Spirittea Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

by Jim Smale · November 21, 2023

For this Spirittea Review, we visit a town that is crawling with troublesome spirits, and you’re the only one who can see them. You’d better get that old bathhouse up and running, maybe that’ll help them chill out! Wait! Who the heck are you?! Can you see me? You CAN, can’t you? You’ve drunk the Spirittea and now you can see me!! Look, we’ve got problems! This town is crawling with troublemaking spirits. They’ve become lost because humans have stopped worshipping, leaving offerings or even thinking about them anymore.

Spirittea Review Pros:

Decent pixel art graphics.
Download size.
3 save slots.
Customisation – name your character and city, design your avatar and set your birth season.
Pop up the tutorial text as you play.
Map that highlights characters and points of interest.
The opening mission is following a dog around so you can meet everyone in town.
Day and night cycle.
Memorable characters.
A big beautiful game world to explore.
Strongly inspired by the Anime film Spirited Away with a touch of Stardew Valley mixed in.
Your save slot shows the time played.
Your house is Customisable and you can add and remove furnishings whilst also moving it around when in the design mode.
Puzzle and riddle-like elements.
Friendship plays a huge part, you can get to know residents in terms of likes and dislikes to increase your friendship level.
Beautiful pixel art menu system.
Animated map.
Spirit vision is where you can see the spirits of the world, this is governed by your spirit gauge. (spirit gauge requires Spirittea to be replenished)
The story goes that you inherit an abandoned bathhouse for the spirits and are tasked with returning it to its former glory.
Spirits pay you based on their experience within your bathhouse.
Instantly grabs you, even more so if you like Spirited Away.
At the center of the bathhouse is a tree that has ever-growing roots that you use to heat the bathhouse.
Towels play a huge part and you need to wash and clean them and then put them at the entrance for Spirits to use them.
You have full control of who enters and uses the bathhouse, where they bathe, and when they leave. All this affects how much money you make.
Spirits are all tied to seasons and sitting them next to each other affects their enjoyment which also affects your money/payment.
You can set how many hours you sleep and it shows the time of day.
Residents will tell you about weird stuff around town, this gives you clues about possible spirits and your notebook keeps a tab on those.
An absolute time sink.

Spirittea Review Cons:

Slow starter.
So much to take in.
Learning which spirit is which season is not the most fun.
The map takes a bit of getting used to.
Rough early game as you have to man manage every little thing along with learning new things.
A slow burner of a game.

Related Post: Radiant Silvergun Review (Steam)

Spirittea:

Official website.

Developer: Cheesemaster Games

Publisher: No More Robots

Store Links –

Nintendo

9/10
Graphics - 9/10
9/10
Sound - 9/10
8/10
Accessibility - 8/10
9/10
Length - 9/10
10/10
Fun Factor - 10/10

9/10

Summary

Spirittea is a game that instantly grabs you with its decent pixel art graphics and a big, beautiful game world to explore. The game is strongly inspired by the Anime film Spirited Away, with a touch of Stardew Valley mixed in. The download size is reasonable, and you have three save slots available.

The game allows for a high level of customisation. You can name your character and city, design your avatar, and set your birth season. Your house is also customizable, and you can add and remove furnishings while moving it around in design mode. The game features a beautiful pixel art menu system and an animated map that highlights characters and points of interest.

The gameplay involves following a dog around in the opening mission so you can meet everyone in town. The game has a day and night cycle, and the characters are memorable. The game world is vast and offers puzzle and riddle-like elements. Friendship plays a huge part, and you can get to know residents in terms of likes and dislikes to increase your friendship level.

The story goes that you inherit an abandoned bathhouse for the spirits and are tasked with returning it to its former glory. Spirits pay you based on their experience within your bathhouse. At the center of the bathhouse is a tree that has ever-growing roots that you use to heat the bathhouse. Towels play a huge part, and you need to wash and clean them and then put them at the entrance for Spirits to use them.

You have full control of who enters and uses the bathhouse, where they bathe, and when they leave. All this affects how much money you make. Spirits are all tied to seasons, and sitting them next to each other affects their enjoyment, which also affects your money/payment. You can set how many hours you sleep, and it shows the time of day. Residents will tell you about weird stuff around town, giving you clues about possible spirits, and your notebook keeps a tab on those.

However, the game is a slow starter with so much to take in. Learning which spirit is which season is not the most fun, and the map takes a bit of getting used to. The early game can be rough as you have to manage every little thing along with learning new things. But once you get the hang of it, Spirittea becomes an absolute time sink that you won’t regret diving into and a real gem of a game, even if you have never heard of the Anime that inspired it, You will get many years of enjoyment from this game.