Spirit of the North 2 Review—A Quiet, Curious Journey With Room to Grow

Every time a new game for reviewing comes to my inbox, I can't help but feel excited—especially when the game is one I actually anticipated and couldn't wait to play.

When I saw the email with the Spirit of the North 2 title, I must say I didn't even know that a sequel was in the works, let alone that the game was about to come out. Since I spent some time with the first game, I thought, sure, why not? The original wasn't that bad; the sequel couldn't be bad either.

I played the original last year, actually. I was browsing the Game Pass games, and Spirit of the North seemed interesting. I mean, how often do you have a chance to play a game whose main character is a fox? After spending a couple of hours with the game, I simply dropped it; I can't remember if it was due to other obligations and lack of free time, or if I simply lost interest.

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Spirit of the North 2

In any case, I didn't finish the game, and once the sequel came to me, I thought, well, this one I will finish—if for nothing else, then for the obligation as a game reviewer. However, it didn't take very long for me to realise that this sequel is miles ahead of its predecessor, and even if there weren't any obligations, I'd still finish the game without second thoughts.

From the very beginning, you'll see that Spirit of the North 2 is a far more serious game, with much greater attention to detail than the original. Once you load the game, you'll have a chance to create your character using a very detailed character creator. Your character is still a fox, but you can make it skinnier or heavier; you can adjust its other physical attributes and even give it a unique name.

Also, once you start the game, you'll be as lost and confused as a little fox on whose shoulders rests the fate of the Northern Lands—and she doesn't even know it (I like to think the fox I created is a girl—so from now on, she will be).

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Spirit of the North 2

As I said, you'll be genuinely confused, because the game is designed to make you feel like you're actually a fox. In this regard, I must say the developers really nailed it.

There are hardly any indicators on the screen, apart from some very vague ones whose meaning you'll have to figure out on your own. To explain plainly, the game doesn't hold your hand at all. No tutorials that pop up all the time—just pure discovery, but through the eyes and brain of a fox, not a human being.

For example, the game will never tell you where to go or what to do next; instead, you'll see some red light on the horizon, and as a curious fox, you'll go and see what that light means. Once you get there, the next vague hint will appear for you to figure out the next step.

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Spirit of the North 2

Or in another case, you'll come to a dead tree, and the game will indicate that this is a sacred tree. Around it, you'll find another three smaller trees, and since you're a fox and can't read or anything, the game will force your curiosity.

Each tree will require something to add to it, and that something is a wisp. Now, the wisps can be found in the world, but the game will never tell you how; all you'll get is a small red wisp you can chase, and once you get it, it will transform into the normal wisp the fox can absorb.

I'm telling you—nothing is explained, and the whole time while playing, you'll feel like you're actually a fox, not a human being. Seriously, all the kudos to Infuse Studios for making such an immersive experience.

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Spirit of the North 2

With all that being said, you can probably assume that even the game's story is written in the same mysterious manner—and your assumption would be correct. The entire time, your objective as a fox will be totally unknown—all you're going to do is discover the next piece of the puzzle and the next place you need to go. And if you think it's a boring experience, you couldn't be more wrong.

All that confusion just brings more curiosity in, and before you know it, you'll be wandering through huge northern wastelands and their rich dungeons without even realising how much time you've actually burnt doing so.

While exploring the world, you'll find sets of scrolls left by the ancient tribes that lived in these lands. Those scrolls mostly tell the story and background behind your little adventure. I can't say they're super interesting, but the story holds its own and sparks a sense of curiosity in you.

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Spirit of the North 2

Regarding the gameplay, don't expect anything highly sophisticated—you're a fox, after all. You can sprint, jump, glide with the help of the crow (your sidekick), and do the usual platforming stuff.

There are health and stamina mechanics and different runes you can equip to gain new skills. Apart from that, the game features an entire skill tree where you can upgrade things like health, stamina, the amount of crystals you can carry, and more.

Crystals work like souls in Dark Souls games: you can find them in the world and use them for purchasing things or unlocking Obelisks, which open up parts of the map, and if you lose them, you'll have to retrace the steps to the place where you died to pick them up—an obvious reference to the mechanics introduced in Dark Souls games.

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Spirit of the North 2

Speaking of maps, the one in Spirit of the North 2 is really huge—too big for the small fox with no other means of transportation than her own small legs. As you've probably assumed, Spirit of the North 2 is an open-world game featuring a really big map but with not so much activity on it.

If I can mention one bad thing in Spirit of the North 2, it would be its unnecessarily big map. It's not about the size, really—it's about the reduced activity. If you explore one area, you'll find several locations, including some ruins, dungeons, and places in general where you must gather stuff to progress further in the game.

However, once you finish that area, reaching the next one is a real pain in the neck. You're going to have to traverse really large distances to reach it, with nothing to do, and that can get extremely boring and tedious.

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Spirit of the North 2

Once you discover a part of the map, you'll have a spot from which you can fast travel, and that's a good thing—but discovering those places can get really tedious, something the game would definitely benefit from if the developers had decided to make the map smaller. But it is what it is.

Graphically speaking, Spirit of the North 2 is nothing revolutionary, and I must say I'm a bit disappointed in this particular segment. The game looks decent—but no more than that.

The fox and raven models are okay, but everything else in the game looks too dated. The biggest issue for me are the quite bad textures. First, they won't properly load, and some places will look pale and blunt. Second, those graphical shimmers while loading the textures make the game look awful at times.

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Spirit of the North 2

Also, the overuse of fog effects is notable. Some places, like certain dungeons and the areas with more greenery, look even good—but those are rare occasions, really. In general, the visual presentation is far below the expected level, and the game with such a unique theme would really benefit from better-looking graphics.

Regarding performance, I had a couple of crashes while playing, and I couldn't get over the already mentioned texture glitches, which looked quite bad. I hope the developers will address this problem soon—ideally in a day-one patch.

Sounds are okay, with calming music playing in the background having a sort of therapeutic effect while you're playing. At the end of the day, this is that kind of game—calming and soothing—and the music elevates that experience even further. So sound-wise, no complaints at all.

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Spirit of the North 2

Conclusion

Spirit of the North 2 is a very good sequel to a game that wasn't all that popular, which made us wonder if making a sequel was a good move. However, if you liked the first game, this one will elevate everything to a whole new level.

With a solid open-world and dungeon-orientated concept (excluding the unnecessarily huge map) and a mysterious adventure where you have to figure out almost everything on your own, this game will be a lot of fun—I’m sure of it.

However, be ready to overlook some technical issues and below-average graphical presentation. If you're okay with that—whether you're a returning player or a newcomer—Spirit of the North 2 will be a fun ride for you.