Spirit Island Solo Review: Why Playing Multiple Asymmetric Spirits Creates Gaming Perfection

Spirit Island At A Glance

I was a bit skeptical of Spirit Island when I heard about it – I’d always thought that cooperative games were either super easy and boring, or unpredictable and annoying; and I have a huge fear of asymmetric games – with different rules for each player, they seem like a logistical nightmare. However, I’d heard so much about Spirit Island from folks whose gaming tastes I respect, that I decided to take the plunge and purchase the game in 2019.

Since then, I’ve played it 67 times. I’ve maintained a spreadsheet on which spirits I’ve played and how successful I’ve been against various difficulty levels (old habit of mine). I really think that Spirit Island is among the very best board games that exist today. I think it is also among the best solo gaming experiences. What makes Spirit Island special is that it trusts you enough to make each player (or spirit in solo mode) uniquely different. Not different in terms of appearance or story. Unique in terms of how you will play the game.

So, What Spirit Island Really Is

You’re a defender of an island against colonial invasion. The invaders are becoming stronger, expanding, and constructing new structures. Your role (as one or more spirits protecting the island) is to prevent the invaders from completing their invasion of the island. That’s the core of the game. Everything else is how you get that done.

When you’re playing Thunderspeaker, you’re playing an aggressive spirit who gains power through violence and presence on the board. You’re physically pushing the invaders off the island. When you’re playing River Surges in Sunlight, you’re playing a supporting spirit who aids other spirits in achieving their goal. Your powers aren’t for direct confrontation with invaders — they’re for moving other spirits around the board, creating possibilities for other spirits to act, and thwarting potential threats before they become major problems.

Vital Strength of the Earth is perhaps the most unique spirit in the game. This spirit does essentially nothing during the first few rounds. You’ll be sitting there for the first three rounds wondering if you’re even doing anything. By round 4 or 5, you’ve accumulated enough presence on the board that your powers are utterly explosive in terms of gaining control over the board. The rhythm of this spirit is completely different from the others.

Each of the eleven spirits in the base game acts as a completely different subsystem of Spirit Island. I’ve played all of the spirits in the base game numerous times. Both Serpent and Volcano (the two spirits included in the expansions I own) offer even greater variety in gameplay. Each spirit forces you to think differently about turn order, selecting which powers to use, and having presence on the board.

Asymmetry in Multiplayer: Unparalleled Strategic Depth

In multi-player mode, the asymmetry between spirits creates a depth of strategy and cooperation that I’ve never seen anywhere else. To succeed, you need to coordinate which spirits deal with which threats. In solo mode, you’re juggling several spirits at once, which could be chaotic, but instead, it becomes a puzzle of coordinating your actions to create a cohesive whole. How do you orchestrate your actions so that Thunderspeaker’s aggression allows River Surges to provide support? How do you utilize Vital Strength’s early powerlessness to position for the middle-game eruption of power?

The Solo Experience: How Multiple Spirits Work So Well Together

A key point about playing Spirit Island solo is that it is not an easy version of the game designed to accommodate a solo player. The invaders adapt to the number of spirits you are controlling. Two spirits? The difficulty scales appropriately. Three spirits? More difficult. I usually play with two spirits when I want a serious challenge. Playing with four spirits is essentially impossible even at low difficulty levels – I’ve only succeeded about a handful of times. The point is, you’re not just adjusting the difficulty down to account for the fact that you’re playing alone; you’re managing actual complexity of strategy.

The necessity of considering synergies between spirits in the solo mode adds a layer of depth to the gameplay that simply cannot be replicated in multiplayer. While in multiplayer, you might coordinate with another player (“you take care of the north side, I’ll take care of the south”), in solo mode, you are coordinating the entire defense yourself. You have to consider not only what each spirit does, but how those actions interact.

I’ve had games in which I played Thunderspeaker and Vital Strength of the Earth together. Thunderspeaker deals directly with immediate threats to the island (invaders, etc.) while maintaining control of the board. Vital Strength of the Earth does little until the middle of the game, and then suddenly transforms the board state. The moment at which you move from desperation to dominance is when the game is at its best.

Another great feature of solo Spirit Island is that you can play it however you want. Do you want to push yourself with one spirit at a high difficulty? You can do that. Do you want to play with two spirits at a lower difficulty and just enjoy the mechanisms of the game? You can do that too. Do you want to try a weird combination of three spirits just to see what happens? You can do that too. The game treats all of these play styles equally.

Thematic Asymmetry: Design Philosophy

Not only is the asymmetry of Spirit Island mechanical – it is also thematic. Spirits are not people. They do not operate according to a standard approach. A river spirit does not attack like a volcano spirit, because rivers and volcanoes achieve success in dramatically different ways. The mechanics perfectly mirror the theme.

What impresses me about the design of Spirit Island is that every single one of the spirits in the base game is viable. There is no “weak” spirit in the game. Even the weakest spirits on any given difficulty level have legitimate ways to win. You may need to play more strategically, coordinate more effectively, or optimize your moves more – but you can win. Achieving this is an incredibly difficult task in designing asymmetric games, and Spirit Island achieves it with ease.

Learning How to Choose Spirits Based on Desired Experiences

Through 67 games of Spirit Island, I’ve learned that my preferred spirit is determined by what I am seeking from the game. If I want to solve a pure optimization puzzle, I play Vital Strength of the Earth. The game becomes almost purely mathematical. If I want to feel powerful, I play Thunderspeaker. There’s something profoundly enjoyable about physically removing invaders from the island. If I want to consider long term placement of my spirits, I play River Surges. The game accommodates all of these play styles because the spirits themselves fundamentally differ in how they operate.

Difficulty Scaling & Progression: Feeling Fair

Spirit Island has a remarkable difficulty scaling mechanism. The invaders gain a “head start” depending on the difficulty level chosen. On higher difficulty levels, the invaders have already progressed farther in their invasion by the time you begin. You are fighting to recover lost ground.

What makes this feeling of fairness (and not simply unfair punishment) is that the progression is steady and predictable. You have an absolute idea of how disadvantaged you are. You can look at the initial board state and have a clear picture of what you’re facing. There are no sudden spikes in difficulty due to additional rules that you did not anticipate. You lose because you made poor decisions, not because the game threw you a curve ball with additional rules.

I usually play at difficulty level 2 or 3. This is not “average” difficulty — this is actually more difficult than the default difficulty. However, I know why I lose when I lose. Did I develop the wrong set of power cards early in the game? Did I fail to adequately coordinate my spirits’ actions? Did I over commit to defending one area of the island and leave another area vulnerable? All of these decisions are ones I made, not unexpected twists of fate.

The ability to escalate difficulty through winning also provides a sense of accomplishment and purpose. You’re not simply playing random games — you’re progressing through increasingly difficult challenges that require more strategic planning and optimization.

Replayability Through the Power Card Mechanic

Spirit Island has another component that makes it stand above just being a great solo game – the power card mechanic provides amazing replayability. Each of the spirits has a deck of powers that can be drawn upon. Before each game, you choose which powers to draw upon for your deck based on the difficulty of the scenario you selected.

This provides a form of deck building within the game itself. You are not developing a deck prior to the game — you are determining which powers you have access to based on the difficulty level of the scenario and which spirits you are choosing to play. Do you want a highly aggressive build of Thunderspeaker? Select powers that enhance both violence and the spread of your presence. Do you want a defensive build? Choose a completely different set of powers.

I’ve played Thunderspeaker approximately 15 times, and I’ve selected vastly different sets of powers for each build. The spirit remains recognizable (Thunderspeaker is aggressive, combat focused); however, the actual gameplay experience can vary greatly based on the set of powers you are able to select. This is the reason that the game continues to offer such replay value even after dozens of games.

Will Spirit Island Remain Relevant Today?

It will. Spirit Island was released in 2016. It is now 2025. Since Spirit Island was released, dozens of cooperative games have come out attempting to replicate what Spirit Island does. None of them have succeeded.

The components remain visually stunning. The visual cues (once you understand them) are easy to interpret. The rule book is written extremely clearly. I’ve introduced this game to over a dozen people, and the learning curve is steep, but fair. The expansions (notably Jagged Earth) have added additional spirits and depth to the game without adding bulk to the original game.

My only real critique is that setup can take time. It can take 10-15 minutes to arrange the invasion pieces, place the spirit boards, shuffle the decks — before you even get to play your first turn. This is not a failing in the game design — this is simply the nature of complex systems. Honestly, I find the process of setup to be almost meditative in a way that quicker games cannot match.

Campaign Gameplay & Long Term Engagement

One aspect of Spirit Island that I have not touched on yet is that Spirit Island can easily be played as a campaign. You can play through a series of scenarios (in escalating difficulty), and each scenario can flow naturally into the next. I’m currently running a campaign in which I’m trying to defeat every scenario on difficulty level 3 using a different spirit each time. That equates to 11 spirits * 9 scenarios = 99 possible games to play. I’ve completed about 30 so far.

Long term engagement is what keeps drawing me back to Spirit Island. I’m not just playing random games — I’m striving to meet specific objectives, measuring my progress, and attempting to optimize the use of different spirits in different scenarios. As a history teacher, I love campaign style games, and Spirit Island delivers this type of structure.

Why You Must Play This Game Solo

If you enjoy cooperative games, asymmetric game design, or puzzle-based gameplay, you owe it to yourself to try Spirit Island. The solo mode is not a tacked-on addition to the game or a compromise. It’s a fantastic way to engage with the game.

You do not need to have anyone else to appreciate the complexity of Spirit Island. You do not need to argue with tablemates or worry about how to manage personalities. It is simply you, the spirits, and the invaders. Pure problem solving.

However, I will admit — this game is not for everyone. It is heavy. It takes time. The rule book is large. If you prefer games that teach you in 10 minutes and last 30 minutes, this is not the game for you. If you prefer simple, accessible, short games, there are other options. However, if you are willing to put the time into a complex system that respects your intellect and rewards you for mastering it? Spirit Island is as good as it gets.

Final Verdict

Spirit Island is a 10/10 game, and the solo experience is where the game truly shines. The diverse spirits create unparalleled depth and replayability. The difficulty scaling feels fair and challenging. The power card mechanic ensures that no two games feel alike. The campaign-style structure offers a sense of accomplishment and purpose long term.

At 67 games, I’m not even close to being finished. I still have combinations of spirits I haven’t attempted, scenarios I haven’t won, and difficulty levels I haven’t defeated. Spirit Island has provided a framework in which mastery is possible, but never achieved. That is exactly what a great solo game should do.

If you’ve never played Spirit Island, you need to. If you’ve played Spirit Island in multi-player, but have not played solo — give it a try. You may find that the most rewarding way to experience this game is alone.

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Nicholas

Nicholas teaches secondary school history by day and campaigns through fantasy worlds by night. He writes about legacy and campaign games—the epic, months-long sagas that build friendships, stories, and the occasional scheduling nightmare.