mortality, bereavement, kinship, and giving oneself up, showing a burial ground filled with deceased owls and staging nerve-wracking escape scenes from a menacing owl pursuer. Players will find no messaging feature, nothing to buy inside the app, and no multiplayer apart from optional leaderboards tied to timed runs.
How it's framed
Fighting is cast as a protective spirit shielding and mending a rotting, blighted woodland, while the weighty subjects of mourning and self-sacrifice are handled as a sincere emotional arc instead of something meant to startle. Those the spirit battles are twisted, monstrous beings rather than human figures, and clashes render through glows and particle bursts, showing no blood.
Details
- Developer
- Moon Studios GmbH
- Publisher
- Xbox Game Studios
- Released
- Mar 10, 2020
Similar games
We built this because we needed it
Balanced Play pools your kids' game time into one budget across Steam, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and more. We're taking 100 founding families — free for life.
Claim a founding spot →Free for life for the first 100. No card, no spam.