The creator of Ori and the creative director of Moon Studios, Thomas Mahler, has said that the team’s upcoming action RPG will either make or break his studio.
Mahler often takes to Twitter about Moon Studios’ upcoming project and recently revealed that the studio’s next game will be a full-blown ARPG. In addition, Mahler said that he believes that, he and his team could improve upon the open-world design of Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring.
The Ori creator has now posted a new tweet, mentioning that his next game can either revolutionize the ARPG genre or could mean the end for Moon Studios – quite drastic for sure.
“Our next project is going to be a make-or-break moment for Moon: Either we manage to revolutionize the ARPG genre or we’ll slowly fade away into the distance”, Mahler tweeted. “While that should be scary, I LOVE the challenge! Diablo, PoE, etc.: We’re coming for you, may the best one win!”
Strong words from the creative director of Moon Studios, and of course, we rather the have studio’s upcoming game change the way we look at action RPGs.
Founded as an independent studio in 2010, Moon Studios’ first title was 2015’s Ori and the Blind Forest for Xbox and PC. The game was later released for the Nintendo Switch as well. A sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, was released in 2020 for Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Here’s what we wrote about this tragic masterpiece in our launch review:
The story is far more expanded in Will of the Wisps, one of many improvements the developers at Moon Studios have made in the sequel. On top of your quest to find your friend, there are also dozens of side quests and fellow adventurers you’ll meet as you explore the island. Some of these quests are simply pointing the way to the game’s various collectibles, giving you clues of the areas to explore. Others offer you the chance to explore areas of the world that are not on your main quest path, which is a reward in and of itself but also lets you speak to some of the characters. The dialogue is simple, but it does a fantastic job of expressing the feel of the characters and really reinforces the tone of the surroundings.
And the level design in Will of Wisps is just as good, if not better than the Blind Forest. At first glance, it might appear like you have nothing but the generic level templates to explore: water zone, desert, ice zone, etc but Will of Wisps has an incredibly unique and beautiful design that makes every single one of them feel fresh. Transitioning from the dense foliage of the forest to the sublime blues of the water is breath-taking and so perfectly captures that paradise the game wants you to picture. The opposite is also true, traveling into the Silent Woods and discovers a field of petrified giant owls is haunting and bleak, and the game captures that mood perfectly as well. Each area is stuffed with collectibles but honestly, you don’t need a reason to explore the island, though you might need to wait before you can delve into every nook and cranny.
