Spirit of the North Reviews
Spirit of the North is a lovingly crafted indie adventure that's let down by some wonky platforming and simple puzzling, while the mysterious explorative adventuring evokes the memory of Journey, just without quite achieving the same emotional impact.
Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition is a short and lighthearted adventure that boasts a good visual department but is crippled by several annoying technical problems.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Spirit of the North may look beautiful, sound beautiful, but is a confusing and boring mess. It tries too hard to be artsy while disregarding the importance of fun gameplay and an interesting story. During their short playtime, players are required to interpret the weak narrative and their overall purpose in the game. The only replayability comes from completing the collect-a-thon. However, that provides zero satisfaction to the player and has a hard time trying to stay relevant to the gameplay and story at large.
Spirit of the North is a decent game let down some by subpar controls and underuse of the player character's abilities. It still manages to be somewhat entertaining but is far from a must-play.
Spirit of the North Enhanced Edition may look great at 4K and run smoother at 60 FPS, but with no gameplay changes, barely any meaningful use of the DualSense, and a lack of gameplay improvements the indie-adventure doesn't offer much of a reason to play. This enhanced edition isn't bad by any means, but it just doesn't offer much of a reason to check it out for new or returning players, especially given the price increase.
Infuse Studio has done a fantastic job in remastering Spirit of the North's visuals for PS5, but while it looks gorgeous, this edition neglects the elements that needed an update most. Though the controls remain stiff and your objectives aren't always clear, anyone willing to look past this will find a wonderful experience at the core. If you've been searching for a new adventure game, Spirit of the North is short but sweet and despite these flaws, comes recommended.
Even as a fairly short game, Spirit of the North managed to accomplish what it had set out to achieve – to tell us a story without words and to slow us down. A truly unique experience where the visuals and music were its greatest strengths, it shows that a game does not have to be filled with excitement for it to be gratifying. It wasn’t a perfect adventure, but it served as an important reminder to always be curious about your surroundings, to take your time, and to stop and smell the flowers.
Spirit of the North simply doesn’t hold up well on the Switch, and with poor gameplay and visuals, its relatively short 3 to 4-hour length felt much longer as a result.
I really wanted to enjoy Spirit of the North as someone who is passionate for Nordic folklore, meditative video game experiences, and foxes. Unfortunately, amid the game's performance issues and lackluster gameplay, the title comes across as unfocused at best and unplayable at worst. .
Exploring Iceland as a furry fox friend has been a real treat. It's delicious eye candy with a satisfyingly chewy center. Yes, there were times when I hoped for a little more direction in solving puzzles. Those brand new help cards on the PlayStation 5 dashboard sure would have been nice (fingers crossed we see those when the game officially releases). That said, Spirit of the North is too beautiful and captivating to be disappointed for long. If you love games like Lost Ember, I can't recommend adding Spirit of the North to your collection enough.
A game relaxing to the point of dullness.
Spirit of the North - Enhanced Edition offers up a majestic, yet melancholy narrative that will bring some peace to a weary mind, or at least try to lull you to relax. Sadly, that lull can often be disrupted by the controls, as their inaccuracy might take you out of the moment and create frustration. The game does still manage to be more entertaining than not, especially with its visuals and music.
Spirit of the North Enhanced Edition is a visually impressive narrative experience that foregoes dialogue for atmosphere and world-building.
Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition is a game trying so hard to replicate and better its peers that it loses its way. From the story and lore of the world, to the puzzle solving and even the visuals, everything about it feels held back and the little it does well isn't enough to justify its lengthy playtime.
Spirit of the North is a beautiful experience with a gorgeous score, beautiful environments, and peaceful gameplay, but its late inconsistencies make it a missed opportunity for a complete package.
Spirit of the North has much to offer, even though some of the finer points get lost in between the cracks, it's a journey well worth taking.
Spirit of the North is an atmospheric, evocative adventure game with puzzle/platforming elements that—despite being clumsily implemented in parts—are ultimately rewarding if you stick with it.
Spirit of the North is an audio-visual treat, let down by weak gameplay.
Spirit of the North is an audio-visual treat, let down by weak gameplay.
Not the worst game in the world and although on paper the pros slightly outweigh the cons I'm finding it incredibly hard to really recommend it beyond it being a nice idea.