Spirit of the North's enchanting journey is magnificent on the Nintendo Switch Lite's screen, as played on for this review, and is even better on a large TV screen. The, at times, challenging game, has collectibles that add to the replay value, and playing as an unlocked snow fox in the snow magnifies the immersion of the game, with levels that beg to be experienced again simply for the fun of enjoying their beauty.
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.
Overall, the experience remains a valid alternative for players looking for a relaxing, short-lived title with ethereal atmospheres, despite the technical defects that prevent it from making its full potential shine.
Spirit of the North almost nails it. From the art to the characterisation, and even the wordless narrative structure, the developers have clearly put a lot of thought and creative energy into this, and it shows. You might want to play on another platform to get the full scope of the vision, because on Switch it is a little limited by the hardware, but even then, Spirit of the North has moments where it soars. It's just unfortunate that it keeps crashing into walls along the way, as the developers tried to justify the existence of the game by what can only be termed "gameplay bits", and every time that happens the motor takes a while to get going again. If you can handle the clumsy pacing and arbitrary puzzles and collectibles, though, Spirit of the North really is beautifully earnest in what it is looking to achieve.
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. There’s a meditative, thoughtful, and even great game that’s underneath all of the uncomplimentary design decisions, and the poor technical performance of the Switch port is the nail in the coffin of an already flawed experience.
Sadly, my drive to persist was sapped by a series of glitches in one section that led me to replay the same should-have-been-easy bit over and over again. That was bad enough, but combined with the poor controls, lack of engaging gameplay, an inability to manually save and infrequent checkpoints, every session was a slog. Writing a negative review for Spirit of the North is tough because on paper, it seems like something I’d fall in love with. That said, it’s just not a good experience — my appreciation for its non-violent content and environmental themes can’t carry its many shortcomings.
Games like this can work very well if they’re backed up by visually stunning graphics and clever gameplay, but unfortunately, Spirit of the North has neither.
SummarySpirit of the North is a single-player 3rd-person adventure game inspired by the breathtaking and mysterious landscapes of Iceland with various pieces of Nordic folklore. The game purposefully has no dialog or narrative. Breathe in the surroundings to solve various puzzles and speculate the meaning of a lost ancient civilization.