Spirit Crossing review - "A charming cosy adventure"

• A gorgeous, ethereal world
• Daily Quest Limit
• Collect resources to help spirits and decorate your home

Between the spirit realm and the physical realm lies the Crosslands, a place where spirits and humans can live in harmony. This is where you find yourself after following a distressed spirit in Netflix's latest sim, Spirit Crossing. Clearly taking inspiration from Animal Crossing, this casual social adventure offers a calming experience. 

Help the Spirit Maya in Spirit Crossing

Maya, the spirit you followed to the Crosslands, has been injured in a large storm. Fragments of the spirit have been scattered across the land by the heavy winds, and it’s up to you to find them in order to heal her. Luckily, Kasu, a local spirit expert, will guide you through this process.

While the main narrative revolves around healing Maya, there are also side quests to complete that give the world a more rounded feel. Towards the start of your journey, you’ll meet Roomie, an adorable bear who quickly becomes your roommate. 

Roomie offers quests revolving around crafting and placing furniture in your new home. You can also pick up quests from townsfolk, like Joulie and the Tailor. Passing Spirits will also occasionally ask for assistance. Usually, these little guys will require an item like a meal, drink, or iron ore. None of these quests is very complicated, which keeps the experience feeling light and breezy.

Spirit Crossing has Daily Quest Limits

On the downside, there are only a handful of quests you can complete each day. Once you finish all the daily quests, you’ll need to wait until they reset. However, you’ll still be able to explore, craft items, and harvest resources to your heart’s content.

Gameplay largely consists of exploration and using tools like your machete and pickaxe to harvest supplies. You’ll climb, glide, and jump your way across beautiful pastel environments full of spirits in need of your help.

The neat thing about this little cosy adventure is that you can climb just about every surface, including trees, buildings, and cliff faces. You’ll need to use your glider to move between islands. Luckily, if you fall, you’ll bounce back up, so you don’t have to worry about whether you can glide all the way across large gaps.

Use tools to Harvest Supplies in Spirit Crossing

To mine, hack sheer fluffalos, or use other tools, you’ll need to tap the screen when the circle turns green. Upgrading your tools is vital if you want to collect resources from higher-level spots. For instance, your basic pickaxe isn’t strong enough to mine just any ore deposits you come across.

Netflix's Spirit Crossing also features a social aspect. Other players will show up as Strangers until you befriend them. Strangers appear in a greyish hue. You can interact with them using emotes. To go from strangers to friends, you’ll both need to sit at a bench and chat, after which you can add each other to your friends list. It’s a simple social mechanic that makes it easy to traverse the wilderness with friends.

A cosy game of exploration, crafting, and socialising, Spirit Crossing will appeal to fans of Animal Crossing and Disney Dreamlight Valley. The fantastical pastel aesthetic combines with cosy gameplay to create a surreal, Zen-like experience. While the daily limit on quests is a bummer, overall, Spirit Crossing is an absolute gem with engaging characters, breathtaking environments, and a fully climbable environment.