The Spirit Lift is Fun, But Shallow

Screenshot: The Spirit Lift

At this point, I’ve played more roguelike deckbuilders than I can remember. That’s not a bad thing, because when they’re good they can offer some of the most satisfying gameplay. And if they’re great, they can even dominate video game discourse. That margin between good and great is probably slimmer than I, as an outsider, can really understand. The Spirit Lift doesn’t manage to bridge the gap, but it brings some unique vibes and solid but formulaic execution.

If you’ve been playing roguelike deckbuilders since Slay the Spire redefined the genre, I can guarantee you’ve played one that’s a lot like The Spirit Lift. Everything here is pretty standard. You can select up to three characters, each with their own flavored cards and a choice of unique starting items. You explore each floor, sometimes getting into enemy encounters and at other times running into events which can make your run harder in a myriad of ways, or occasionally offer a helping hand. There are thirteen floors to fight through, culminating in a boss fight.

The Spirit Lift is a mechanically solid game, even if it’s a little on the easy side. Though, it was engaging enough that I lost hours playing it without realizing. But it wasn’t too long before I saw everything the game had to offer. Most enemies are repeated with a few variations. And since positive status effects persist through turns, it seems like they just throw more and more enemies at you to even out the balance.

Screenshot: The Spirit Lift

There was also a lack of fun synergies. If there were more than a couple of fun deck combinations to play, I didn't find them. I tried a bunch of different combos, but kept going back to the same four characters—keeping two while swapping out the third.

Despite seeing all there was to offer in a few hours, there technically is a lot of progression. However, that progression is very grindy. I was able to unlock all eight characters and face all of the bosses before I even unlocked the third (out of six) tiers of progression. And that was after buying just a few of the items. The meta-progression is mostly about beefing up starting stats, which, in a game that’s already fairly easy, doesn’t feel so much like a bonus as busywork.

This means The Spirit Lift doesn’t have as much staying power as its contemporaries. There’s no ascension mode or other endgame content to justify the grind or to challenge yourself to harder and harder runs. Which makes The Spirit Lift easily picked up and just as easily put down. That’s usually a great formula for a mobile game, or even a great fit for the Steam Deck. Unfortunately, it has thumbstick mouse controls instead of native controller support, making it a pain to play on the Steam Deck.

Screenshot: The Spirit Lift

The most standout aspect of The Spirit Lift is its theme. It’s set in the ‘90s. In fact, you control three high school students as they wander off from their graduation party. But it’s not the 1990s I recognize as a kid who grew up in the period. It’s a weird, alternate 1990s: something that looks like it was made by aliens who were only told about what the ‘90s were like through popular media. I don’t mean this as an insult. If anything, I was insulted by my own age, because this surreal interpretation of my childhood decade actually added an unsettling element, which fits well with the horror theme.

What’s also unsettling is the incongruous art styles. The sprites representing the enemies look like they could belong to another game. I think this is to ape the low-poly style of earlier games, but it’s just something that falls into an uncanny valley instead of a set era. Even the characters, which could have been '80s/'90s high school kid archetypes, don’t really fall into those categories.

The Spirit Lift is a fun roguelike deckbuilder, but it’s not one that will stick around for long. If you’re an aficionado who needs to put your hands on every game in this genre, you’ll find that The Spirit Lift is fun, but shallow. For everyone else, there are better alternatives out there. Unless you’re absolutely aching for that strange ‘90s vibe, don’t board this elevator.