Spirits of Xanadu Review

Making videogames is no doubt a difficult task. Sometimes the transition from concept to execution can be be troublesome. Complications could inevitably arise during a game’s development. Whether it be from a lack of resources or little experience, any miniscule problem could lead to failure. Sadly, Spirits of Xanadu is a fine concept gone awry.

Spirits of Xanadu follows the Half-Life model of storytelling; it presents its narrative without the use of cutscenes and never strays from the silent protagonist's perspective. On the surface, the story is a simple science-fiction piece about the exploration and repair of a broken space vessel, the Xanadu. The game uses minimalism within its narrative, telling its story and lore through environmental pick-ups, ranging from audio logs to pieces of text such as old written letters. There are not any particular issues with this perspective on storytelling, but the game presents it all fairly bare.

Each of these collectibles are more generic and predictable than interesting and immersive. To the game’s credit, the voice acting exceeds expectations and is generally good. Despite the competent voice acting, it cannot save Spirits of Xanadu’s failure to grasp the atmosphere it yearns for. The game attempts to portray a horror atmosphere, perhaps akin the classic Alien series, but the way the tone is presented comes across as cheap rather than thrilling. Certain interactive sequences practically plead you to become invested within its supernatural setting. For example, at random moments the screen will tint black and white, desperately trying to convince you of its “horror” atmosphere. Also throughout the game you will find a mysterious mask hidden within certain portions of areas that will always vanish after a few seconds; a design choice that is never explicitly explained, but one that I personally never cared for. All of these instances were ultimately unsuccessful.

Gameplay in Spirits of Xanadu can be described as a first-person adventure game with first-person shooting elements. There is a grand total of four different enemies within Spirits of Xanadu, each being a different form of a robot. While each encounter does exhibit a slightly different strategy from the last, the battles themselves are tedious, if only for the fact it seems redundant. The shooting mechanics are rough, and these enemies generally pose no real threat as they are always easy to confront. You can commend it for a fluid implementation of aiming down the gun’s sights, but with slow projectiles, a lack of challenge, and infinite ammo, the game itself removes all sense of immersion. Personally, it feels to me that this gameplay is nothing more than cheap padding for the game’s length.

Exploration is the key gameplay feature that Spirits of Xanadu revolves around. From the instant you step aboard the Xanadu, you are given full access to the vessel in its entirety. While it is interesting for the developers to give the player complete freedom, the exploration itself is incoherent. The game directs you to the first general area needed for progression, but following that leaves you on your own for good. Granted, the game provides a well-designed map that clearly states all parts of the ship, but you are still ultimately left wandering aimlessly because the steps needed to progress are infuriatingly illogical. I finished the game in around two hours, but the majority of my time was spent roaming the ship searching for the next advancement. Honestly, if you know all the locations to go to in the right order, you could realistically finish the main story in twenty minutes or less; causing me to seriously question the game’s asking price.

Presentation attributes exhibited in Spirits of Xanadu vary. The art direction is rather bland and too vacant, emphasizing color but lacking a sense of contrast. Contrary to the art style, the audio direction is well produced. Despite a lack of background music, the overall audio quality and execution is prestine. Animations in the game, however, are not as appreciable. AI movement is generally repetitive and, ironically, robotic. Not to mention that upon your death the camera simply turns on its side, presumably done to simulate the protagonist falling over, but the animation makes it appear cheap.

It is clear that certain titles are held back by the reality of a budget and other constraints. Spirits of Xanadu, despite any amount of passion put into it, simply isn’t “fun”. Its shooting elements seem shoehorned, the aesthetic is not appealing, and the story is presented poorly. Perhaps a second offering from these developers will prove to be more successful, but as it stands, Spirits of Xanadu deserves to be as isolated as its protagonist.