Updated Andrii Kovalenko3 min read

How Long to Beat Ori and the Will of the Wisps

How long to beat Ori and the Will of the Wisps — main story, 100% completion, and Spirit Trials breakdown.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps takes most players 8 to 12 hours to finish the main story. Going for full completion — every collectible, all Spirit Trials, and the side quests — adds another 5 to 8 hours, landing around 15 to 20 hours total.

That's a tighter spread than most games on this list, because Ori is a guided Metroidvania rather than a run-based roguelike. Your time mostly depends on how much of the optional content you chase.

How long to beat Ori and the Will of the Wisps

GoalTime
Main story8–12 hours
Story + most side content12–16 hours
100% completion15–20 hours
Speed runUnder 2 hours

The main story is the steady number. The optional content adds the variation, with the Spirit Trials being the part that can stretch a completionist run the most.

What affects your playtime

A few things move your number:

  • Side quests and collectibles. Will of the Wisps adds a hub town with NPCs who hand out errands, plus map fragments, life and energy upgrades, and Spirit Shards to find. Chasing all of them is most of the gap between a story clear and 100%.
  • The Spirit Trials. These are 10 timed racing challenges scattered across the map. Finishing them is quick; gold-ranking them is the hardest thing the game asks, and it can eat hours on its own.
  • Combat skill. Will of the Wisps leans harder on combat than Blind Forest did, with weapon-like Spirit Shards and real boss fights. Players who struggle with the bosses will add time the story numbers don't show.
  • The escape sequences. Ori is famous for its high-speed chase set pieces. They demand precision, and a few failed attempts on the hardest one can cost a chunk of time.

The big one is the Spirit Trials. The story and casual exploration are smooth; the gold medals are where the real difficulty lives.

Is it worth the time?

Yes. Will of the Wisps is one of the best-looking and best-moving Metroidvanias made, and 8 to 12 hours of it is a complete, well-paced story. The movement alone — wall jumps, dashes, grapples chained together — makes traversal feel good in a way few games match.

The honest caveat: the difficulty spikes in the combat and escape sequences are sharper than the gentle opening suggests. If you came purely for a relaxing exploration game, a couple of moments will test you. The Spirit Trial gold medals, in particular, are for players who like a real challenge.

How it compares to similar games

If you're sizing Ori against the games it sits next to:

  • Hollow Knight is much longer — roughly 25 to 30 hours for the main story — with a far larger map and harsher optional content.
  • Celeste is shorter for a story clear, around 6 to 10 hours, but its 100% completion is harder and longer than Ori's.
  • Blasphemous lands around 12 to 18 hours, slower and more methodical than Ori's fast, flowing movement.

Ori sits at the approachable end of the Metroidvania scale: shorter than Hollow Knight, smoother to play, with optional content that's there if you want the challenge.

If the world design and movement of Ori keep you exploring every corner, KUTO: The Lock of Time is worth watching. It's a time-bending Metroidvania where time powers are literally breaking the world — every ability you unlock is one more lock off the thing that ends everything. Wishlist it on Steam so you don't miss the launch.

Frequently asked questions

How long does Ori and the Will of the Wisps take to beat?
The main story takes most players 8–12 hours. Full completion — all collectibles, Spirit Trials, and side quests — adds another 5–8 hours for a total of around 15–20 hours.
Is Ori Will of the Wisps longer than Blind Forest?
Yes. Will of the Wisps is roughly 30–40% longer than Blind Forest, with more areas, side content, and a more involved combat system.
How long are the Spirit Trials in Ori Will of the Wisps?
Each Spirit Trial is a short timed challenge, but gold-ranking all of them can take several hours across the game's 10 trials. They're the hardest optional content in the game.
Is Ori Will of the Wisps hard to 100%?
Moderately. Most of the collectibles are manageable with a full map and patience. Gold-ranking the hardest Spirit Trials requires precision timing and some players find them significantly more difficult than the main story.
How long is Ori Will of the Wisps compared to Ori Blind Forest?
Will of the Wisps is about 30–40% longer. Blind Forest runs 5–7 hours for the main story; Will of the Wisps runs 8–12. Both are short compared to most metroidvanias, which is part of their appeal — you see the whole game in a weekend.
Does Ori Will of the Wisps have any missable content?
No missable content — you can explore the full map and collect everything after the story. The game has no new-game-plus mode but you can continue your file after the ending to clean up remaining collectibles.
Is Ori Will of the Wisps longer than Hollow Knight?
Much shorter. Hollow Knight's main story takes 25–35 hours; Ori's takes 8–12. Hollow Knight is more of a full exploration RPG; Ori is a narrative platformer where the story is the main event.
How does Ori Will of the Wisps handle difficulty?
The game has four difficulty settings from One Life (permadeath with limited checkpoints) to Easy. The default difficulty is around the middle — most players will die a few times at bosses but rarely get stuck for long.

Keep reading

How Long to Beat Blasphemous

Blasphemous takes 12–18 hours for the main story. The true ending and full completion push closer to 25–30 hours.

How Long to Beat Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight's main ending takes 25–35 hours. The true ending and full completion push well past 50 — here's the full breakdown.

Hollow Knight True Ending Explained

Hollow Knight has five endings, and the 'true' one needs extra steps. Here's how to get Dream No More and what it actually says about Hallownest.