The actual boat journey to the afterlife often brings some clarity and completeness to each of the characters’ stories in a way that left me feeling like each character had a proper goodbye, even if I wasn’t ready to say my farewells just yet. In another game, my personal experiences might have made it feel too heartbreaking to continue, but Spiritfarer has a way of bringing hope into the bleakness of death. She seems more and more confused about who Stella is and where she is at the end. The day after that, the friend has difficulty walking, and even the other spirits on board start to notice. One friend in particular reminded me of past experiences in my family with dementia- this friend starts seeming a bit confused, and then snaps at you in a moment of confusion. It seems to happen slowly, and then all at once. And I feel like this is something Spiritfarer demonstrates perfectly, perhaps not even meaning to do so.Įach friend's journey must come to an end in Spiritfarer. To really be friends, you have to accept that you are going to inconvenience and be inconvenienced by other imperfect people from time to time. And it says something that the player continues to try and make the best of it too.
And when it was time to tell this character goodbye, I felt a pang of remorse that he wouldn’t be nagging me for fried chicken anymore.Īfter all, it says something if a character is annoyed that they’ve had to remind me that they don’t like fruit, or gets mad if I accidentally ring the morning bell while everyone is sleeping, but they still stick around and their mood isn’t stuck in that low place. But, I think the feeling of being comfortably annoyed is a unique indicator of closeness in a relationship. For one character in particular, the constant demands of specific dishes that I struggled to find ingredients for grated on me slightly. For example, offering a meal which has meat in it is no good for a vegan character or a coffee/tea might be too stimulating for a character that doesn’t like caffeine. Spirit friends might rebuke your offering of food if they don’t like certain ingredients. It can also be a bit of an annoyance- but stick with me, because this is actually one of Spiritfarer’s strengths in my opinion. There is the option for a second player to play as Daffodil the cat (full disclosure: As someone currently practicing social distancing and living alone, I was not able to try out the local co-op option, so I cannot comment on how it feels to play this way) so it makes sense that some parts of the game might be a little more suited more to this option.įriends will often make requests in Spiritfarer. Smelting iron or other types of nuggets out of ores comes to mind, as it involves simply interacting with the machinery in a repetitive motion (back and forth, back and forth) in a way that feels, well, a little boring and maybe it would go quicker if you had two players.
Others, like fishing and taking care of crops, feel a lot more relaxing and can keep you occupied long enough that you forget what your objective was and, as I mentioned earlier, forget that you’re playing a game about dying. Some of these, like catching lightning in a bottle, are simple but pretty fun because they are fast-paced. The resource gathering aspects often come in the form of a mini-game in Spiritfarer. Friends sometimes help you with tasks on your ferry.
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