Other times, I managed to get stuck entirely inside a wall or other object in the environment and would need to restart the level. There were a handful of times I found myself thinking I’d hit a brick wall only to discover I’d missed a narrow pathway that was nearly invisible in a darkened room. There are no enemies to battle, no real lore to uncover apart from ancient murals dotted with pictographs and the staves, as mentioned earlier, which litter each locale.įinding your way through the environments can be a bit maddening as well. Sadly, they never really get more ambitious than using your power to activate mechanisms to open your way to the next area. Of course, I could forgive the game for this if the puzzles were at least compelling. And let me tell you, it’s just as tedious as it sounds. This is the basic beat of every puzzle in Spirit of the North. Like backtracking? You’ll love this! However, if you’re like me and value your time, you’ll likely find it pretty insufferable. Now that you’ve used the bark, you’re fresh out of juice and need to return to the flowers you just came from to consume their energy before you can return to the glyph that you were just at to activate it finally. Next, you’ll have to make your way to the strange growth and destroy it with your spirit bark. First, you’ll need to find a flower and absorb its power. For example, let’s say you want to activate a glyph that’s blocked by corruption. However, it’s how the game implements these powers that’s perhaps the most frustrating thing about Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition. On paper, this sounds pretty cool, right? Well, it would be. Once absorbed, this light can be used to do things like activating glyphs that power ancient machinery, assume a spectral form to pass through certain obstacles, and even unleash a mighty spirit bark that can destroy a dark corruption contaminating some areas. It doesn’t take long before you encounter the spirit of a female fox who grants you the power to absorb light from strange flowers that grow around each area. At first, you aren’t able to do much more than bark, jump, and pick up ancient staves you’ll find on the ground, which you can return to the mummified remains of long-dead shamans to open new pathways. Right from the jump, you’re in control of your intrepid red fox and free to roam the snowy landscape as you make your way to an ominous mountain in the distance. Spirit of the North doesn’t waste any time with introductions or hand-holding. However, while this 4K 60fps update certainly makes the game’s frozen caverns and rolling tundras prettier than ever, its repetitive gameplay and frequent bugs keep it from reaching the heights of the other minimalist adventures such as ABZÛ and Journey, from which it takes its inspiration. Now, North Carolina-based indie developer Infuse Studio has spit-shined and polished it for the PlayStation 5 with Spirit of the North: Enhanced Edition. It’s been just over a year since Spirit of the North scampered onto consoles and PC, allowing players to take control of a lone fox as he explores the snow-swept expanse of a stylized Icelandic wilderness.
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