What games are most similar to Ori and the Will of the Wisps?

Hollow Knight is the closest match in scope and tone — a large, hand-crafted Metroidvania with a similar sense of melancholy. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the closest match for movement, with an even faster traversal kit.

Is there a game like Ori but harder?

Blasphemous and Hollow Knight's optional content are both significantly harder than Ori's main path. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is more forgiving by design, with generous checkpoints and an easy mode.

Is there a Metroidvania with a story as emotional as Ori?

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight and Hollow Knight both lean into quiet, understated storytelling rather than Ori's more direct emotional beats, but they carry real weight if you pay attention to the world around you.

What's a good movement-focused game like Ori that isn't a Metroidvania?

Celeste. It's a linear platformer, not an exploration game, but the precision movement and the way traversal itself tells the story are close cousins to what Ori does.

2026-07-08Andrii Kovalenko3 min read

Games Like Ori and the Will of the Wisps

8 games like Ori and the Will of the Wisps — Hollow Knight, Blasphemous, and more Metroidvanias built on movement and feel.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps closes its story and there isn't a third one coming anytime soon. Here are eight games for when you've finished it and want more of that mix of tight platforming, quiet sadness, or both.

Hollow Knight

The obvious next stop. Hollow Knight trades Ori's guided, painterly world for a much larger one with almost no hand-holding — you get lost, you remember a locked door, you come back once you've found the key. The movement takes longer to open up than Ori's does, but once it does, the interconnected map rewards the same kind of exploration muscle. On PC, Switch, PS4/5, and Xbox.

Blasphemous

A punishing pixel-art Metroidvania soaked in Catholic guilt and body horror instead of Ori's forest spirits. Blasphemous shares Ori's commitment to a single strong visual identity, but the combat is slower and heavier, and death costs you more. If Ori's tone appealed to you but you wanted something meaner, this is it. On PC and consoles.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

The closest thing to Ori's movement feel in a game that isn't Ori. The Lost Crown gives you an even bigger traversal toolkit — dash, double jump, a clone ability that lets you stand in two places at once — and asks you to chain them through platforming puzzles that reward precision the way Ori's late-game areas do. On PC and consoles.

Axiom Verge

A stranger pick. Axiom Verge trades Ori's warm, hand-painted world for a cold, glitch-heavy sci-fi one, but it's built on the same principle: new abilities don't just open new areas, they change how you read areas you've already been through. Slower combat, denser map, a lot more backtracking. On PC and consoles.

Guacamelee 2

Where Ori is precise and a little melancholy, Guacamelee 2 is loud, funny, and built around brawler combat instead of exploration for its own sake. What it shares with Ori is the sheer density of traversal abilities — by the end you're chaining dashes and wall jumps through the world in ways the early game never hints at. Also has drop-in co-op, which Ori doesn't. On PC and consoles.

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight

A short, focused Metroidvania that punches well above its budget. Momodora shares Ori's economy of storytelling — almost no dialogue, most of the narrative sitting in the environment and the boss fights themselves. It's a fraction of Ori's length, which makes it a good pick if you want the mood without the time investment. On PC and consoles.

Celeste

Not a Metroidvania, but the game most likely to satisfy anyone who fell in love with Ori's movement specifically. Celeste is linear, level-based, and brutally precise, and its story about anxiety and self-doubt lands with the same directness Ori's did. How long it takes to beat depends entirely on how many of the optional strawberries and B-sides you chase. On PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox.

KUTO: The Lock of Time

This one is our game, so take that for what it's worth. KUTO: The Lock of Time trades Ori's forest for a falling Rome and the eras beyond it, and its movement kit is built around five time powers instead of double jumps and dashes — Leap tears you through space, Fracture breaks gravity so you can walk on walls and ceilings. The story is different too: you're playing an outcast betrayed by the gods and bound to the titan Kronos, cutting your way back through history with the Scythe of Kronos. On PC, currently in development and coming to Steam Early Access.

Most of these are available right now on PC or console. KUTO is the one worth wishlisting if a time-bending traversal kit sounds like your next Ori-shaped itch.

Frequently asked questions

What games are most similar to Ori and the Will of the Wisps?: Hollow Knight is the closest match in scope and tone — a large, hand-crafted Metroidvania with a similar sense of melancholy. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the closest match for movement, with an even faster traversal kit.
Is there a game like Ori but harder?: Blasphemous and Hollow Knight's optional content are both significantly harder than Ori's main path. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is more forgiving by design, with generous checkpoints and an easy mode.
Is there a Metroidvania with a story as emotional as Ori?: Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight and Hollow Knight both lean into quiet, understated storytelling rather than Ori's more direct emotional beats, but they carry real weight if you pay attention to the world around you.
What's a good movement-focused game like Ori that isn't a Metroidvania?: Celeste. It's a linear platformer, not an exploration game, but the precision movement and the way traversal itself tells the story are close cousins to what Ori does.

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Jun 12, 2026