Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition

“Cozy management game about ferrying spirits of the dead to the afterlife” captures the essence of Spiritfarer rather completely. Very pretty, with smooth visuals, sound, and gameplay. Chill, can even be played without a mouse. Spiritfarer does well in portraying death, in many of the forms it can take and the myriad of different ways it affects us all. Regardless of your background, there’s likely to be at least one of the spirits whose story resonates with your own personal experience, and I think that’s why it’s as popular as it is. I, for example, hated Jackie for his apparent arrogance, but ended up more sympathetic to him than pretty much any other spirit by the end of his arc. A very likeable spirit I met early on left me without saying goodbye, and the void left by their passing was something I would feel for many hours after. It's not flawless. The minute-to-minute gameplay borders on tedious. I wish that the game gave more of some spirits’ stories (apparently the art book of all things contains some rather crucial, missing details). The quality/depth of their writing also varies, sometimes substantially. Spirits rarely interact with each other, and even then usually only in very generic ways, which feels like a missed opportunity and makes them feel more 1-dimensional and less like living... dead?... people. The art is fine, but I can't recall ever being blown away by it. SPOILERS: But. By the end of the game, I've succeeded in helping these people make their peace and move on. Their houses remain, empty, their owners gone forever. But they're not the only ones who need help. One spirit remains. You can delay, remain on your big, empty ship for as long as you want to, but the end result is inevitable. The moment I saw this, felt this feeling, the game's potential was finally realized. I could keep playing as long as I wanted to. But at some point, I had to move on.

This is one of those you never uninstall. I'm a psychotherapist, and i never imagined using a game troughout a process (many times, i have to admit) to help a patient. This is a wonderful journey and a delicatessen to enjoy. A modest but more than enough world to explore, very coherent graphic design, one of the sweetest and heartfelt music soundtracks i've heard, and a very intelligent character gallery to implement a very simple but as effective game dynamic as it gets. So i really can't really overemphysize this. You have to try it. At the very least, you'll enjoy a cozy, little more than point n' click game with a cute overall feeling. Buy if you let it take you on the journey, you may find yourself reflecting on your own feelings, the nature of grief, friendship and love, and why not, the meaning of life. So, so recommended!!

This is not my kind of game, so I approached it as "I'll play this when I'm particularlyu tired and can't handle a brain-intensive game". It worked perfectly. The amazing graphics of the game, coupled with the interesting upgrade system, without being hard and with the interesting plot, makes for a game that doesn't expect your full attention but it's also engaging. This ensure you keep playing it and at the same time ensures I don't want to rush it, so I still have my "relax time" when needed.

The only game I've ever experienced as connecting with my soul as deeply as Spiritfarer was Journey. This being a single-player game (albeit with local co-op added recently, which I haven't been able to test) makes it quite different, but the heart at its core is about connection. The same applied to Journey. I am not writing a novel type review here. It suffices to say that if you like 2D-platforming, want to hug and support quirky friends, feel a sense of loss and accomplishment, and just bask in some wonderous ambience this is a game for you. Adding a level of coziness hard to find in many games makes this a gem among gems for me, I first tried it a couple of years ago and knew then that I would have to buy it someday. It helped keep my heart in place and recover during some rough days, and that alone made this a purchase I knew I would make one day. That day has arrived, and I'm just incredibly grateful to the developers.

Wholesome to play with your partner. Grinding materials is real.