In an anxiety punishing change of pace from 3+ animal fronted puzzle platformers, Spirit of the North aims to cut through the status quo with its own simplified brand of platforming. In the same vein as games such as Rime and Fi, Spirit of the North throws a curve-ball for fans of the adventure genre.
Players will be assuming the role of a curious Fox who notices something isn’t quite right with a long trail of blood red smoke that’s painted across a pale Nordic sky. Curiosity only kills cats, right? As players begin to explore the snowy landscape, a Spirit Fox begins tags along for the ride. It looks like this spirit may be the very same Spirit of the Northern Lights from Nordic fables, my opinions are my own.
As the minimalist story expands, Fox enthusiasts will find themselves on a grand adventure in true platforming style. The main mechanic here is using the Spirits powers to provide energy to open doorways, reunite dead Sharmans with their staffs and other puzzler features. The atmosphere and energy of Spirit of the North is almost its own character, with stone carvings providing the one source of narrative flex and a sweeping yet minimalist soundtrack that as times reminds me of Breath of the Wild.
Switch Downgrade
Unfortunately, Spirit of the North isn’t made for the Nintendo Switch visually and has received a significant downgrade lacking polish. Given that this title isn’t the most demanding title and could probably run on previous generations hardware, it’s a shame so see the infamous Switch port ‘Muddy Screen’. Although the frame rate can drop at times, Spirit of the North does try to make up in terms of presentation by providing great draw distances which keeps the feel of grandeur in fact throughout.
The control layout is quite a simple one and is a classic 3D platformer design, reserving the face buttons to bark at energy giving flowers, jump and retrieve your power once it has been given to a keystone. Shoulder buttons provide players access to sprinting and jumping, it’s nice when a developer gives players options.
Slight Control Issues
The directional mapping of the L Stick however isn’t great, and the animations to match simply flip to the characters Fox model in a different position. This did cause mis-jumps throughout this review playthrough. The art direction seems to be at odds with itself, whilst Spirit of the North pines for photorealism on the surface, it’s use of texture mapping lets it down. For example, the Fox’s face looks like it came straight out of a webcam face mod for Quake II:
It’s obvious that the Nintendo Switch is not the best option though, Spirit of the North’s home seems to lie in the traditional home console brands. Overall, Spirit of the North is a great immersive title and one that could be easily recommended. What it lacks in polish, it makes up for in atmosphere and beautiful level designs.
