A sequel to the visual spectacular that was Ori and the Blind Forest, Will of the Wisps does even more to impress on Switch.

While ‘only’ a 2D side scrolling game, Ori and the Will of the Wisps was still one of the visual highlights of the Xbox Series X reveal so I hadn’t expected it to be coming to Switch so soon. The fact that it’s here is wonderful in itself but the game also looks and plays so well on Nintendo’s platform, running at a buttery smooth 60fps in both modes.

Playing once again as Ori, a spritely forest spirit, this time your adventure starts by helping a baby owl to fly by creating a magic set of feathers to fix one of its wings. As you can guess, just as the owl creature starts to gain confidence, with Ori riding as passenger on its back, disaster strikes and you find yourself deep inside some dark and foreboding forests full of lurking dangers.

Thankfully you start this game in much better shape than the first, already weilding a weapon to fight of the early threats and gaining more powers as you progress through deadlier areas. Progress often involves doubling back on sections, as with any good Metroidvania style game, but it never feels like a chore, especially with each new landscape looking so beautiful, even if they are a little threatening at times. Saves have also been improved with a more intuitive autosave feature added to a version of the manual saves from the first game. You’ll need it, too, as later levels really do test your skills.

With a wonderful story, great artwork and music and some really tight gameplay, the second Ori game supasses the Blind Forest as one of the most beautiful platformers on Switch or Xbox and is a delight to play through.