TL;DR: Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a masterpiece of visual storytelling that’s essentially a playable Pixar movie, but with a difficulty curve that will test your child's patience. It deals with heavy themes like loss and sacrifice, making it a "high-emotion" game. Best for ages 8-10+ depending on their gaming "grit."
If your kid is asking for this game because they saw the trailer, I get it. It’s breathtaking. But before you hit "buy" on the Nintendo eShop or Xbox store, you should know that behind the glowing forests and cute spirit creatures lies a game that is surprisingly demanding—both on the thumbs and the heartstrings.
This is the sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest. You play as Ori, a small, white guardian spirit who is trying to find a lost friend (a baby owl named Ku) in a new, sprawling land called Niwen.
In technical terms, it’s a "Metroidvania." That’s just a fancy gamer word for a 2D side-scroller where the world is one big, interconnected map. You’ll see areas you can't reach yet, and you have to go find a new power-up—like a double jump or a dash—to come back and unlock those secrets later. It’s a lot of exploration, a lot of jumping, and quite a bit of combat.
It’s not "brain rot." Unlike the hyper-stimulating, dopamine-loop chaos of Roblox or the competitive stress of Fortnite, Ori is an atmospheric experience.
- The Visuals: It is legitimately one of the most beautiful games ever made. Every frame looks like a hand-painted illustration.
- The Movement: Once Ori gets a few upgrades, moving through the world feels like a dance. It’s fluid and satisfying.
- The Challenge: There’s a real sense of "I finally did it!" when beating a tough section. It’s the kind of game that makes a kid feel like a "real gamer."
We talk a lot about "grit" in parenting—the ability to stick with something when it gets hard. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a grit-builder.
The game is hard. Your child will die. They will die a lot. They will miss a jump twenty times in a row. They will get stuck on a boss fight for an hour.
However, the game is designed with a very forgiving "auto-save" system. When Ori dies, they usually respawn just a few seconds back. This creates a tight loop of trial and error. It teaches kids that failure isn’t a "Game Over"—it’s just data. They learn to analyze what they did wrong, adjust their timing, and try again.
If you have a child who struggles with a "fixed mindset" (the "I’m just bad at this" or "I quit" mentality), Ori can be a great training ground—provided they don’t throw the controller.
This is where you need to be intentional. The game starts with a sequence that is... well, it’s a lot. Within the first ten minutes, there’s a separation, a broken wing, and a sense of profound loneliness.
The story explores themes of sacrifice, the cycle of life and death, and what it means to protect a family. It’s not a "happy-go-lucky" game. There are moments of genuine sadness and some "scary" imagery involving a giant, decayed owl named Shriek who was unloved and abandoned.
It’s very similar in tone to books like The Wild Robot by Peter Brown or movies like The Land Before Time. If your child is particularly sensitive to "animal in peril" tropes, you might want to sit with them for the first 30 minutes.
The ESRB rating is E10+, which is pretty spot on, but for different reasons than you might think.
- Ages 5-7: They will likely find the controls too difficult and the "escape sequences" (where you have to run from a flood or a monster without stopping) way too stressful. It might lead to more frustration than fun.
- Ages 8-10: This is the sweet spot. They have the motor skills to handle the platforming and the emotional maturity to understand the story.
- Ages 11+: Total green light. They’ll appreciate the depth of the combat system and the complexity of the world-building.
Safety Considerations
- Violence: It’s fantasy violence. Ori uses a "spirit sword" or a bow to fight shadowy monsters and bugs. There is no blood or gore. When enemies die, they usually just poof into orange light.
- Social: There is no online multiplayer and no chat. This is a purely single-player, offline experience. No need to worry about strangers or "Ohio" memes in the chat box here.
- Microtransactions: None. You buy the game, you own the game. No "draining the bank account" for skins.
Check out our guide on the best single-player games for kids
While I love this game for teaching resilience, there is a "frustration ceiling." There are certain parts of the game called Escape Sequences. These are high-speed chases where the screen is moving, music is pounding, and one single mistake sends you back to the start of the sequence.
For a kid with anxiety or low frustration tolerance, these moments can feel like a panic attack. If you hear your kid yelling at the screen during Ori and the Will of the Wisps, they’re probably in an escape sequence.
Pro-tip: There is an "Easy" mode. If your kid is just there for the story and the art, have them select Easy. It makes Ori take less damage and makes the enemies easier to beat, which lowers the "grit" requirement but keeps the controller from flying across the room.
If your child is playing, use it as an opening to talk about big feelings:
- "Why do you think Shriek (the villain) is so mean? Do you think she’s just bad, or is she sad?"
- "That boss fight took you a long time! How did you feel when you finally figured out the pattern?"
- "The forest in this game is changing. What do you think the game is trying to say about nature?"
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is "High-Quality Screen Time." It’s art. It’s a challenge. It’s a story that actually stays with you.
It’s a world away from the "brain rot" of mindless scrolling. If you’re looking for a game that treats your child like an intelligent, capable human being who can handle a bit of sadness and a lot of challenge, this is it.
Next Steps
- Check the platform: It’s available on Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch. It runs beautifully on the Switch, which is a miracle of engineering.
- Start with the first one? While you don't have to play Ori and the Blind Forest first, the story will make a lot more sense if you do.
- Look for alternatives: If Ori looks a bit too dark or difficult, check out Hollow Knight (even harder, but similar vibe) or Celeste (great for talking about mental health).