Spirit of the North Reviews
When it comes to presentation, Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition is a treat and a real step up from the other versions of the game. It’s just a shame the visual overhaul doesn’t do much to offset the monotonous gameplay and abundant bugs that plague the experience. I really wish Infuse Studio spent a little more time ironing out the kinks because it would make it easier to recommend the game to more casual players who may not mind the game’s lack of challenge and unimaginative puzzles. Sadly, at least in its current state, Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition is a bit like finding yourself trapped in a public bathroom without any toilet paper: it’s a frustrating and lonely situation that you’ll probably want to avoid.
An oftentimes-gorgeous game whose shifts in gameplay focus make way for a dispiriting experience as time goes on.
Spirit of the North may have been a noteworthy game if it released a decade prior but it's far too uninspired in today's gaming market.
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.
A game relaxing to the point of dullness.
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.
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.
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.
Spirit of the North is one of those games that had everything to be a good success story. After all, in addition to having an interesting premise and being visually attractive, it is the debut title of a developer with only two people. However, going beyond its appearance, there is a frustrating title, with confusing design, problematic controls and boring missions. The hope is that Infuse Studio will take all the experience gained from this debut title and further improve its development for future games. The graphics technique, apparently, they already have. All that remains is to tighten the loose screws on the gameplay side.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Red fox in mysterious landscapes of Iceland. Sounds good, but gameplay is not very adequate, as well as controls.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
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. .
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 remains a beautiful but hollow experience on PS5. The 4K 60 frames upgrade is glorious to behold, but the lack of DualSense integration in a game that’s crying out for it and hangups from the last-gen version makes it difficult to recommend.
Sadly the lonely experience of Spirit of the North is only a transparent, albeit beautiful, imitation.
What Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition does, it does well. Essentially, what is on offer here is a beautiful relaxing experience accompanied by a haunting and fitting soundtrack. Occasionally some sort of gameplay element and extremely light puzzling will be experienced, although this is often hampered by janky controls and glitching. The sheer gorgeousness of the world old red inhabits is worthy of admission alone, and the overall style and presentation of the package is what elevates this from "leave well alone" to "give it a lazy Sunday try." If already owning the original release, there's nothing here to justify jumping back in for, but for newcomers looking for something a bit different, certainly consider giving this fox a fumble.
What you should take away from this, then, is that Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition isn’t a great game. I’d even struggle to call it good. It’s overly simple at times, and when the puzzles do ramp up, they quickly become repetitive or let down by the game’s stilted controls. But it’s not all bad. You’ll no doubt enjoy taking in the picturesque scenery and listening to the game’s wonderful soundtrack, and there are some pockets of fun to be found. If you’re after something a little bit different and have a lot of patience, give it a try, especially if you like foxes. If not, steer clear, or maybe pick it up in a sale.
Spirit of the North almost nails it.
It's visually quite stunning and features a solid but overplayed soundtrack. There are moments of brilliance sprinkled in with an otherwise thoroughly mediocre experience. I wouldn't say I hated my time with Spirit of the North, but I'd certainly have rather spent it elsewhere.
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 offers a novel and charming adventure, but there were a few too many annoyances to be found within its gameplay to make it essential playing. Whilst the puzzles were clever in design and the environments both stylish and vibrant, the awkward controls and some dull gameplay mechanics just held things back a bit too much. Despite these flaws, I did have fun with Spirit of the North – I just wish that some aspects of its design were a bit more streamlined and accessible to make the experience that bit more enjoyable.