Ori and the Will of the Wisps difficulty settings: Explained

What the Difficulty Settings Actually Change

A beautiful forest can still deliver a punishing fight, so understanding Ori and the Will of the Wisps difficulty settings matters before you start. Your choice affects damage and stays locked for that playthrough, making an uncomfortable setting costly to reconsider later. Ori and the Will of the Wisps difficulty settings also leave the physical platforming intact, so choosing Easy still gives you the traversal challenges that define the adventure.

There are three options: Easy, Normal, and Hard. The central distinction is how much damage Ori deals and receives. Environmental hazards also become more or less punishing through their damage, but choosing a different mode does not simplify the actual jumps.

That distinction helps you identify what you want to adjust. If fighting enemies interrupts your enjoyment of exploring, lowering the difficulty can address that problem. If positioning and timing your jumps are the struggle, Easy does not remove the need to practice those movements.

Part of the game	Effect of the difficulty setting
Damage Ori deals	Changes with the selected difficulty
Damage Ori receives	Changes with the selected difficulty
Environmental hazard damage	Becomes more or less punishing
Physical platforming	Remains unchanged
Difficulty during a playthrough	Cannot be switched after the initial selection

The details here come from Kotaku’s guide to choosing an Ori and the Will of the Wisps difficulty level, a gaming media article published in March 2020. Its early combat examples provide useful comparisons, although they should not be treated as a complete formula for every encounter.

A good approach is to choose according to the challenge you want from combat. The movement demands remain, while the damage settings influence how forgiving mistakes feel.

Easy, Normal, and Hard: Reading the Damage Differences

Ori and the Will of the Wisps difficulty settings become easier to understand when you compare concrete attacks. Kotaku reports that Spirit Edge, Ori’s basic energy sword attack, deals eight damage to starter enemies on Easy and four on Normal.

In that example, Easy doubles the damage of a hit. That is a meaningful difference when you are learning how to approach an enemy, attack, and get out of danger.

Incoming damage changes as well. The article describes a standard starter-enemy attack costing half a cell on Easy, one cell on Normal, and two cells on Hard.

Reported early-game example	Easy	Normal	Hard
Spirit Edge damage against starter enemies	8 damage	4 damage	Not specified
Damage from a standard starter-enemy attack	Half a cell	One cell	Two cells

These figures describe the examples in the source. They do not establish a universal multiplier for every weapon, enemy, or hazard. In particular, the article does not supply a matching Hard-mode Spirit Edge damage figure, so that value should remain unspecified.

Easy Still Requires Attention

Easy increases your room for error in the reported starter encounters, but it does not guarantee survival. Kotaku describes the first mini-boss being capable of defeating Ori with one hit on both Easy and Normal.

The advantage in that encounter comes from offense: attacks on Easy remove a larger portion of the enemy’s health. You still need to recognize danger and avoid the damaging move.

A good approach is to use the shorter damage exchanges to practice deliberate attacks. Watch what the enemy does, choose an opening, and avoid assuming that Easy will protect you from every mistake.

Normal Gives You a Useful Comparison Point

Normal sits between the reported Easy and Hard incoming-damage examples. It is also the starting point Kotaku recommends for assessing your comfort with the game before reaching Kwolok’s Hollow.

That makes it a useful trial setting if you are undecided. Pay attention to whether combat feels demanding in an enjoyable way or repeatedly interrupts your desire to explore.

Hard Makes Mistakes More Expensive

The starter-enemy example shows the same incoming attack costing two cells on Hard instead of one on Normal. That gives you a concrete reason to expect less forgiveness from those encounters.

A good approach is to consider Hard if the early Normal encounters feel comfortable and you want greater pressure from incoming damage. Remember that trying it requires a separate playthrough; you cannot raise an existing save’s difficulty.

Why Easy Does Not Remove the Platforming Challenge

One of the most useful distinctions in Ori and the Will of the Wisps difficulty settings is the separation between movement and damage. The difficulty choice changes the consequences of certain mistakes without changing the physical platforming itself.

You still need to execute jumps and navigate the forest’s traversal challenges. Easy does not turn those sequences into automatic successes.

Environmental hazards complicate that distinction slightly. Their damage changes with difficulty, so a collision may have a different cost even when the movement required to avoid it remains the same.

Situation	What difficulty affects	A good approach
An enemy attack connects	The damage Ori receives	Observe the attack before committing to another hit
Ori lands an attack	The damage dealt	Use clear openings instead of rushing exchanges
Ori touches an environmental hazard	The damage taken	Identify where the movement went wrong
A jump requires precise positioning	The physical challenge remains	Practice the movement rather than expecting a mode change to simplify it

This gives you a practical way to evaluate frustration. After a difficult section, ask what actually caused the trouble. Was it an enemy taking longer to defeat? Was it damage from repeated collisions? Or was it difficulty executing the movement?

Those problems can feel similar when they lead to repeated attempts, but they point toward different responses. A lower setting directly addresses damage. Practicing the route addresses movement.

For a player interested mainly in exploration and traversal, a good approach is to consider Easy from the outset. That advice follows from the damage differences: easier combat can leave more attention available for movement, while the platforming still asks you to learn the controls and timing.

There is no need to treat the menu label as a judgment of ability. Choose the damage pressure that supports the experience you want.

Use Kwolok’s Hollow to Evaluate Your Choice

Because you cannot change modes within a playthrough, testing Ori and the Will of the Wisps difficulty settings early is more practical than waiting until you are deeply invested in a save.

Kotaku suggests beginning on Normal and reassessing when you reach Kwolok’s Hollow. The author reports taking about 90 minutes to reach that point while playing methodically. Treat that as one author’s experience, not a deadline or a promised completion time.

The checkpoint is useful because it gives you some experience with the game before you decide whether to continue or restart.

Stage	What to evaluate	Possible next step
Start on Normal	How the initial combat damage feels	Continue long enough to experience several challenges
Reach Kwolok’s Hollow	Whether defeats feel manageable or disruptive	Assess combat and movement separately
Normal feels comfortable	Whether you want more incoming-damage pressure	Keep the save or try Hard in another slot
Combat repeatedly interrupts enjoyment	Whether reduced damage pressure would help	Try Easy in a separate save

Do not base the decision on deaths alone. Consider what happens between them. If you understand why an attack caught you and enjoy making another attempt, the setting may suit you. If fights consistently drain your interest in exploring, a lower difficulty is worth testing.

The game offers 10 save slots, according to the source. That lets you keep your current run while experimenting with another difficulty.

You can also skip the prologue when beginning another playthrough. Kotaku estimates that doing so removes about 15 minutes from the opening. Again, that is the article’s estimate rather than an exact saving for every player.

A good approach is to preserve your original save and compare the early combat on a new one. This makes the decision concrete: you can judge the damage differences through play instead of relying entirely on the names Easy, Normal, and Hard.

Choose a Mode You Can Enjoy Beyond the Opening

The practical question behind Ori and the Will of the Wisps difficulty settings is how much combat pressure you want alongside exploration and platforming.

Easy offers stronger outgoing damage and reduced incoming damage in the reported examples. Normal provides the comparison point used in Kotaku’s suggested early trial. Hard increases the cost of incoming attacks in the starter-enemy example.

Before committing, consider these questions:

• Do you want fights to demand sustained attention, or would you prefer more focus on traversal?
• Are you comfortable repeating encounters while learning enemy attacks?
• Does higher incoming damage make the challenge more engaging for you?
• Would restarting later bother you more than testing another save now?

Your answers need not produce the same choice as someone else’s. The useful measure is whether the setting helps you enjoy the game’s combination of movement, exploration, and combat.

Once you have chosen, a good approach is to keep evaluating mistakes by their cause. Against enemies, watch for opportunities to attack without taking a hit in return. Around hazards, pay attention to positioning. During platforming, concentrate on the movement itself.

These are general strategy tips, not additional difficulty mechanics. They follow from the source’s central distinction: damage changes, while the physical traversal challenge remains.

Understanding Ori and the Will of the Wisps difficulty settings lets you make a deliberate choice before that choice becomes locked to a playthrough. If you are uncertain, the Normal-to-Kwolok’s-Hollow trial offers a concrete way to assess the experience, and separate save slots let you compare modes without discarding your initial run.

FAQ

Can you change Ori and the Will of the Wisps difficulty settings mid-game?

No. The difficulty selected at the beginning stays fixed for that playthrough. To try another setting, start a separate save. The source reports that the game provides 10 save slots.

Does Easy mode make the platforming easier?

The physical platforming remains unchanged. Easy changes damage, including damage from environmental hazards, so some mistakes can be less punishing. You still need to perform the jumps and navigate the traversal challenges.

What is the damage difference between Easy and Normal?

Kotaku reports Spirit Edge dealing eight damage to starter enemies on Easy and four on Normal. A standard starter-enemy attack costs half a cell on Easy and one cell on Normal. These are specific early-game examples, not a complete damage formula.

Is Kwolok’s Hollow a useful point to reconsider your difficulty?

Yes. Kotaku recommends using it as an early assessment point after starting on Normal. A good approach is to consider whether combat feels enjoyable there, then continue or test another difficulty in a separate save.