Guessed by @UnderwaterFunktown
Breathtaking.
When I first started up this game, the moment the title screen appeared, I was taken aback, stood still as my mind tried and failed to process the beauty in front of me. I didn't know my TV could even display something so gorgeous, I didn't know my ears could ever be moved by wavelengths so soothing. I just sat there. It felt like my screen had become a window to heaven. I sat there for over 30 minutes, holding a controller filled with all sorts of buttons, none of which I could compel myself to press.
And then, I did.
What followed was unsurprisingly legendary. Not because I expected this level of quality before playing the game, rather, because the title screen made sure to clarify that this was going to be a masterpiece and I gave it the necessary amount of time embrace that it was going to be a once in a lifetime experience.
I experienced joy, thrills, despair, fear, hope, sadness and awe - usually more than one of those at a time - as the little spirit danced his way through this enchanting world, each movement so smooth and silky, it felt like the game was therapy for my hands and for my soul. It was hard to believe it was a game, really, hard to believe that me of all people was controlling what looked like a choreography. I suppose the controls being so wonderful was necessary to counterbalance the weight of the emotional punches that were swung my way, but if that was the idea, the execution was flawed because I was still left a complete wreck by the end.
And then, I wanted to do it all over again. And again. And again. I wasn't gonna let an experience this amazing end just because of an ending. Even if it was the most beautiful and incredible ending I've ever seen in a videogame. I wanted more. And the more I kept playing, the more I realized how deep this game really was, which maybe shouldn't have been surprising given how good Ori's movement felt, but it really does go deep, and the deeper you go, the more soothing it becomes to control him. As much as I feared the idea of speedrunning, that it would take away from the emotional resonance I had with this game, it felt like an inevitability. And it was.
However, even after dozens upon dozens of playthroughs (including one that put me in third place worldwide, as I just now notice the coincidence of me listing this game at #3), I am still floored each time I boot the game up to that wonderful title screen, and I am still reduced to tears every time I have the confidence to watch the ending again.
I'm just thankful. Thankful to Moon Studios for creating a game this incredibly wonderful. Thankful to Gareth Coker for creating a score this moving, a soundtrack so good I still struggle to understand it even after listening to it possibly hundreds of times. And thankful to the loving community I found myself in when I got into speedrunning it. Will of the Wisps has been, and it continues to be, an unforgettable ride - I'm thankful to all the people who helped build it.
