It’s about time a game let me customise and be a fox.

Instead of being generic yolo bro or cool looking elf in every game, I love that Spirit of the North 2 is leaning into what brought it to the dance and letting me define fox snouts and adjust eye colors.

That sort of sets the tone for what to expect for the wider game, too. If you happened to play the original that is. SOTN 1 was a fairly linear romp with sandbox tendencies. This builds on that idea but makes the sandbox bigger and gives you wider, more open areas to explore and puzzles to solve.

That ends up being both a good and bad thing. Good, in that this is an exploration game first and foremost, so you can jump onto high ledges, find hidden pathways behind pillars, and as such, it makes the puzzle solving trickier and more involved. There’s more narrative elements to uncover through scrolls, lots of foxes and other creatures to react to, and as such, the world feels more alive and compelling.

But Spirit of the North 2 does make some confusing decisions, such as its stunted jump mechanic which, on one hand feels quite freeing as you bounce up and down playfully, but also requires your fox to be in the right position to make like Stray and get to the harder to reach ledges. Throw a fumbling running jump into the mix and mecahnically the game starts to get a little messy.

The camera work is also quite janky here, often stuttering when panning around, getting stuck on parts of the scenery or zooming in way too close. You can never seem to get it quite right and it does make the experience a bit frustrating on the whole.

But as was the original, this is a game of charm. Freely running about in these expansive environments as a fox is pretty joyous. And uncovering this lonely world that seems tormented and troubled, finding out more about life beforehand and what led to the now is intriguing and it draws you deeper into the experience, helping you to look past some of the uncertainties you may have.

The musical score and effects are also of the type to get under your skin and really bring you closer to the story emotionally, resonating on a deeper level.

But often times the game does feel a bit aimless and leans into this odd idea of being a bit of a Souls-like – gathering runes and health bars, and having to re-collect them again where you died or losing them. But equally just being mostly a walking simulator with environments that can kill you and some boss battles.

Throughout the game you’ll also gather runes which can be used to light up your tail and affect you in different ways, to make your journey a little easier. You’ll also pick up certain items which can then be used to solve puzzles or help you out in dangerous circumstances.

But the lure here remains the open ended scenery and visuals, as you gaze out from mountain tops and look across the far lands to your next objectives, moving between one area to the next. The game is at its strongest when it’s encouraging exploration and rewarding you for being inquisitive.

In that regard, the game has evolved over its predecessor and added purpose and value to the wider experience, giving you more to see, find and do. But on the other, the aimless wandering, the jankiness and awkward feeling and questionable interactions do bring this down somewhat from the marvel it aspires to be.

Spirit of the North 2 is a stronger sequel that definitely feels like a notable, more engaging and enjoyable improvement over its predecessor. It definitely has heart and character, coupled with substance and a sense of style, but it all comes at the price of being a bit rough, occasionally frustrating, and presenting with some confusing choices on how to traverse its world.

Verdict

Spirit of the North 2 really does improve on its predecessor but there’s something here that still doesn’t feel entirely easy to love. For all of its warmth and charm and intriguing world building, there’s jank, frustrating design choices, and a sense of aimlessness that becomes quite tiresome because it’s not complimented by great level design. This beautiful game never turns ugly, and manages to remain aesthetically pleasing throughout, but it can also be quite underwhelming and sadly never quite reaches the heights it so aspires for. 

Pros

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Spirit of the North 2 is out now on PC, PS, Switch and Xbox.

Played on Xbox Series X

Code Kindly Provided by Silver Lining for review purposes