SPIRITFARER

Spiritfarer is an exceptionally unique, cozy game that tackles the usually difficult topic of death. It is beautifully symbolic and recognises dying is part of life, taking solace in the many stories people have to share. Their regrets, struggles, triumphs, and experiences that made them who they were. It is mainly a management / colony sim with crafting, exploration, collectathon and a rich narrative to go with it all. Despite its sombre premise, this game will stay with me for a long time, and I cannot say I have played anything remotely like it.
Pros
Character-rich narrative that tackles a variety of deep topics
Addictive gameplay loop
Variety of genres
Gripping & emotional stories
Beautiful art
Lengthy gameplay time
Moving soundtrack
Cons
Over abundance of items, can be difficult to remember everything
One achievement requires the game to be completely replayed, but the choice is not overly significant to warrant this (nitpick)
Story
You play as Stella. Stella is the newest Spiritfarer which is essentially a ferry master for the dead. Help them pass over by fulfilling their last wishes, making them happy, providing them with the best food and finishing up the last requests they had. She takes charge of an enormous ferry that is extremely self-sufficient, home to a foundry, loom, chicken coop, kitchen, orchard and so much more. Stella is responsive for all the ships inhabitant’s wellbeing and will receive unique individual requests from each of them. These requests are an integral part to their “moving on” and once their request line is finished, they will be ready to take the next step. To proceed to the Everdoor. The Everdoor is the last place the characters will go before they say their goodbyes and can be quite emotional, as the characters typically stay onboard the ship for a lengthy period, and it is inherently easy to form attachments to them. Making it harder to say the final goodbyes.
I was in awe of the overall story of being a Spiritfarer, but also the individual stories that were told from each of the 14 characters. They all have their flaws, their challenges. Some welcome death with open arms, others are more reticent. The heartbreak of watching the elderly characters bodies and minds slowly breaking down before your eyes feels hopeless, especially after seeing them at their best, recounting the excitement they once had in their lives. Yet, as time goes on, and they start to accept their fate, it is terribly forlorn, but also poignant. The game indirectly stresses that death is a part of life, and whilst some characters have mental or physical incumbrances due to age, it is not something to fear, but a part of life. I found Spiritfarer to have a lot of life lessons to teach and was extremely thought-provoking and well executed. Despite its emotional arcs, I just could not put this game down.
Gameplay
Spiritfarer may be classed as within the “cozy games” or casual genre but boy is there a lot to do here! It is predominantly a management style game where you expand your ship with all sorts of useful buildings to aid you in your quests. To construct these buildings, specific resources must be gathered. Resources can be gathered by visiting the plethora of islands around the map and collecting them there, or purchasing them. Return to your ship and use one of the buildings such as the Foundry to make ingots of all the diverse types of minerals collected. Cut down trees and make them into planks. Plant seeds and farm them. Harvest wool from your sheep and use the Loom to make wool fabric etc. Each of these has many steps to make one item and it is not necessarily straight forward. Completing a request or building a specific building that had hard-to-get materials can really feel like a triumph. Trying to track down where a specific type of mineral is, setting sail to get there and then finally crafting it into an ingot to use was just satisfying. That being said, there is A LOT to collect, and I found it difficult to remember where things are, or how to make certain things. I found I had to write down a lot of the different combinations I needed so I could refer back to it when needed. Or where specific things can be found around the world. I would have liked to see some sort of glossary ingame that had all this information collated for me, especially in the late part of the game.
Along your sea-faring travels, you will come across different spirits that can be interacted with to bring them to your ship. Your ferry can be upgraded to increase the amount of space, speed, and also specific features to allow a wider access to other parts of the map. There’s treasure hunting, riddles, and other optional quests to do with different townsfolk that do not form the main questline of the spirits.
Whilst I am not a major fan of management sims or collectathon games, I became quickly addicted to Spiritfarer’s gameplay loop. There is just so much to do and lots of room for creativity. The combination of this style of gameplay with the emotionally rich narrative creates such a unique and memorable experience, one I recommend to all.
Visuals & Sound
Spiritfarer has a beautifully vibrant world, filled with rich colour hues, especially the Everdoor area. The art seems inspired by Japanese culture and the anthropomorphic characters are all unique in not only their personality, but how that personality is conveyed through their attire, species and so much more. The beautiful displays of the comet showers and other events was just stunning. Each area felt unique, from the chilly north with ice and snow, to the dark and gloomy misty east.
The OST is also just as memorable as the game itself. From the orchestral swells of instruments when at the Everdoor, the quirky bus stop music to the awe-inspiring clashes during the comet events. The soundtrack gives the game a large part of its beauty, whilst encouraging player reflection throughout.
Technical & Stats
This game was played using a controller and with the following PC specs.:
AMD Ryzen R5 7600x 5.4 GHz
32GB DDR5 5200 CL36 RAM
Radeon RX 6800 XT
2560x1440 resolution
NVMe 3.0 SSD
Windows 10
Playtime: 30 hours (game completed – but still finishing up achievements and additional content provided in the Farewell addition)
Controller Recommended? Yes.
Replayability value: Yes, there is an immense amount of content to explore.
Conclusion
Spiritfarer is an impeccable, thought-provoking, and wholesome game about death. Whilst “wholesome” and “death” are two words not commonly used collectively, Spiritfarer manages to achieve this symbiotic relationship throughout its 30+ hour playtime. Its addictive gameplay, mass of quality content and resonant storytelling make this a truly memorable title. It is well deserving of its “overwhelmingly positive” rating here on Steam, but still managed to fly under my radar in its release year of 2020. If you have not yet played this title, but enjoy cozy/wholesome games, Spiritfarer is well deserving of a place in your library.
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A very pretty and heartwarming game.
But there's this weird bug where my eyes get all watery when I send a spirit through the Everdoor..

TLDR: This game was one of my favorite games I've played.
I suffer from CPTSD. Trauma is intertwined in every aspect of my life. I've been working really hard to improve my life and integrate my trauma, and this game has become a step in that journey.
Six months ago, I was emotionless, going through life in a state of constant dissociation. I couldn't cry, couldn't get angry, couldn't feel joy. As I've gone through therapy, my emotions have slowly begun to come back to me. I realized this when I took the first character to the Everdoor. My eyes welled up with tears. I was actually feeling things. Emotion!!
This game is an utter masterpiece. It weaves complicated themes of trauma and loss and betrayal so well into the story line and characters. The gameplay is simple yet satisfying. The amount of hours it takes to complete the story is just the right amount; not too much to which you get tired of the repetitive gameplay, and not too little where you wish you had more. Each character is unique and feels whole, not like a trope. The dialogue is engaging. The loading screens don't take too long. The music draws you in and helps to bring out those emotions deep within you. It's a masterpiece of a game. I doubt I will find another as good for a long time.

Spiritfarer is Stardew valley on a boat, except all your townsfolk are going to die and you have to care for them before they pass.
The first bit of the game is a long tutorial. Collecting resources is tedious, boating around takes days, everything is expensive, quests are all over the place, and I kept hitting physical roadblocks on the world map.
But then, my fishing pole got upgraded, fast travel to checkpoints became available, an antique dealer bought all my junk for thousands of the in-game currency, and I took my first passenger, Gwen, to the Everdoor. It was very emotional, like I was saying my goodbyes to a loved one, because canonically I was, Gwen is the lifelong best friend of Stella, the player character. I then realized, all my passengers who I feed, talk to, hug, house, do events with, and help cope with the end of their days... are going to die... Really die... They will want to enter the great Everdoor and pass from the spirit realm, from my ferry, from the home I built them, into the afterlife.
I feel like a nurse giving end of life care to those on their deathbed. It is taxing, but I feel good. I am making them better, I am getting them ready.
10/10, would cry again.

I actually don't want to leave a review because every review I leave is pretty much a joke.
but I've decided to make an exception.
Very few media I have experienced really made an impact on my life, Spiritfarer is one of them.

this game is so good that i silently cried at my computer multiple times for days on end and no one noticed cause im that good at silent crying 10/10 would cry again

I wanted to play a game that would make me emotional. I ended up bawling my eyes out over an old lady hedgehog. 10/10 would play over and over again