Ori and the Will of the Wisps how to save: Saves and Backups

How Saving Works: The Quick Answer

Wondering “Ori and the Will of the Wisps how to save” before closing the game? Knowing what has actually been saved matters because a recent pickup or purchase can leave you with progress you cannot easily recover or undo. This “Ori and the Will of the Wisps how to save” guide explains the essentials: watch for autosaves, use a Spirit Well for a deliberate save, and keep a separate copied slot when you want to preserve an earlier state.

The game uses automatic saving alongside manual save points at Spirit Wells. You cannot open a menu and freely create a new save wherever Ori happens to be. It also replaces the previous game’s Soul Link saving system, so habits carried over from that adventure may cause confusion.

The GameSpew guide to saving in Ori and the Will of the Wisps describes frequent autosaving and identifies the save icon in the bottom-left corner as the signal to watch.

The important distinction is between saving your current progress and preserving a particular moment for later. A Spirit Well handles the former. A separate copied save slot can help with the latter.

Saving option	What the supplied sources describe	Limitation to understand
Autosave	The game automatically records progress during play	Do not assume every action immediately triggers a save
Spirit Well	A location where you can deliberately save	Later saving can replace the active slot’s earlier state
Backup saves	Earlier saves available through the main menu	Community reports describe backups being overwritten over time
Copied save slot	A separate copy of an existing slot	Player experience recommends leaving that copy unplayed

For a normal stopping point, checking that your progress has saved is the immediate task. If you want to experiment and return to an exact earlier state, you need to think about preserving that state separately.

Autosaves: Watch the Icon Before You Quit

For ordinary play, the answer to Ori and the Will of the Wisps how to save starts with the autosave indicator. GameSpew places it in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

Image: Steam / Moon Studios GmbH

A good approach is to notice when that indicator appears after progress you care about, then let the saving activity finish before quitting. This gives you a visible cue instead of relying on an assumption that the game saved after a particular action.

A Pickup Does Not Necessarily Mean a Save

GameSpew specifically warns that collecting an item does not always coincide with an autosave. If Ori dies shortly afterward, you may need to collect that item again.

That distinction matters after a difficult detour. Reaching a collectible, surviving the return trip, and seeing a save indication are separate things. A good approach is to confirm saving after the detour, especially if you plan to stop playing immediately.

The supplied guide describes frequent autosaves, but it does not establish a fixed interval or a complete list of triggers. Avoid treating a certain amount of walking, a room transition, or a purchase as a guaranteed saving rule.

Death and Reloading an Earlier State Are Different Concerns

Player experience: In the supplied Spirit Willow walkthrough, the creator destroys an obstacle, dies afterward, and observes that the destroyed obstacle remains cleared. That shows progress surviving death in that particular sequence.

It does not establish that every collectible or completed action always survives death. The pickup warning in GameSpew’s guide is a reason to keep checking the save indicator.

Likewise, frequent autosaving can help preserve forward progress while making it harder to return to a specific earlier moment. If your concern is undoing an upgrade purchase, the backup and copied-slot options below are more relevant than simply waiting for another autosave.

Spirit Wells: How to Save Deliberately

The manual part of Ori and the Will of the Wisps how to save centers on Spirit Wells. GameSpew recommends visiting one before quitting when a well is nearby, and the supplied Steam discussion also identifies Spirit Wells as save locations.

Image: Steam / Moon Studios GmbH

You do not need an invented keyboard shortcut or a platform-specific button combination to understand the process. Follow the interaction shown by your version of the game.

Step	What to do	What you are checking
Find a stopping point	Visit a nearby Spirit Well	You have reached a manual save location
Save	Use the well’s save interaction	You have deliberately requested a save
Confirm	Watch for the game’s saving indication or confirmation	The save action has registered
Finish the session	Return to the main menu after saving finishes	Your stopping point has been saved

Player experience: The supplied Spirit Willow gameplay video showing a deliberate save includes the creator stopping at a save location and acknowledging that the game has saved. It provides an example of using a deliberate save during a demanding stretch of gameplay.

Manual Saving Does Not Freeze the Active Slot

A Spirit Well save should not be confused with a permanent snapshot that remains available indefinitely.

Player experience: In the Steam discussion, the original poster saved at a manual save point, resumed later, and purchased abilities. They then found that the earlier state was no longer available among the recent backups they wanted to use.

The useful lesson is that deliberately saving establishes your current progress; it does not protect that moment from subsequent saving in the same active slot.

A good approach is to use a Spirit Well before ending a session. If you also want to return to that moment after experimenting, preserve a separate copy before continuing.

Backup Saves: Recovering an Earlier Point

Another part of Ori and the Will of the Wisps how to save is knowing where to look when the current state is not the one you want.

Image: YouTube / Lara Loft

GameSpew says backup saves are accessible through the main menu. The supplied Steam discussion gives additional detail: select a save slot and look for its backups option. The discussion’s wording does not establish a universal menu label, so follow the option displayed in your version.

Community reports: A December 2020 reply also says backup access was available from the in-game menu after patch #3. That is a historical report about that version, rather than a guarantee about every platform’s present interface.

Check the Available States Before Resuming

A good approach is to inspect backups promptly when you realize you need an earlier state. Continuing to play may allow further automatic saves to replace the backup you hoped to use.

Situation	What a backup may provide	Source-based limitation
You want an earlier point in the session	A previously recorded save state	Available states depend on the backups still retained
You want to undo a purchase	A save from before that purchase, if retained	Recent backups may already include the purchase
You want an exact manual save	A matching earlier state, if available	A Spirit Well save is not guaranteed to remain separately preserved
You keep playing before checking	Newer saved progress	Community reports describe older backups being replaced

Player experience: The Steam thread’s original poster reported finding recent backups that already contained purchased upgrades. Returning to a pre-purchase state required replaying a section they estimated at 15–20 minutes.

That is a reported player experience, not a standard rollback duration. It also explains why this guide does not promise that recovering an earlier decision will always cost only a small amount of replay.

Before loading an older backup, consider what you completed afterward. A good approach is to choose the closest available state that still serves your purpose, rather than assuming the oldest backup is necessary.

Preserve a Save Before Experimenting

If your reason for searching Ori and the Will of the Wisps how to save is to try different abilities without losing your starting point, the supplied community discussion offers a more deliberate workaround: copy your save into an unused slot.

Community reports: A reply recommends copying an existing save slot into a free slot and leaving the backup copy unplayed. The original poster later confirms that copying their save through the main menu provided the workaround they wanted.

The distinction is straightforward. Rotating backups belong to the game’s ongoing saving behavior. A separate copied slot preserves another state that you can leave alone while continuing in your active slot.

A Save-Preservation Routine

Based on that player experience, a good approach is to:

• Save your current progress at a Spirit Well.
• Return to the main menu.
• Use the save-slot copying option to copy that state into a free slot.
• Continue experimenting in your original active slot.
• Leave the copied slot unplayed while you want to preserve it.

The sources do not provide platform-specific button prompts or the exact number of available slots. Use the options your game presents rather than assuming a particular control or slot count.

Your goal	A source-based approach
Stop playing with current progress saved	Confirm an autosave or save at a Spirit Well
Recover a recent earlier state	Inspect the available backup saves
Preserve a pre-purchase state	Copy the saved slot into a free slot before experimenting
Keep that copied state available	Follow the community advice to leave the copy unplayed

Steam Cloud Does Not Control Local Autosaving

Player experience: One forum reply suggested disabling Steam Cloud synchronization. The original poster tried it and reported that backup saving continued.

That follow-up matters: the supplied evidence does not support disabling Steam Cloud as a way to stop local autosaves or freeze a manual save.

For Ori and the Will of the Wisps how to save troubleshooting, identify the goal first. Confirming current progress, recovering an earlier backup, and preserving a pre-experiment state require different actions. The copied-slot workaround directly addresses the preservation problem described in the discussion.

FAQ

Ori and the Will of the Wisps how to save: can I save anywhere?

No. GameSpew’s guide says the game does not offer a menu command for freely saving wherever you are. It uses autosaves and manual save locations at Spirit Wells.

How do I know my progress has saved?

Watch for the save icon in the bottom-left corner, as described by GameSpew. A good approach is to let the saving indication finish before quitting. For a deliberate save before ending a session, visit a nearby Spirit Well and use its save interaction.

Can I reload a save from before buying an ability?

Possibly, if a suitable backup remains available. Player experience: The supplied Steam discussion describes recent backups already containing purchases. Before experimenting, a good approach is to copy your saved slot into a free slot and leave that copy unplayed.

Will disabling Steam Cloud stop the game from overwriting backups?

The supplied discussion does not support that conclusion. Player experience: The original poster disabled cloud synchronization and reported that backup saving continued. They later confirmed that copying their save into another slot provided a workable way to preserve the earlier state.