Nintendo always like to leave a surprise in there somewhere, don't they... For today's Nintendo Direct Mini, it was the reveal and release of Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
The Metroidvania platformer and sequel to the acclaimed Ori and the Blind Forest was released for the Xbox One and PC earlier this year to a highly positive reception. There have been murmurings of a Switch port for several months, with fans even going as far as to set up a Change petition to demand its release on the Nintendo Switch.
However, in a Reddit AMA two months ago, the lead engineer for Moon Studios, Gennadiy Korol, put a dampener on expectations for a Switch port. He stated that, while the team "loves" the Switch, they were not currently working on a port. "Right now we don't have anything to share when it comes to Ori and the Will of the Wisps port," he said. "If it were to ever happen though I can tell you that it would be [an] extremely difficult port to make run at 60fps."
Well, today's announcement has blown that out of the water.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps has not only been revealed to be coming to the Nintendo Switch, it's actually coming to the Switch today. That's right, you can get it later today on the eShop.
We have BIG news! 📣 Ori and the Will of the Wisps is now available on the Nintendo Switch. Dive into the action with a physical or digital edition today! #OriOnSwitch #OritheGame #Switchhttps://t.co/NxcYthINSr pic.twitter.com/cWS680nJ6R
— Ori the Game (@OriTheGame) September 17, 2020
Well, it looks like either the lead engineer for Moon Studios was keeping the lid on a very well-kept secret or they've managed to port the game in less than two months! Either way, fans of the well-loved Ori series will be delighted to pick up and play the game in handheld mode. Ori and the Will of the Wisps will be right at home on the Switch with other acclaimed 2D platformers like Celeste and Unravel 2.
As well as a digital edition available on the eShop, Nintendo also announced a Collector's Edition with all bells and whistles for Ori enthusiasts. This edition comes with: a glow-in-the-dark display box, stained glass-style art piece, field guide, sketchbook zine, collectible art card set, glow-in-the-dark pin, digital downloads for both games' soundtracks, and physical editions of both games.
You can pre-order this mammoth set for $149.99 from iam8bit now. The price for the digital download is unconfirmed.
