Guessed by @UnderwaterFunktown
It's hard to believe it's already been five years since this game blew my mind.
Back then, I ranked it at #5 on this list. I wondered if it was recency bias playing a hand, but I stuck to my guns. And in the years since, this didn't just keep its place, but steadily climbed up and up... At this point, I don't even disregard the possibility of this finding its way into #1 some day.
I love it that much.
Moon Studios literally advertises this game as an "emotional masterpiece", and can you really blame them when it's exactly that. It is the most emotional a game's ever made me. And honestly, it might be the most masterpiece I've seen a game be. Mind you that doesn't mean flawless, there are minor nitpicks I have with this game and small things I wish were better, but those are completely insignificant compared to the magnificence of this work of art.
I've long been an admirer of the more aesthetic aspects of videogames. I like games that look pretty, and this is the prettiest one I've ever seen. I like games with great soundtracks, and this has the best soundtrack I've ever heard. I like games with charming characters and emotional storylines, and... yeah you get the point. Most of my favorites excel at those things, and this game excels at those more than any other. But it also absolutely excels in delivering fun gameplay, and by fun I mean really extremely fun, the kind where I couldn't stop myself replaying this over and over even in spite of the emotional damage I suffered with the narrative each time (especially when I did that one sidequest, if you know you know).
The movement is somehow even more fun than it was in Blind Forest, and the combat is dramatically improved, with loads of different skills and weapons you can use in deep ways, cancelling attacks into jumps, refreshing aerial abilities so you can stay in the air while hitting enemies and dodging attacks, it's absolutely thrilling every time... And the game knows this, because it throws everything at you in the end, with the single most breathtaking final boss battle I've ever seen in this medium. And then, the single most breathtaking ending. An ending I was never emotionally ready for even after witnessing it dozens of times at the end of each speedrun (yes, I was a speedrunner for this).
I think it's safe to say Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the most fun I've had with a game, the most tears I've shed with a game, and the most a game's ever made me stop to appreciate the visuals and music. I remember staring in awe at the title screen when I first booted it up, taking it in before I felt ready to start the game - which took me no less than 30 minutes.
So yeah, Moon Studios, I'll allow you guys to call your own game a masterpiece. It's the truth.
