Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition

As a teacher during Covid times, I'm often really stressed after work. This game is so wonderful that I find myself drawn into it so much that I can feel the stress lessen. The pacing is very intentional in that it won't let you rush through things and this is just what I need to force me to slow down and enjoy just how amazing this game is. One of my games that I can't think of any way to improve (others being Gorogoa, Her Story, and The Cat Lady). Cannot recommend enough

A very emotional, original, beautiful and largely relaxed game that has a few design flaws. I will only briefly mention the two most important ones, which can otherwise spoil the game: 1. You can't get rid of sheep. Therefore, only lure one sheep onto the ship, because more sheep will eat your garden if you don't feed them. 2. You can't get rid of trees either. So only plant each tree once. You probably only need the mulberry tree to play through the game anyway. Apart from that, you should dispatch the characters one after the other if possible, i.e. don't put the ones who get on the ship later before the others who were there before. That's how I reached a dead end and had to start again, but that was before the update.

i'm normally not much into management games, but spiritfarer managed to marry your typical stardew valley mechanics with some truly emotionally gut-wrenching character development and writing. steer well clear if you don't want your feely parts poked.

This game is a stunningly beautiful, meditative, moving experience with masterful storytelling and "real" characters with unique personalities and compelling narrative arcs. I wept, feeling a real sense of loss as each was guided off the ship. At the end, I sat for some time, unable to “let go” of the experience. (I suspect a “vintage” gamer like me will likely experience the game differently than a much younger player). Spirit Farer is an "open world" management game but with a semi-linear plotline and a definitive end. Most people will end up encountering game play in roughly the same order and, in fact, deviating from that order can cause some problems especially with pacing near the end. Some game sections may prove challenging for non-platform gamers (like me). I clocked in at 90 game hours (more than most). My advice? Don't rush, and interact with all the NPC "spirits", but mostly relax and be transported, rather than play to finish. Some minor faults: gameplay can be tedious and the pacing awkward depending on the order that you encounter the spirits. The last ¼ of the game dragged on as most of the frenzy of activity took place in the first part of the game. Many of the actions became repetitive.Important note: I almost missed a vital character because I wasn't in the habit of fishing regularly, or buying things from Francis. (Don’t want to say too much more because of spoilers). Also, pacing varies greatly depending on the order you encounter and transport the characters, which can leave long sections of the game where nothing happens. Mainly, however, the most major criticism is that the game dragged in places, especially at the end where I had little to do while waiting for the next progression of the story. Still, these criticisms are minor, and unimportant. If you love cozy management games, beautiful animation and meaningful storylines, You won’t regret your purchase.

... you will be faced with a big variety of them and cry a lot. I learned something from it - no better review than that.