History VideoGame / OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps

The sequel to Moon Studios' ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'', announced at E3 2017 and released on March 11, 2020, for UsefulNotes/XboxOne and Windows 10, with a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port later on September 17 that same year. Like its predecessor, it is a {{Metroidvania}} in which you play as the foxlike light creature Ori.

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: Kuro went evil as part of a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, but she realized that the way she was going about things would have destroyed what she was trying to protect, and thus made a final sacrifice to save the egg that would hatch into Ku, and thus is never fought. Shriek went evil because [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer she was rejected by the other owls and by Niwen for her decayed appearance]], has absolutely nothing to protect, and [[RedemptionRejection spurns Ori's kindness out of fear]], shortly before becoming the game's final boss. Ori repays the favour as the game's final boss.

* EnergyEconomy: Spirit Light acts as a currency.

* LaserBlade: Ori wields one called the Spirit Edge.

* PacifismBreakingPoint: Ori, having spent [[Videogame/OriAndTheBlindForest most of the previous game]] being mostly pacifistic, ends up having to abandon their pacifism and fight Shriek after the latter [[spoiler:turns down Ori's kindness when she is knocked down by Seir]].

* PowerUpMagnet: With the Magnet shard equipped, pickups within a certain range will be drawn to Ori.

* DropTheHammer: A heavier weapon alternative Ori can purchase with Spirit Light is a hammer which swings much slower than the Spirit Edge, but hits much harder and can be used to break many things. Its downward attack also recreates the Stomp attack from the first game.

* DisneyDeath: Ku is murdered by Shriek, but is revived at the end when Ori ascends to become the new Spirit Tree.

* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler:During the GrandFinale montage showing Ori's growth into Niwen's Spirit Tree, adult Ku is shown departing the land as Naru and Gumo wave their goodbyes to her.]]

* AllThereInTheManual: The Foul Presence is called the "Stink Spirit" in the credits.

* BigGood: Kwolok is doing everything in his power to protect the Moki, but his influence only extends so far. [[spoiler:Ori becomes this at the end of the game.]]

* DisabledBadass: Ku has a malformed wing and fails to fly until Gumo ties her mother's feather onto her wing. [[spoiler: Her wing is healed at the end, however, allowing Ku to fly without the feather.]]

* EnergyBow: One of Ori's new weapons, called the Spirit Arc.

* TunnelKing: Ori becomes this after gaining the "Burrow" ability.

* TheWorfEffect: The first boss is a giant wolf named Howl. You don't actually defeat him in the first fight, but rather temporarily fend him off. Instead of a rematch, you later find his corpse petrified by the Decay.

* AlwaysABiggerFish: Early on in the game, Ori is hunted by Howl, a giant wolf monster in the Inkwater Marsh. [[spoiler: When Howl treads into [[OminousOwl Shriek]]'s territory in the Silent Woods later, however, the owl monster intercepts him, and Ori and Ku soon come across Howl's petrified corpse, evidently having been turned to stone by Shriek.]]

* UngratefulBastard: [[spoiler: Shortly after Seir is made whole, Shriek attempts to attack Ori and Seir as they make their way to the remains of the Spirit Willow, only to be repelled by Seir and knocked off her feet. Seir's clearly getting ready to kill Shriek in Ori's defense - and Shriek's clearly expecting to get fried alive - but Ori holds Seir back and tries to befriend Shriek. Shriek... screeches in Ori's face and flies away, attacking Seir and Ori again later on.]]

* ChainOfDeals: The "Hand to Hand" sidequest, which sees Ori trading items with friendly {{NPC}}s across the course of most of the game.

* BittersweetEnding: Has more bitterness compared to ‘’Blind’’ ‘’Forest’’. [[spoiler:But still outweighed by sweetness. The only way to save Ku and all of Niwen is for Ori to sacrifice their existence as a leaf spirit and become a new spirit tree. Gumo, Ku and Naru mourn that the Ori they knew is gone, but they lovingly care for the tree Ori's been reborn as, continuing to live and grow as a family. Many, many, ''many'' years later, Ori has fully grown into a new tree, and a glowing leaf is blown away by the wind, implied to be their offspring.]]

* BittersweetEnding: Has more bitterness compared to ‘’Blind Forest’’. [[spoiler:But still outweighed by sweetness. The only way to save Ku and all of Niwen is for Ori to sacrifice their existence as a leaf spirit and become a new spirit tree. Gumo, Ku and Naru mourn that the Ori they knew is gone, but they lovingly care for the tree Ori's been reborn as, continuing to live and grow as a family. Many, many, ''many'' years later, Ori has fully grown into a new tree, and a glowing leaf is blown away by the wind, implied to be their offspring.]]

* BittersweetEnding: Has more bitterness compared to [[“Blind Forest”]]. [[spoiler:But still outweighed by sweetness. The only way to save Ku and all of Niwen is for Ori to sacrifice their existence as a leaf spirit and become a new spirit tree. Gumo, Ku and Naru mourn that the Ori they knew is gone, but they lovingly care for the tree Ori's been reborn as, continuing to live and grow as a family. Many, many, ''many'' years later, Ori has fully grown into a new tree, and a glowing leaf is blown away by the wind, implied to be their offspring.]]

* BittersweetEnding: Has more bitterness compared to “[[Blind Forest]]”. [[spoiler:But still outweighed by sweetness. The only way to save Ku and all of Niwen is for Ori to sacrifice their existence as a leaf spirit and become a new spirit tree. Gumo, Ku and Naru mourn that the Ori they knew is gone, but they lovingly care for the tree Ori's been reborn as, continuing to live and grow as a family. Many, many, ''many'' years later, Ori has fully grown into a new tree, and a glowing leaf is blown away by the wind, implied to be their offspring.]]

* BittersweetEnding: Has more bitterness compared to “Blind Forest”. [[spoiler:But still outweighed by sweetness. The only way to save Ku and all of Niwen is for Ori to sacrifice their existence as a leaf spirit and become a new spirit tree. Gumo, Ku and Naru mourn that the Ori they knew is gone, but they lovingly care for the tree Ori's been reborn as, continuing to live and grow as a family. Many, many, ''many'' years later, Ori has fully grown into a new tree, and a glowing leaf is blown away by the wind, implied to be their offspring.]]

* BittersweetEnding: Slightly more bitter this time around. [[spoiler: The only way to save Ku and all of Niwen is for Ori to sacrifice their existence as a leaf spirit and become a new spirit tree. Gumo, Ku and Naru mourn that the Ori they knew is gone, but they lovingly care for the tree Ori's been reborn as, continuing to live and grow as a family. Many, many, ''many'' years later, Ori has fully grown into a new tree, and a glowing leaf is blown away by the wind, implied to be their offspring.]]

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Shriek was the last of her kind, and forsaken by all others, to the point she literally has no idea what love and kindness are. After losing against Ori, she is last seen cuddling up with the corpses of her parents. She is confirmed to have succumbed to the Decay soon after.]]
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: [[spoiler:Shriek was ostracized by all other races because she was the [[TheCorruption Decay]] carrier, leading her to grow up alone without a concept of love and warping her into the merciless force of destruction she is in the game.]]

* BadassAdorable: Ori, more so than the last game where combat was mostly reliant on Sein, as now they have to fight on their own. Reduced to fighting off enemies with (of all things, and arguably incongruently for a ''tree'' spirit) a torch at the beginning, Ori soon gains the ability to summon a LaserBlade. They gain more and more spiritual weapons and tools as the game continues.

* BlackoutBasement: The Mouldwood Depths are initially covered in oppressive darkness, and moving out of range of a light source for more than a brief moment causes a OneHitKill. Several segments require Ori to stay close to fireflies as they move through dark areas.

* JawDrop: Near the end, [[spoiler:Most of the Wellspring Glades inhabitants invoke this trope witnesses Ori merging with Seir in the distance]].

* LongLived: Ori and at least some members of their adopted family, previously implied in the last game. [[spoiler: Naru had lived long enough to to see her ''second'' Spirit Tree grow to gigantic-by-real-world-standards redwood-sized maturehood, while the tree spirits were heavily implied to live as long as the Tree they came from would.]]

* HeadbuttOfLove: During the BigDamnReunion Ori and Ku invoke this trope.

* OminousOwl: Shriek, albeit with the ability to retract her feathers and use her wings as legs.

* TookALevelInBadass: Without Sein to fend off enemies, Ori has to rely on their own skills to defend themselves, gaining the ability to summon a variety of spiritual weapons, courtesy of Niwen's collection of ancestral tree.

* TrueCompanions: The lengths Ori goes to find Ku and bring her back home safely to Nibel clearly marks them as this. The same goes for Gumo and Naru even though they're more OutOfFocus.

* TheWorfEffect: the first boss is a giant wolf named Howl, who you can't actually defeat, but rather fend off temporarily. Instead of a rematch, you find their corpse petrified by the decay.

* LongLived: Ori and at least some members of their adopted family, previously implied in the last game. [[spoiler: Naru had lived long enough to to see her ''second'' Spirit Tree grow to gigantic redwood-sized maturehood, while the tree spirits were heavily implied to live as long as the Tree they came from would.]]

* LongLived: Ori and at least some members of their adopted family, previously implied in the last game. [[spoiler: Naru had lived long enough to to see her ''second'' Spirit Tree grow to gigantic redwood-sized maturehood, while the tree spirits were heavily implied to live as long as the Tree they came from was.]]

* Long-Lived: Ori and at least some members of their adopted family, previously implied in the last game. [[spoiler: Naru had lived long enough to to see her ''second'' Spirit Tree grow to gigantic redwood-sized maturehood, while the tree spirits were heavily implied to live as long as the Tree they came from was.]]

* BadassAdorable: Ori, more so than the last game where combat was mostly reliant on Sein, as now they have to fight on their own. Ori fights off enemies early on with the aid of a torch and soon gains the ability to summon a LaserBlade. They gain more and more spiritual weapons and tools as the game continues.