Catching Spirits

Genre: Platformer / Party Game

Players: 1-3 Competitive (Local)

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Review:

Catching Spirits, released in 2025 on Nintendo Switch with a PC release shortly afterward in the same year, is an Action-Platformer and arena-based Party Game that plays out like a game of three-way tag. Players take the role of one of three elemental spirits (water, earth, and fire), and are given the goal of evading one of those enemies while catching up to the other.

It’s honestly such an elegant concept I’m surprised I haven’t seen it before, and even before you add in a selection of different special moves unique to each element, there’s already some clever nuance to the gameplay – the opponent you want to catch up to will be trying to get close to the one you’re trying to run away from, meaning that the closer you are to victory, the closer you also are to failure in an even match.

Players’ characters can jump, double-jump, and wall-jump, and in addition to a special ability, they also have access to an additional special that they can only gain by collecting a pickup that occasionally appears in the arena. These special moves vary, including launching a stunning fireball, creating a brief wall to block opponents or wall-jump off of, gaining temporary invisibility, or creating a decoy. There’s also an ultimate transformation that players can gain access to by collecting multiple smaller pickups, which enables a Pac-Man like powered-up mode where you can briefly tag both opposing players.

Players also have their own bases, which can provide a brief stunning shield to fend off campers, or you can raid the base of the player hunting you to reclaim one of your lost lives. This gives an additional focus on points of interest in a level, rather than just seeing players constantly chasing each others’ tails and no one having any reason to change things up.

This game’s presentation uses colorful, detailed 2D visuals with good animation and a few nice effects like water and lighting effects. This is backed by an eclectic soundtrack with a lot of chill lo-fi beats. This is a bit of an odd choice given the sort of primal elemental almost tiki-themed style of the characters, but I think while you’re playing it’s not something you’ll be focusing on much.

If I’m pointing to a flaw in this game, it’s one of necessity. The nature of this game’s mechanics sorta’ means that there’s not really any variety in game modes – the game is what it is, and there’s just the one way to play it. You can thankfully change some settings, and the game fills any non-player character slots with bots, though there’s not even online play, which seems like a missed opportunity.

However, while Chasing Spirits’ premise limits it to staying in its own lane, that lane is surprisingly robust, with a truly great concept that is well-executed. And while the different special moves and points of interest in levels provide some good depth to explore for those who want more nuanced gameplay, the core concept is easy to grasp. This is a solid Party Game that’s well worth adding to your collection.

tl;dr – Chasing Spirits is a Platformer and Arena-based Party Game that has three players partaking in a game of elemental-based three-way tag. It’s a clever concept that’s done well, and while you won’t find a variety of game modes here, the core gameplay is solid, easy to pick up, and has some good depth, making this a great addition to your Party Game collection.

Grade: B

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