Spirit of the North
A fox gains spirit powers in a wordless adventure.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Spirit of the North is a third-person adventure game from Infuse Studio and publisher Merge Games. It first launched on PlayStation 4 in November 2019, and later arrived on Windows and Nintendo Switch in May 2020. The game has no dialogue or story, and follows a fox that collapses from exhaustion and then acquires spirit powers. An Enhanced Edition came out for PlayStation 5 in November 2020 and for Xbox Series X/S in June 2021.
Critics gave the game mixed reviews. They praised its art direction and music, but largely criticized the gameplay and visual performance. The Enhanced Edition drew similar reactions, with reviewers noting its controls and gameplay remained problematic. A sequel, Spirit of the North 2, was announced in October 2023 and released in May 2025.
On Metacritic, the original Windows version scored 58 out of 100, the Switch version 59, and the PlayStation 4 version 67. The PlayStation 5 Enhanced Edition received a 64. Joe Keeley of Adventure Gamers gave the Windows version 2 out of 5 stars, calling it "disappointing" despite good looks and sound, and describing movement as "imprecise and fiddly." Ollie Reynolds of Nintendo Life rated the Switch version 4 out of 10, comparing it to Journey. He praised its "ambitious" art and "gorgeous" soundtrack, but noted the graphics suffered on Switch and the controls were sluggish, saying "the fox simply doesn't react to your inputs quickly enough" and that jumping and swimming felt "infuriatingly sluggish." Henry Stockdale of Push Square gave the PlayStation 5 version 7 out of 10, calling it "gorgeous" but criticizing the Enhanced Edition for not fixing core issues, calling the controls "stiff" and the re-release a "wasted opportunity."
Quick Facts
- Title
- Spirit of the North
- Developer
- Infuse Studio
- Publisher
- Merge Games, Silver Lining Interactive
- Composer
- Joseph Gifford
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows · Nintendo Switch · PlayStation 4 · PlayStation 5 · Xbox Series X/S
- Genre
- Adventure
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Spirit of the North is a third-person adventure game with no dialog or narrative. The player controls a fox that, after collapsing from exhaustion, gains the powers of a spirit. The game was developed by Infuse Studio and published by Merge Games. It first released on November 1, 2019 for PlayStation 4, followed by Windows and Nintendo Switch versions on May 7, 2020. An Enhanced Edition was released for PlayStation 5 on November 26, 2020 and for Xbox Series X/S on June 29, 2021. A sequel, Spirit of the North 2, was announced in October 2023 and released on May 8, 2025.
Reader's Guide
Spirit of the North received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its art design and soundtrack but predominantly criticized its gameplay and visual performance. The Enhanced Edition received similar reviews, mainly on account of its controls and gameplay. On Metacritic, the original Windows version scored 58/100, the Switch version 59/100, and the PlayStation 4 version 67/100; the PlayStation 5 Enhanced Edition scored 64/100. Joe Keeley of Adventure Gamers gave the Windows version 2/5 stars, calling the movement 'imprecise and fiddly'. Ollie Reynolds of Nintendo Life gave the Switch version 4/10, comparing it to Journey and praising its art style as 'ambitious' and soundtrack as 'gorgeous', but noting that graphics suffered on Switch and controls were sluggish. Henry Stockdale of Push Square gave the PlayStation 5 version 7/10, calling it 'gorgeous' but saying the Enhanced Edition neglected to improve needed elements, with controls still 'stiff' and the re-release a 'wasted opportunity' to fix original issues.
Did You Know?
- The game contains no dialog or narrative.
- The fox gains the powers of a spirit after collapsing from exhaustion.
More in Adventure Games of the 2010s, Part 4 1-24
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