
Spirittea
Release Date: November 13, 2023
RPG, 2D, adventure elements, top-down, indie games, Game Pass, singleplayer
OpenCritic
An RPG inspired by Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley. Spirittea has us playing as a writer in a small town full of angry spirits. The player must soothe them and take care of their needs.
Spirittea is an RPG inspired by such games as Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing, as well as iconic Studio Ghibli movies, such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. The game was developed by Cheesemaster Games, an indie studio founded by Dan Beckerton. It was successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter.
Plot
Spirittea has us playing as a writer, coming to a small town in search of inspiration to finish their latest book. After drinking tea from an antique cup, the protagonist gains the ability to see the spirit world; they also discover the town is crawling with furious ghosts, angry over being forgotten. Our task is to finish our latest work and calm down the angry spirit before they become uncontrollable.
Mechanics
Spirittea makes use of the top-down perspective. We start off by creating our playable character. The primary gameplay mechanic is spirit searching. Where we'll find them depends on the place, the time of day and season. To soothe an angry spirit, we must complete a quest for it, then take it to a special bathhouse at the foot of the mountain.
Since it's the only way to placate angry spirits, the bathhouse should be our priority. Clean towels, food and hot water isn't enough to keep them happy. We must pay attention to our guests' individual preferences, such as the aromatics used in the bathhouse and the place they occupy (we must make sure the spirits only neighbor other spirits who are friendly to them). If we do everything well, the spirits will pay us for our services, letting us spend money on expanding the bathhouse, purchasing more furniture, upgrades, food, clothes and entertainment, such as visiting the arcade. We should also make offerings at shrines and temples to deepen our link to the spirit world.
That's not all, as there are many living inhabitants we should make friends with as well. To establish new relationships, we must help encountered characters with their problems and join them during various activities, portrayed as mini-games. In moments of downtime we can spend time fishing, catching worms, treasure hunting or exchanging figurines obtained from arcades. There are also numerous festivals and events to participate in.
Technical aspects
Spirittea features simple, though colorful and appealing pixel art visuals.
Videos and Screens
[1:23] Spirittea trailer #3
[1:28] Spirittea trailer #2
VG247: 5 / 5 by Kelsey Raynor
There’s just so much to love about Spirittea, and I’m very glad to be able to say that this adorable rural-life sim has been well worth the wait. As fans of Stardew Valley patiently wait on ConcernedApe’s upcoming game, Haunted Chocolatier, I hope to see plenty give Spirittea a go. It’s certainly one way to bridge the gap while we wait, but you might be pleasantly surprised by just how lovely - and truly addicting - this game and its host of unique spirits and townsfolk are. I mean, I would genuinely live in this adorable town where realities collide, if I could.
Thumb Culture: 4 / 5
Spirittea has been an absolutely delightful experience. Though it may take inspiration from Stardew Valley, it has a very different feel to it. It is a well-paced game with an enjoyable gameplay loop. The art and music are wonderful additions to the game that help to immerse you in the game. For these reasons, I’m awarding Spirittea Thumb Culture’s Gold Award. This is a very cozy game, and if that is a genre that you’re interested in, definitely give this game a shot. If you enjoyed this review, why not check out this article about Moonstone Island, another cozy game.
Windows Central: 4.5 / 5 by Cole Martin
A charming and amusing way to spend a spare hundred hours managing your own bath house and meeting troublesome spirits. This is the kind of game that Xbox Game Pass is perfect at getting into the hands of players. Spirittea is a small and quirky but otherwise amazing adventure you shouldn't miss out on.
Spirittea Summary
Platforms:
PC / Windows
Xbox Series X/S
Switch
Xbox One
Developer: Cheesemaster Games
Publisher: No More Robots
Age restrictions: none
Spirittea System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz, 2 GB RAM, graphic card 1 GB GeForce GTX 550 or better, Windows 7
Recommended: Intel Core i3 GHz, 2 GB RAM, graphic card 2 GB GeForce GTX 760 or better, Windows 10