Spirit of the North 2 Review (XSX) – Foxy But Confusing

After quietly building a cult following with its serene atmosphere and striking visuals, Spirit of the North returns with a direct sequel that attempts to deepen its mystical world while retaining the calm, meditative gameplay that defined the original. Spirit of the North 2 on Xbox Series X is visually stunning and emotionally evocative, but it also struggles with repetition, light mechanics, and unfulfilled potential.

Game Name: Spirit of the North 2
Platform(s): PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S (Reviewed), PC
Publisher(s): Silver Lining Interactive, Merge Games
Developer(s): Infuse Studio
Release Date: May 8th, 2025

Visual Poetry on a Next-Gen Canvas

Let’s get this out of the way: Spirit of the North 2 is gorgeous on Xbox Series X. The developers clearly leaned into the strengths of the hardware, delivering vast, snow-blanketed vistas, glowing underground chambers, and environmental storytelling that’s as much about tone as it is about detail. The frame rate is rock solid, the lighting is immersive, and the art direction remains the game’s standout feature.

There’s a certain magic to roaming through desolate, natural landscapes as a fox guided by a spirit companion. The sequel leans into this dynamic again, but with some added scope and slightly more directed narrative beats. There’s an underlying conflict: darkness is spreading across the world. But as with the first game, much is left up to interpretation. Whether that’s engaging or frustrating depends on how much patience you have for environmental storytelling without clear exposition.

Mood Over Mechanics

Spirit of the North 2 doubles down on atmosphere, but its core gameplay hasn’t evolved much. You’ll spend most of your time solving simple environmental puzzles, collecting artefacts, expanding the map via Obelisks, and platforming across terrain that doesn’t always play nice with the game’s controls. The fox’s movement feels smoother than before, but it’s still not tight enough—jumps can feel floaty, and the camera occasionally obstructs your view in tighter areas.

Puzzle design feels safe and often uninspired. The game introduces a few new spirit-based powers, such as energy projection or short bursts of speed, but they’re used sparingly and don’t add meaningful complexity to the gameplay loop. For a game that prides itself on immersion, you’ll find yourself pulled out of the experience by repetitive objectives like moving objects from one point to another or activating glowing pillars—again.

Runes, Fur & Skill Trees

 Firstly, the Runes, which are a nice touch with the Viking influences throughout the world. They all do something different. Without spoiling plot points, it’s hard to give an example—Sorry. But they’re something you collect all over the map, and it’s always a cool moment finding out what your new Rune does.

Now onto something more whimsical and cute. Along your travels, you will find lots of chests with a variety of things in them, one being FURS! No, not a skinned fox. Rather, customizable fur for your fox. Being able to change your fur in-game was just one of the ways I was able to keep the game fresh.

The skill tree is something I kind of started to forget about as I played. Just your usual: plus 1 health, more spirit, longer ability usage. Nothing groundbreaking, but just sort of a necessary add to a game like this.

Sound and Silence

The score deserves praise. It’s haunting and delicate, fitting seamlessly with the lonely, somber tone of the journey. The sound design in general—wind sweeping through ancient ruins, snow crunching beneath paws—is excellent. There are no voices, no dialogue, just the world itself and the music guiding you along. When the game works, it really works. You feel something, even if you’re not sure exactly what.

The Verdict: Worthwhile, But Not Transformative

Spirit of the North 2 is more of a refinement than a reinvention. It looks better, controls better, and feels a bit more ambitious in scope, but it also plays it very safe. It rarely surprises you. While the peaceful pacing and spiritual tone are part of the charm, the shallow gameplay systems and underwhelming mechanical variety make it hard to recommend to anyone looking for more than a visual and emotional experience.

If you loved the first game, this will scratch that same itch. But if you were hoping for a leap forward—a deeper narrative, smarter puzzles, or tighter gameplay—you’ll likely walk away with a sense of what could have been.

Review Disclosure Statement: A copy of Spirit of the North 2 was provided to us for review purposes by Infuse Studio. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info.