Spirit of the Island

About

"Spirit of the Island" is a farming and life simulation game where players must cultivate a barren island, grow crops, raise animals, and build a thriving community. The game features day-night cycles, dynamic weather, and various festivals and events. Players can also explore mysterious temples, uncover ancient relics, and learn magical abilities to aid in their quest to bring life back to the island.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

+14

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 900 reviews

story36 positive mentions

grinding186 negative mentions

The game features a charming art style and relaxing gameplay, reminiscent of titles like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing.
There is a lot of content to explore, including farming, crafting, and building relationships with NPCs.
The developers are responsive to player feedback and actively working on updates and improvements.

The game feels unfinished, with many bugs and a lack of polish, making it feel more like an early access title.
Inventory management is clunky and lacks essential features like drag-and-drop, making item organization frustrating.
The tutorial is inadequate, leaving players confused about mechanics and quest objectives.

story
238 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
72%
13%
The story aspect of the game has received significant criticism, with many players noting its lack of depth and coherence. Quests are often confusing, poorly organized, and riddled with bugs, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences where progression can be halted. While some players appreciate the exploration elements and the potential for future story updates, the current narrative feels underdeveloped and unsatisfying, particularly in cooperative play.
- “The game hints at a story that what you know to be true about yourself may not be correct, so you have to uncover lore nuggets to uncover the story.”
- “A great game, the plot of which unfolds on a distant island, where you can build your own farm and arrange it, help the locals and enjoy the discovery of new lands.”
- “It is so relaxing and I love the story line.”
- “The story is terrible if you can even call it a story.”
- “There's little in the way of story or any end goal that you feel driven to complete.”
- “The ending of the quest was quite underwhelming; for $25, there should be more content.”
grinding
186 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of "Spirit of the Island" has received mixed feedback from players. While some appreciate the variety of tasks and the rewarding nature of material gathering, many find the experience tedious due to slow skill progression and cumbersome inventory management. Overall, the game offers a blend of farming and exploration that can be enjoyable, but it may require patience for those accustomed to more streamlined mechanics in other farming sims.
- “No button to quick stack forcing you to click, the slider bar to change quantities is aggravating, and not being able to just click an item into a chest and having to go through another menu gets tedious after about 2 inventories.”
- “Farming skill is soooooo slow to level up and again bottlenecks you.”
- “You spend a lot of time building things up to be able to go chest hunting and when you finally open the chest, you get something like standard wood...very very not worth it.”
gameplay
132 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
61%
6%
The gameplay is characterized by a relaxing and fresh sandbox experience, offering a variety of mechanics that encourage exploration and farming. While many players appreciate the depth and potential for creativity, some find the lack of clear mechanics explanations and occasional bugs frustrating. Overall, the game provides an enjoyable, albeit sometimes clunky, experience reminiscent of titles like Stardew Valley, with room for improvement in tutorials and content.
- “Gameplay: relaxing and fresh, different from other life sims.”
- “I really liked this game, quite an addictive adventure, the graphics are generally good, the gameplay is interesting, I’m happy with the game, I recommend it for purchase.”
- “Relaxing gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is clunky and hard to navigate.”
- “The mechanics are bad, and working with the quest can be a little daunting as they hardly give you any information.”
- “Too many gameplay inefficiencies.”
graphics
96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
34%
3%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their cute and charming aesthetic, featuring vibrant colors and a cozy art style that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the well-designed characters and lively environments, often describing the visuals as adorable and engaging. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal, making it a delightful choice for fans of the genre.
- “The graphics are adorable, it feels good on controller, and it runs great on the Steam Deck.”
- “Spirit of the Island captures the essence of serenity and exploration, enchanting players with its breathtaking visuals, immersive atmosphere, and a sense of tranquility that resonates throughout the journey.”
- “The art style is without a doubt one of the big highlights since it's very cutesy and vibrant and villagers puff with smoke whenever they're getting ready to run off.”
- “I really adore the graphical style and I can tell this is a game that could potentially sink a lot of my time, but I do feel it needs a bit more work before it's playable.”
- “This game has cute graphics, but that is about all I can say for it.”
- “The graphics are simple but cute.”
stability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
87%
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant bugs and crashes, particularly on the Steam Deck, where freezing issues are prevalent. While it runs well on computers and offers a good controller experience, players have noted clunky controls, minor gameplay issues, and a lack of polish. Overall, the game feels unfinished and requires further updates to improve stability and performance.
- “Not any issues or problems playing so far. The game runs great.”
- “The graphics are adorable, it feels good on the controller, and it runs great on the Steam Deck.”
- “But sadly I can't recommend it because it crashes and freezes so much on the Steam Deck.”
- “It says the game is verified, yeah it runs, but good luck enjoying it when it freezes almost every tutorial or scene.”
- “For a game that is fully released, it is very clunky and buggy.”
atmosphere
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
38%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its breathtaking visuals and relaxing music, creating a serene and immersive experience that resonates with players. Each island offers a unique ambiance, enhancing the sense of exploration and tranquility. Overall, players find the atmosphere enchanting and recommend the game for its captivating environment.
- “Spirit of the island captures the essence of serenity and exploration, enchanting players with its breathtaking visuals, immersive atmosphere, and a sense of tranquility that resonates throughout the journey.”
- “The game features beautiful graphics and relaxing music, creating a serene yet engaging atmosphere.”
- “I highly recommend this game because in it I found the very atmosphere that I was looking for for so long. I really liked it visually; I am in love with this game.”
music
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
29%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and ability to create a relaxing and immersive atmosphere that complements the stunning graphics. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as amazing and fitting well with the game's theme, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
- “The game features beautiful graphics and relaxing music, creating a serene yet engaging atmosphere.”
- “The soundtrack is amazing.”
- “Music fits the theme of the game.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its humor, with players finding it funny and enjoyable, particularly during chaotic co-op moments. However, some note that the rapid decline in stats can be frustrating, detracting from the overall comedic experience.
- “I would 100% recommend this game as the co-op is extremely enjoyable, with funny chaotic moments.”
- “The game seemed quite funny, fun, and interesting.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players find the game enjoyable and replayable due to its cooperative experience, despite its limitations like a non-zoomable map. While it may not reach the depth of titles like Stardew Valley, its simplicity and charm contribute to its replay value.
- “It's a nice farming game, not even close to Stardew Valley, but the cooperative experience makes the game pleasant and replayable. It's pretty raw but nice and easy.”
- “The map is a representation of the entire playable area, but it lacks a zoom feature, making it difficult to navigate and diminishing replayability.”
- “The map is a map of the entire playable area with no way to zoom, which limits exploration and reduces the incentive to replay.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development in the game is criticized for being non-linear and poorly executed, with reviewers describing the plot as subpar and the character design and dialogue as lacking quality. Overall, the feedback suggests a significant deficiency in meaningful character growth and engagement.
- “There seems to be no linear character development either.”
- “The plot is shounen trash tier bad and character design and dialogue is terribad.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, finding joy and satisfaction even without engaging deeply with the main story or exploring new areas. This enthusiasm suggests a promising and immersive experience that fosters anticipation for future developments in the game.
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game is reported to have smooth performance, particularly noted by users with high-end hardware such as the 3080 Ti. However, there is no information on performance with lower-end systems.
- “The game runs with smooth performance, especially with my 3080 Ti.”