Spirit City: Lofi Sessions is the latest release in a spree of gamified productivity tools. In this cozy idle game, you can customise your character and virtual room, discover and collect Spirits, and facilitate your real-life tasks with a host of productivity features set to a soothing lofi soundtrack.
Developed by: Mooncube Games
Played on: Steam
Length: N/A
A review key was provided by Mooncube Games.
Light gameplay meets productivity
Spirit City: Lofi Sessions is a surprisingly hefty and integrated experience. This cozy idle game covers all the bases you’d want from a work companion, and allows you to customise your experience based on your personal work style. As someone with ADHD, I’ve been on the hunt for a gamified productivity tool to help me stay focused throughout the day, and Spirit City nails the delicate balance between function and form.
What’s most impressive is how it makes completing tasks feel satisfying. Each time you finish a to-do, complete a timer, or simply spend time in the game, your EXP increases and you earn more in-game currency to spend on customisations. Having experienced other productivity apps that overemphasise gameplay or productivity, I find that Spirit City’s simple approach helps reduce a lot of mental clutter so I’m not constantly thinking about completing tasks or furthering my gameplay.
The most gameplay-esque part of Spirit City comes from its name — collecting Spirits. You can lure new Spirits to your side by discovering the correct combination of room activities, soundscapes, and time of day. But even this is a fairly passive feature, as you’re encouraged to work while waiting for Spirits to show up. Personally, I’ve been discovering Spirits at an extremely fast rate (my Spiritdex is almost complete after only 10 hours of play), so I hope they continue adding more to the game in the future.
As for the actual productivity tools, there’s a to-do list and habit tracker where you can input daily goals; a journal where you can take notes or express your emotions through prompts; and the one I use the most, a built-in pomodoro timer where you can set up custom cycles. The game is definitely optimised for pomodoro users, since you can set up multiple cycles at a time and spend your 5-minute breaks on the light gameplay Spirit City has to offer.
It’s also worth noting that the productivity tools aren’t built to accommodate anything too complex. The to-do list in particular is just a list, without any options to set up sub-tasks or groupings. I personally find it useful to narrow down the goals I want to achieve that day, but I definitely have larger to-do list that I maintain on another platform.
Wide variety of customisations
Have we said that this game is adorable? Because it is so adorable. It understands its target audience well by offering plenty of customisation options for your avatar, virtual room, and even Spirits. There are dozens of options ranging from hoodies to horns, from boba tea to bookshelves; although the general aesthetics of the game does lean towards pastel, modern cottage core vibes.
The game also allows you to select from different room activities and lighting to match your mood of the day; so you can go from reading by the window in the morning, to surfing the web on your bed at night. If you’re like me, you can even match your activities in real life to your activities in-game for the ultimate productivity immersion.
As a side note, the game is also a great match for coworking or productivity streamers who want to keep something engaging on screen for their viewers, even as they focus on work on another tab.
Crafting the perfect ambience
Arguably the most important aspect of Spirit City is the lofi music. (I mean, it’s in the name!) The game places a heavy emphasis on crafting the perfect ambience for a calm and uninterrupted work session, and there’s a few ways you can do this.
The game comes with four sizeable YouTube and Twitch-friendly lofi playlists courtesy of Homework Radio. There’s also a YouTube integration if you prefer listening to other music or watching videos in the background. I would personally love to see a Spotify integration in the future for an expanded music or podcast catalog, and even a Twitch integration for viewers to queue the next song or video.
You can pair your lofi music with an extensive sound board which features everything from rain sounds to brown noise, which is the magic sauce for ADHD-addled brains like yours truly. I especially love the atmospheric animations that come with the sound board, such as the rain outside the window getting heavier, or the fire in your fireplace growing larger as you increase the volume.
Our Final Thoughts
Spirit City: Lofi Sessions is a one-stop gamified focus tool that covers all the bases, from fully integrated productivity tools, to soothing lofi beats and sound boards. This cozy idle game is the perfect entry point for those trying to kickstart productive habits, although more seasoned workers might find the built-in productivity tools a little too simple.
Get Spirit City: Lofi Sessions on Steam, and top up your Steam Wallet on Codashop.
