Dust: An Elysian Tail vs Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Dust: An Elysian Tail is an action-RPG platformer game from Humble Hearts LLC (2013) while Ori and the Will of the Wisps is an action-adventure open-world game from Moon Studios (2020).
What each one is
Steam files Dust: An Elysian Tail under Action-RPG and Platformer. In contrast, it files Ori and the Will of the Wisps under Action-Adventure and Open-World.
Immerse yourself in a gorgeous hand-painted world on a search for your true identity. As the mysterious warrior, Dust, your action-packed journey will take you from peaceful glades to snowy mountaintops and beyond.
Play the critically acclaimed masterpiece. Embark on a new journey in a vast, exotic world where you’ll encounter towering enemies and challenging puzzles on your quest to unravel Ori’s destiny.
At a glance
| Dust: An Elysian Tail | Ori and the Will of the Wisps | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.0/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Steam rating | Overwhelmingly Positive (95%, 19,062) | Overwhelmingly Positive (97%, 146,084) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 88/100 |
| Price | $14.99 | $29.99 |
| Install size | — | 20 GB |
| Steam Deck | verified | playable |
| Released | 2013 | 2020 |
| Developer | Humble Hearts LLC | Moon Studios |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Dust: An Elysian Tail vs Ori and the Will of the Wisps, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Dust: An Elysian TailAction-RPG platformer gameOri and the Will of the WispsAction-adventure open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Dust: An Elysian TailAction, Platformer, MetroidvaniaOri and the Will of the WispsBeautiful, Metroidvania, PlatformerThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Dust: An Elysian TailScore 8.0 · 95% on SteamOri and the Will of the Wisps ✓Score 8.3 · 97% on Steam · 88 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Dust: An Elysian Tail19,062 reviewsOri and the Will of the Wisps146,084 reviews · 1 add-on · 20 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Dust: An Elysian Tail ✓$14.99Ori and the Will of the Wisps$29.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Dust: An Elysian Tail ✓VerifiedOri and the Will of the WispsPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Dust: An Elysian Tail takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueDust: An Elysian Tail and Ori and the Will of the Wisps on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
- Xbox
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Ori and the Will of the Wisps (GamingPickz Score 8.3)
- The cheaper right now: Dust: An Elysian Tail ($14.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Dust: An Elysian Tail (verified)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Ori and the Will of the Wisps (146,084 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
ActionPlatformerMetroidvaniaIndieAdventure2DSingleplayerFantasy
Where they differ
RPGBeat 'em upHack and SlashControllerSide ScrollerAnime
CuteAction-AdventurePuzzleEmotionalDifficultOpen World
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Dust: An Elysian Tail is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is demanding, for players who want a challenge.
System requirements, side by side
| Dust: An Elysian Tail | Ori and the Will of the Wisps | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | DirectX 10 compatible video card with shader model 3.0 support | Nvidia GTX 950 |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8Ghz | AMD Athlon X4 |
| Minimum RAM | 1 GB | 8 GB |
| Install size | — | 20 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Dust: An Elysian Tail · Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Dust: An Elysian Tail and 1 for Ori and the Will of the Wisps. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are Dust: An Elysian Tail and Ori and the Will of the Wisps in scope?
Dust: An Elysian Tail has drawn 19,062 Steam reviews. Ori and the Will of the Wisps has drawn 146,084 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 20 GB.
Is Dust: An Elysian Tail or Ori and the Will of the Wisps better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Ori and the Will of the Wisps rates higher (8.3 to 8.0). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Dust: An Elysian Tail or Ori and the Will of the Wisps?
Dust: An Elysian Tail is cheaper right now at $14.99, against $29.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.