Controlling one of six characters, the player must make it to the bottom of each stage by destroying, colored formations of blocks while preventing their oxygen meter from depleting.

It was produced by series creator Hideo Yoshizawa, and was created to take advantage of the system's touch control and dual-screen features.

The North American version excludes several features announced prior in press releases due to time constraints, including an entire gamemode called Dristone Driller.

[1] The player controls a character that must make it to the bottom of each stage by destroying, or "drilling", formations of colored blocks that litter the playfield.

[2] Each character has their own unique traits that can alter the gameplay; for instance, Taizo can drill faster than other, while Holinger-Z can sustain an extra hit.

[3] Produced by series creator Hideo Yoshizawa, the game was created to take advantage of the system's dual screen and touch control features.

[3] A playable demo was presented at the Nintendo Gamer's Summit in October, announced to be a system launch title alongside Ridge Racer DS.

[18][13] The inclusion of touch-screen controls via the DS Stylus was seen by IGN and GameSpy as a generally unneeded mechanic, with both saying that the D-Pad allowed for much quicker, precise actions.

[17][15] The game's sound effects and voice acting were also the subject of criticism, with IGN and Nintendo World Report in particular calling them annoying and poorly-implemented.

[15][4][17][19][18] Nintendo World Report greatly praised Drill Spirits's gameplay for being well-designed and unique compared to other puzzle games,[4] with IGN and Nintendojo saying it would satisfy fans of the series.

[13][19] Retrospectively, Retronauts said the game was more of a stripped-down version of Mr. Driller Drill Till You Drop, only recommending it to players who were unable to get ahold of the latter.