So, yeah, the fact that it's a beautiful game is definitely part of it! Visually it's stunning, and the music is also really beautiful. I also think it's superbly written: there's absolutely no dialogue, but there is still a narrative as you play through each area, and I think that's genuinely very hard to do well, but Spirit of the North does. I really got invested in the relationship between the two characters. There's also no combat or fighting in the game, so it's all focused around the platforming and puzzle elements.

I can definitely see why it's not to everyone's tastes. It got "very positive" on Steam, so it's rated more highly on PC than on the PS, and the negative reviews it did get are complaining about either the controls or the game not telling you what you need to do. So the former is fair, I think: the devs focused on making a beautiful game, so it's about the experience, not the mechanics. The controls aren't bad as such, but they're not as smooth as you'd expect for a platformer, I guess? You get the occasional moment of "why didn't I make that jump?" But there's no "miss the jump, die, restart the level" mechanics, so it's normally 1-3 jumps that you need to repeat if you fall. I found the platforming elements really forgiving in terms of not punishing you for screwing up.

The second criticism, that the game doesn't tell you what you need to do, I think is unfair. The direction you need to go in is always the way that feels most intuitive, either because of a path, wall, or just the shape of the terrain. Some of the puzzles need you to stop and think about them, and the game doesn't hold your hand by going "and do this here, and that there, and then that".

The game I'd most compare it to is Abzu, but with more Nordic and less ocean vibes. If you've played Abzu and enjoyed it, then you'll probably enjoy Spirit of the North too.