App review by Patricia Monticello Kievlan, Common Sense Education | Updated October 2014

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Spirits of Spring

Name: Spirits of Spring
Item: Spirits of Spring
Rating: 4
Author: Patricia Monticello Kievlan

Beautiful design, great story, stunning sound in powerful SEL allegory

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Grades

5–8

Subjects & Skills

Character & SEL

Great for

SEL

Take a look inside

6 images

Follow a young man named Chiwatin and his friends.

Throughout the game, helpful how-to sequences teach new actions.

Explore a rich three-dimensional world filled with trees, waterfalls, and hills.

Visual style is beautifully done, and the sound design is excellent.

Users can easily navigate to checkpoints within the game's four stages.

At game end. Chiwatin explains what he's learned and regain his friends' trust.

Pros: Gorgeous visuals and stunning soundscape provide a consistently engaging experience with a subtle and solid message.

Cons: Some might find the message a little obscure.

Bottom Line: With good context, a subtle, smart tool for exploring SEL topics with kids.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Encourage kids to play the game alone or in pairs. Have them discuss similarities and differences among the characters. Talk with kids about what different elements in the story (foxes, crows, permanent winter) represent. Discuss what lessons this game offers about bullying and friendship.

What Is It?

Kids follow Chiwatin, a young boy, and his friends Bear and Rabbit as they're terrorized by a group of marauding crows. In addition to laughing maniacally at Chiwatin and his friends, the crows are violent and destructive, alternately capturing and tormenting forest animals and destroying spirit trees. Without the spirit trees, springtime itself is threatened, and the risk of permanent winter looms as the crows grow more powerful.

Chiwatin and his friends roam through the games' four levels, encountering other animals and new tasks along the way. The game helpfully introduces new gestures (like how to collect spirits and how to use spirits to bridge streams) just when they're needed, and these introductions are thoughtfully paced so kids can confidently control Chiwatin and his friends in a variety of ways by the game's last stages.

Is It Good for Learning?

The game's design is exceptionally well done. Visuals and game controls are thoughtfully conceived; it's noticeably easier to control the rabbit and the bear, and this turns out to be a key detail. The crows taunt Chiwatin for being clumsy, and kids experience that frustration firsthand as they move Chiwatin through the game with various levels of success. On the surface, the game is a series of just-right challenging puzzles; details suggest subtle, smart messages about friendship, bullies, power, and empathy.

This game works best with some serious context: Messages aren't explicit (for example, what do springtime and permanent winter represent?), and there's limited reason to replay the game. But bigger picture issues about the value of friendship come through clearly and elegantly, making this a great tool for solo exploration and a strong vehicle for SEL classroom discussions.

Learning Rating

Overall Rating

Engagement

Kids will be engrossed in the beautiful visuals, challenging puzzles, and fascinating story. The soundtrack is especially good.

Pedagogy

Important SEL topics, including friendship, bullying, power, and loyalty, are covered without being too heavy-handed.

Support

In-game tutorials help kids figure out new skills, and checkpoints help them gauge their progress through levels.

Common Sense reviewer

Patricia Monticello Kievlan Foundation/nonprofit member

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