Издание Spiritfarer®: Farewell

I'm sooooo amazed by the quality of this game considering the size of the folder. Shed so much tear along the way, and enjoyed it so much.

My only complaint is with the bug that sometimes freezes the game when I'm in building mode. I had to quit the game and lose progress, but thankfully, there is auto save, so it's not too much work to pick it back up. Also, I might just suck at action game, but some of the puzzle is quite hard and my stupid hands just can't push the button quick enough, like the gold dragon mini games or some of the rare chests in the mines (not gonna spoil it, but you'll know what I'm talking about if you start the game lol). It would be nice if there is an option for difficulty on start screen, so relaxing players like myself can be spared from the struggle.

Overall, I love this game a lot! Beautiful picture, nice music, smooth movement, good story, highly recommended for everyone!!

Lovely game. Relaxing and emotional. The art is amazing as well!

I tought I LOVED this game but I HATE it.

Why?
The artwork is super cute, there is animals with their own character. There is a ship. There is building little houses. There is crafting and gardening. There is exploring. There is a little puzzle element. There is humor and poetic scenes.
So: whats not to love?

The frecking jump scenes after you bring a soul trough the Everdoor.
I am somewhat dexteriously handicapped (certified) andI hate hate hate those scenes!.
You can NOT skip them in any way. You are stuck untill you manage it.
You can NOT save halfway trough them. So start over every time you decide to NOT trow your hardware out of the window but to shut it down and have a cup of tea.

The whole jump-king stress vibe takes away every poetic inclination, of which would have been great Memory scenes.

Hate hate hate. if I wanted to play Jump King I would have bought jump king.

Try Chants of Senaar instead. Only has 1 or 2 tricky but survivable dexterity scenes, and all the poetry.

If you try to play the game "well", it is far from relaxing, and very quickly devolves into a chore simulator.

I enjoyed my time with the first few passengers but after those first few none of them did anything for me in terms of interesting stories or emotional impact. On the whole it feels like for a game where you are supposed to interact with the characters there is very little you can do to interact with them aside from the scripted conversations after you've done the next chore. Between the drop in quality/likeability of the characters (or perhaps it was the novelty wearing out) and the chores getting worse I dropped the game, don't feel like picking it back up a couple months later still.

Game has too many problems to deserve an overwhelmingly positive imo.

Absolutely love this game, and huge respect to the devs and artists for making it so beautiful, emotional, and peaceful all at once. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a truly special experience.

You just run around and water crops or cut down trees. Again and again. In drawn out, unskippable animations. Those are some good animations, but not "watch them 500 times" good. I am sure the character writing is neat, but to get to that you just sail around aimlessly and gather resources to build a new house or workshop to make more resources (in unskippable minigames of course). It just takes so long to do anything

I gave up at the point of 83% progress. (124 hours in total)

\ + /
The game's concept is very good, so as the first several hours' play. It was heartwarming, soothing and touching. I was so sad to send Gwen to the gate. At that point, I would give the game 9/10.
But, all ends there.

\ - /
During the next 100+ hours or so, I spent most of the time in:
(1) watching repeated animations (tbh, these animations are well crafted, but not after you watch them 1684516165 times again and again and again)
(2) wandering around the map searching for hints and next plot trigger (if not with the help of online searches, guess I'll be forever lost in the sea)
(3) all the acrobats like jumping, sprinting, gliding must be done in precision (in blind, you won't see where you'll land). the margin of error is so small that most of the time you need to try several times for each attempt. another unnecessary process to waste player's time.
(I'll omit the other minor stupidities here)

so in summary, despite the excellent concept, the game's mechanic is awful and maliciously implemented. It just forces you to waste lots of time in useless actions in order to prolong the game play time. The game should be played with pleasure and at ease, not with frustration and despair.

Farewell, So ironic.

To anyone thinking about this game, it is best if you understand a few things first. This game is beautiful. I have thought of hundreds of different words to describe it but nothing can compare. From the visuals to the composition, everything about this game is absolutely wonderful. As you play through it, you will stop and just watch the world around you. As if nothing else exists but the sky and it's music.

Please note though, this game is heartbreaking. You will find yourself mourning characters that you never knew you loved. Wishing that they were back to accompany you once again. Hoping that the next one to go won't hurt as much, but always being proven wrong. Their stories and past coming to light in a way that makes it so you can't help but forgive them.

This game is beautiful.
This game is heartbreaking.
This game will forever hold a place in my soul.
If you are on the edge of buying this, just note, you are not just buying a game. You are purchasing a memory that will stay in your heart for the rest of your life. And who knows? Maybe even after.

This game is just wonderful. The quests and story are written so thoughtfully and the meaning behind even the simplest of things resonates so deeply.
This game is perfect for something relaxing, or with complete focus.

My only major criticism is that the character's life and background are not fully explained within the story. Though by speaking to them more frequently you can garner a lot more from each character. I did wish that there were ways that maybe we could read more about each character. Maybe pages found from shipwrecks or messages in bottles fished up. Just some way that we could have more context for each character's living life before coming to the grand ocean of styx.

Might replay so that I can spend more time with each character.

Spoiler-free review.

I would say my verdict of Spiritfarer is mostly positive, but I do think this game still has its negatives. This game has a beautiful art style, wonderful ambiance(which manages to strike the perfect balance between cheerful, nostalgic and melancholic) and worldbuilding. It feels like a lovely, comforting hug. However, the game gets a lot more boring as you play it. Eventually, the game becomes nothing more than grinding for items, completing quests and wishing for the plot to proceed somehow.

Pros:
1. Beautiful artstyle and worldbuilding.
2. Great storyline. I enjoyed interacting with certain spirits, the other spirits were tolerable enough and the main character, Stella's own story was pretty compelling.
3. The power scaling and exploration aspect is done pretty well. The areas you an explore are lovely and well thought out. The game is also pretty accessible and allows you to adjust the difficulty level for certain quests that get annoying to do and you just want to go through it to let the main storyline progress.
4. Grinding for items is pretty fun although I got pretty bored towards the end. The mini-games are pretty well thought out and don't punish you for the most part.
5. The game has a very dedicated developer team and I loved going through their additional content, which I was able to subscribe to via email.

Cons:
1. I'd mentioned this earlier while discussing the strengths of the game, but after a certain point you don't really want to grind anymore and you've seen all that the game has to offer. Regardless, you're still forced to play these games to progress, which annoys me. This happens with two spirits towards the end, which annoyed me to no end because much like the game's theme, I was ready to bid farewell to this playthrough.
2. Most spirits feel one-dimensional. I found myself skipping through their dialogue after running through them once and not feeling anything when I had to let more than half of them go through the everdoor(And people around me consider me to be someone who cries easily).
3. When you reload the game after saving, you spawn at a designated spawnpoint and not the point where you saved, which annoyed me pretty often because I saved at a certain point for a reason.
4. I wish some of the time consuming aspects of the game such as travelling could happen in the background and there was an option to fast forward the day.
5. I wish completionists had a checklist to know how much progress they're making towards certain achievements and whether they missed something.

Overall, Spiritfarer is a great game, but it's still not for everyone. It's a great game at regular price with around 40 hours of content during a regular playthrough and around 80- 100 hours if you're a completionist. I would recommend waiting for the game to go on sale, which happens pretty often because it gets some pretty great discounts.

What a gorgeous game. This was absolutely and genuinely a stunning experience. As someone who has struggled constantly with a fear of death, this game really had opened my eyes a lot with dealing with my own mortality. You genuinely had me in the first half when I thought this game was going to be a simple, seafaring adventure with a bunch of friends on a boat. Yet, no. It's more than that. Far more.

Some things I enjoyed:

-The Main Character(s).
Stella is quite frankly lovable from the very beginning. The expressions and the silly vibes she has are adorable all throughout the game. Seeing her reactions to the world around her was very funny at times and honestly heartbreaking at others (See Below). Daffodil, your cat, is adorable as well. He is a great travel companion and I love that you can hug him whenever you want, but I do have my complaints with him later on. The ending that these two get is so poetic and beautiful and really ties the game together. Learning about Stella and how they connected to all these people was amazing. Putting together and theorizing what Stella and these people were to one another was so intriguing (and often gave you a sense of dread in some cases.... see below).

-The Ensemble Cast.
The characters in this game are very well written. There are a select few that I think really excelled. I won't go into too much detail other than names and sparse details. Alice and Stanley. Losing these two genuinely destroyed me. I felt utterly and genuinely hollow to the moments prior to Alice's release as it reminded me of my own experiences with a figure in my life that I lost many years ago. It just brought me back to those moments and it utterly massacred me. Stanley was just far too cute to be in this game. As someone who has children in their life, I felt terrible for him. I was once that scared little kid too and it really hit home for me.

You know what you did Thunder Lotus. And I HATE you for it.

-The Art Style.
The artstyle is just good. It's delicious. The character designs are amazing and I think really represent the people they're attached to. My favorite designs I think would have to be Bruce and Mickey, Stanley, Lily, and Hades. Overall super cute. Animations are fluid and amazing.

-Soundtrack.
The music in the game is overall really nice. I didn't get sick of listening to it, but it's not something I'd put on the radio for me to listen to. Maybe unless I'm studying or something. There's a few songs that I didn't exactly vibe with, specifically Alex and Francis' themes respectively. I'm glad there was the option to turn Alex's off, but a tad disappointed the same wasn't done with Francis as I feel both can really take you out of the atmosphere of the game quickly.

There is one standout especially to the soundtrack and it is what you hear at the very end of your journey. The Credits Song. I'm sorry Thunder Lotus Games I wasn't aware of your swag, please stop making me cry. In all seriousness, this number is a wonderful treat. This is one of the few games I don't opt to just skip the credits. I sat there in stunned silence, wallowing in my tears with my Girlfriend. Again, hate you TLG, you know what you did.


Some things I disliked:

-One Specific Achievement Set.
If you've looked at the locked achievements of this game there is one that requires you to either quit out of the game during it or play another full playthrough up to that point. And this by no stretch is a mere few minutes in. This is multiple hours of gameplay that you get through to do this. I, at the time, was unaware that there was an achievement tied to both choices. This is one of the few things that ALWAYS gets on my nerves with games with achievements. I can understand for games having multiple difficulty levels or repeatable challenges like time trials that can be redone at any time, but having to either quit out or do a whole different playthrough is always so annoying.

-Daffodil AI.
This cat is both one of the most consistent things in your life in this game and also the least consistent. Daffodil is with you from the start of the game and is your trusted ally as you become the Spiritfarer together. He is with you through thick and thin. I didn't have any proper issues with Daffodil until nearing the end of the game. He gets stuck 24/7 when trying to gather resources, making you have to wait a half hour for him to slowly float onto the screen. The first time? Silly and funny. The 30th? Please just let me chop some wood. The wood is the ONLY thing that Daffodil helps you gather, and yet his one job he starts to get lazy at due to how certain islands have their geometry. I don't know why wood is the only exception, but I really wish Daffodil would just not be involved for the woodcutting at all. There are also times where when on your ship, he will find a way to get himself animation locked onto a ladder and start vibrating profusely. Other times he'll get stuck in one of his keyframes of animation and just SLIDE across the floor and then duplicate himself for animations he's required in. NO OTHER CHARACTER DOES THIS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF STELLA BEING ABLE TO REPLICATE THE VIBRATING LADDER GRAB. It's not game ending, but it is annoying when it happens more than once.

-Repetitive Dialogue.
This certainly is a nitpick on my end, but there's not much else I can think that really frustrated me with the game overall. So I'll include this just to have a third dislike. I found at times that I would hope that characters had more dialogue while on the ship when chatting. They'll usually hit you up with a "Good Morning, Stella" or something to that effect when they rise from slumber and later on in the day they'll have a general "Hey Stella" type message that pops over their head. I really wish this game explored these characters inner workings more and had them talk even further about themselves than they had. I would've loved to hear them talk more heavily about stories involving Stella or themselves. Maybe it could've been an extra building you could get early on to have them tell you stories or something. (There's something similar, but it doesn't really strike the same itch for me as I feel it's a tad barebones even if I did enjoy it).

This game overall:
-Will make you cry. A lot. If you are easily emotional play this game at your own risk. AGAIN. TLG. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID.
-Has a lovely cast of characters that you grow to understand with time.
-Deals with the difficult subject of mortality in a way that is beautiful and unique for each cast member.
-Has gorgeous art and animations.
-Has a calming OST.
-Will change you if you let it.

Closing Thoughts:
I remember seeing this game at E3 2019. I didn't think too much of it as I was in call laughing at other releases with friends of mine. All I remember thinking was, "How cute! You can hug your friends!" And... when I launched the game for the first time, I recalled that moment as I hugged Gwen for the first time. I went into this game knowing nothing about it other than it looked adorable. Then... as time continued. I started to get it. This game is about my greatest fear. In truth, I'm not scared of dying. I'm scared of losing everything. It's a frightening thought, even now. I don't think anything will shake that off from me. It's devastating.

Death isn't something that picks and chooses. It can happen anywhere, anytime. And in the words of Griffin McElroy, "When someone leaves your life, those exits are not made equal. Some are beautiful and poetic and satisfying. Others are abrupt and unfair. But most are just unremarkable, unintentional, clumsy."

This game exemplifies that. A lot. And it truly made me value my time spent with these characters who felt like people I know and knew.

Well, it's time to let go of this. This was a beautiful experience that I'll treasure for a long time.

Let somebody know you love them today. Let them know you're in this together.

Final Score: 9.5/10

It was extremely good at first and the stories have so much potential. Don't get me wrong. Playing for first 10 hours was one of the best game ever but after that it went downhill. The first 10 hours still makes game worth the price.

The main issue is the repetitive chores. It hinders your relationship with the spirits. Family turns into the slave. You have to stop caring for the details such as "Food" for each one. It's either favourite for the heart bonus or just a random junk to fill their stomach. The time just doesn't fit for the player to take care of the details.

auto-watering on garden? - We give you a blueprint at the near end-game so it's already useless
Time for foundry and forging. - Spending a minute for a single metal sheet
Spamming button on Crusher - Just why???
Time for cooking - TBH can't you reduce it? What's the goal for making players wait an overnight.
Upgrading ships? - Huge money so you must do a lot of chores.
Even a farming game does not have so much grinding chores like this.

The game progress should have been much faster so it does not overshadow the great stories.

feels like my own trauma making it hard, theres actual closure and i get to say goodbye which is way more difficult im rambling get the game its on sale rn

Addictive, beautiful and emotional game (yes, i cried a lot)
Highly recommend it.

This is my first ever review for a game I've purchased on Steam. Bought it for a steal at around two dollars on a sale pretty excited about scoring an "overwhelmingly positive" indie game for cheap. 42 hours in and I'm at a loss for words - it's more than a farming sim, for sure. More accurately, while it DOES center around a farm/ship mechanic, it is story-centered so expect to experience more (also emotionally) than you signed up for.

There are themes of death, grief, love, family, kinship, friendship, of labour, of addiction, of living, of life. The game delivers these themes spectacularly; without being overly "woke", cringey or forced. Not all the spirits you come to love at the end of their journey and some stories end seemingly prematurely, but most you realise you understand and accept for being who they are - why they behave the way that they do, or towards Stella. Therein lies the beauty of the way the conversations have been written, how the hugs are animated, even how the constellations (after the goodbyes) are patterned. The soundtrack is also amazing (I personally loved Daria's theme).

Between the heaviness, theres still comic relief that feels natural and well-placed: a random spirit that follows you around calling you "murderer!" whenever Stella cuts a tree, a seal spirit that sounds like the dog of wisdom meme that goes to his "happy place" whenever you tell him to switch off his noise-banging, a capitalist racoon company that monopolises trade, and the occasional interaction that is fourth wall-like. All of the random faceless spirits you meet in the towns you sail to have a character of their own.

The game is cathartic, full-bodied, and frankly exceptional. Would also recommend watching the documentary by The Escapist on YT to fill the void after you complete the game.

₊˚⊹♡ a lovely, wholesome, underrated gem of a game! <3
beautiful art + music, emotional story line and likeable characters with depth to their personalities. If you're a pretty emotional and mentally ill girly like me you will probably cry playing this but still enjoy it nonetheless. This game explores hard topics like grief, mental illness and death.

long review short: I love this game, please play it and share the pain :3 + there is a cat, who doesn't love cats?! ദ്ദി/ᐠ｡‸｡ᐟ\₊˚⊹♡

Spiritfarer is hands down the most beautiful game I have ever played. The dialogue, art, music, and storyline all came together in such an emotional way. I had so much fun achieving 100%, especially Susan's museum collection! ★★★★★

Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition

Long story short: Deep and emotional story about loss and the people we meet on our way through life, resonating with your own life experience (but nothing groundbreaking), amazing visuals (but you will get tired of repetitive animations), decent and diverse gameplay (but gets too stale and monotonous). I somewhat liked Spiritfarer, sank 37 hours into it, but I think it’s skippable. Yeah, lots of “buts” and it’s intentional - exactly my impressions of this game. But despite all that, I still recommend it.

Gameplay: 6/10
Story: 8/10
Graphics and Art style: 9/10
Music and SFX: 8/10
Total from me: 7.5/10

What’s the gameplay? Spiritfarer tries so hard to be something it just shouldn't have been. Gameplay-wise, it’s a mix of platforming and Stardew Valley-like farm management. But despite getting many gameplay mechanics together: following storylines of different spirits, building your megafarm on a sailing ship, upgrading stations, cooking various food, gathering resources, solving easy platforming puzzles, and exploring the most distant places on the map, Spiritfarer excels at none. Farming and gathering resources - underwhelming, platforming - too easy, exploring - non-rewarding (if you go on a long side-quest, you will probably get nothing out of it). By forcing you to do so many chores, Spiritfarer makes you lose focus on what is the main attraction of this game: deep, emotional, and well-thought-out stories of different spirits. These stories are engaging and make you push forward. Shame that gameplay doesn’t support storytelling, and at some point, daily routines turn out to be an irritation: so tiresome, so repetitive, and so very-very shallow. Farming reminds me of bad mobile games and is too simplistic, side quests are too boring and empty - all the core mechanics are there, but, in my opinion, they are not deep enough.

What is the story about? The story is what this game is really about, and it is relatable. But despite a couple of interactions that were based on small nuances (oh, Alice, I almost cried), the end was a bit disappointing. In my opinion, to better relate to spirits I’ve met along the way, I should have spent more time with them and seen how they interact with each other. There were some hints of this idea at the beginning of the game, but later that feeling of interconnection between spirits was lost, and stories became a little bit too generic. And at the end, I just wanted to get it over with, because stories of late-game characters were not as interesting as those of the starting characters.

What does it look like? From a visual point of view, Spiritfarer is very pretty: the animations are neat, art style is amazing. Artists managed to create a beautiful, meditative game. But after watching animations for few times, an understanding dawns. You can’t skip them. You will have to watch the same long (but so pretty) animations over and over again - yeah, I’m talking to you, "the boat dropping on the water" animation loop.

How does it sound? The music is decent, it’s nothing you will remember after playing or add to your playlist, but I never felt the need to switch it off and listen to something else.

Should you play? Skippable. But worth it if you are looking for an emotional story about loss. If this game were shorter and had a little bit more streamlined or deep mechanics, it would be so much more enjoyable.

I love Spiritfarer <3 It's a comfort game of mine. I've played it twice, and each time, I get so immersed that I finish the game in 2 days. heehee

I love all the different stories and characters, and mini-games related to them. I also love the management aspect. It's not too crazy and you can level up pretty easily. The art is gorginaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!! Idk, it's just very comforting

What a beautiful game! The art and animation for this is on a completely different level. I remember when I was a kid day dreaming of games that looked like I was playing a cartoon and this game gives me that feeling. I'm about 20 hours into playing this and I'm thinking about it when I'm not even playing it. I had never even heard of the game before I bought it on sale and I'm so glad I took the chance on it.

"Be one and be whole, but keep being"

This game is criminally underrated. Every piece of dialogue feels like a kiss on the forehead and is so unique in it's ability to be so human and magical and depict life, the afterlife and the human experience. It really is the small things in this game that makes it so beautiful, from the random spirits who we can interact with and get a glimpse of their life to the prolonged hug when the spirit is delivered.

The message behind grief, attachment and forgiveness is so personal to me, and in a way also helps me process my own grief, attachment and resentments. (I'm already thinking of getting a tattoo).

Gameplay wise, it can be grindy but in a nice relaxing way (looking at you stardew valley). I like to take my time on the boat and wait for things to grow, make fabric and ingots. I'm sure it's intentional that the devs made the mechanics of this game to feel slower than other similar games and there is something soooo special about it.

I can't wait to finish this game and see what else it has to offer !!!

I really loved the story and game play! All of the characters were so unique and touching!!

This is my first time ever leaving a review.
It is such a beautiful game, and I'm only 6 hours in, but I am so captivated.
There is so much more content than I expected as well.

Great game! It's a very clever story, artwork & soundtrack. i'ts very deep so I don't want to spoil anything.

OLD PEOPLE

Anyways, I cant recommend this game even if it is a quality game where the animation half-carries it.

I cant recommend it because the pacing of the game is really off.

You spend a lot of wasteful time doing errands for all of these characters, and I just cant seem to vibe with them.
The game is essentially a farming sim, but the pay off of the farming is to fill out resources. Thats it.
The story is nice, but again, its mostly about the characters who I just didnt vibe with. I couldnt grasp a lot of the dialogue properly. I was bored quite a bit because the text bubbles are really exhausting in the way it is writen, and it all just ends up feeling like the characters are talking AT you.

The pacing of the game feels further bad if you consider how fast or slow you EverDoor a spirit.
A lot of the quests for the spirits are also time gated.

And each little action that you do on your ship and outside gets really tedious.

I would have been okay with all of this if the quests were smarter, dialogue was better/nicer, and less time spent traveling.
I dont think I needed 30 hours to beat this game. Seriously.

30 Hours of the same tasks.

The most enjoyable late game bit was Overbrook and Daria. That was nice and felt like you actually had some meaningful impact to the game.

----

So, quality game. Stellar animations. Mid dialogue and fairly bad pacing resulting in lots of tedium.
I would give out Suggestions as to how this game could have been better (in my case) but that would be essay long texts and im too lazy atm.

I really like the story and how meaningful the connections are with the other characters. The music and sound design is amazing and I really like the art style. All of the controls are fairly easy and the overall gameplay is easy to understand. I would definitely recommend this game to people who enjoy more calm and artsy games.

A very casual game with some beautiful art, music and story behind it.

Being honest, I found this game rather... boring. The story is okay, but in my opinion it didn't feel special, and I personally didn't connect with it as the grinding and searching for resources completely took over any sort of storyline. I didn't feel emotionally attached to any of the guests, and none of them particularly stood out to me. The quests took too long and didn't feel rewarding enough - having to travel all the way across the map for whatever resources were needed was tedious. The artstyle and soundtrack of this game are beautiful, although this doesn't compensate for the lack of gameplay.

Starts off charming but turns into a chore list with endless travel. Go into it with the mindset its a game you NEED to take slow.

Cozy game, great story line

amazing and calming game to play to rewind after a long day or even a stressful day i would recommend it to everyone. the colours are amazing and even the sounds ^^

This game is about death, when you are watering the plants for 340th time while your crew rests and complains, you really want to end yourself. Boring, Grindy, and Tedious!

going in blind and realizing I suck at this game not because it's mechanically challenging or hard to figure out, it's quite literally my own trauma making it unnecessarily hard. I've never really looked inward on how I dealt with my grief growing up but taking someone to the everdoor keeps bringing me back to when I first encountered death like some part of me hasn't truly healed from it but the difference is there's closure I actually get a chance to say goodbye. idk im in tears rambling get the damn game its worth

I heard how touching and sad this game was with it's stories. It has a nice cozy vibe and co op to boot. But man it was not clicking. I played for a couple hours and quickly found out that the majority of the 'cozy' gameplay is just doing chores. I don't hate chore games but they have to be fun and reward me for my time. I don't enjoy essentially being forced to water the plants every single day, pick them, reseed them, and play lame minigames to catch fish and jellyfish or wait forever for my animations to finish to mine rocks.

Based on the other reviews I'm seeing, this trend does not seem to go away and it sounds painfully boring. I understand that I didn't get very far to enjoy the characters, but they have less presence than I thought they would. They mostly just ask for things like food and buildings. It's sorta all well and good but they're really just asking me to grind more chores and minigames. I didn't even get to any sort of meaningful story - I'm sure they're solid but it's not grabbing me. At the rate the game was going, I would be better off just reading a book to get good story.

Also the co op is ok. You can do chores almost twice as fast so that's a huge boon but then the camera doesn't stretch completely so on some maps you might end up far away. I also don't think this is necessarily the games fault, but several times the second controller got 'deleted' or something and it would revert to single player (being controlled by both players) forcing a reset to main menu. slightly annoying.

Overall I'm sure it's... okay, but I couldn't help but be bored and just read through the filler conversation as fast as possible and try to parkour to the next activity hoping it was more interesting than herding a sheep 20 feet or chopping down another tree.

I can’t recommend this game simply because it’s not for me. While it has a beautiful art style and a unique atmosphere, the gameplay felt too slow and, ultimately, not very engaging. Slower-paced games aren’t necessarily bad, but in this case, the mechanics didn’t hold my interest. The mini-games, which could have added variety, ended up feeling dull and uninspired. However, if you’re looking for something calm and meditative, this might be a good choice—just consider waiting for a deep discount.
Strengths:
1. Stunning Visuals – The art direction is fantastic, and the game is visually appealing.
2. Smooth Controls – Movement and interactions feel polished and responsive.
3. Intriguing Premise – The idea of guiding spirits to the afterlife is compelling.
Weaknesses:
1. Shallow Resource Management – Initially satisfying, but quickly becomes either pointless or frustratingly grindy.
2. Unlikable Characters – Most spirits feel one-dimensional, with exaggerated and often unpleasant personalities.
3. Weak Emotional Payoff – The game builds up to farewells that should feel meaningful, but they often lack depth, making it hard to connect with the characters.
4. Repetitive Mini-Games – Instead of enhancing the experience, they add to the monotony.

I wanted to love Spiritfarer, but despite its charm and potential, it never fully pulled me in. The characters didn’t feel compelling, and the gameplay loop became tedious. If a slow-paced, visually rich, and reflective experience appeals to you, it might be worth trying—but for me, it fell flat.

Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition

Gameplay: 7/10
Story: 9/10
Graphics: 6/10
Environment: 8/10
Optimization: 10/10


I don’t know where to begin this review without touching on spoilers, as I truly believe everyone deserves to experience this game firsthand. Instead, let me share something personal.

I lost someone incredibly close to me to cancer 2 years, 2 months, and 23 days ago. She was the one who raised me from birth, the person I turned to for advice and comfort, the one who shielded me from the world. When she was gone, I felt lost. The only person I could rely on for guidance was no longer there. I healed—slowly, but surely—yet the scars remain.

Spiritfarer brought me back to that time. Its symbolism mirrored the emotions I once went through, and every character resonated with me in some way. Each journey to the Everdoor left me feeling both empty and relieved—a paradox that perfectly captures the reality of grief. The game doesn’t just depict loss; it makes you live through it.

As the credits rolled, I leaned back in my chair and sighed. That experience, which once felt unbearable, was suddenly fresh again—yet it didn’t hurt. Instead, it brought me peace.

The symbolism in Spiritfarer is its greatest strength. Every character embodies something significant, but listing them here would take away from the experience. What I can say is this: the music, the art, and the journey itself are nothing short of breathtaking. This is not just a game; it’s an experience—one that lingers in your heart long after you say your final goodbye.
I feel like this game is essential and relatable to everyone to an extent. 8/10 from me.

playing on mouse & keyboard
switching tabs using 1 and 2 has a short cooldown of like ~250ms (idk the actual number), this is annoying
if i want to cook 5 fish, it has the same short cooldown, i don't know why
so lets say the short cooldown for entering fish is 250ms
if i pressed e once every 250ms, it would be the fastest
however, if i mashed the key faster at 200ms, it would be slower because it isn't synced up and pressing the key earlier does not buffer the input
holding down the key doesn't seem to do anything, this becomes even more annoying when i want to saw wood or process linen
the little minigames you do to farm materials are really boring, somehow this game is more boring than OSRS
at least in OSRS, there is a mental strategy on what i'm going to do next
in this game, i feel braindead, running around, putting whatever i can find into my hoard stash because there is no storage management, its just farm all the resources on the map
ship navigation routing only allows up to 3 queued and the queue control kinda sucks
the music minigame for crops is just guitar hero, except u press the keys at the start of the symbol rather than the middle
but it doesn't matter anyways because u can just mash the upcoming key, u don't get punished when u press a key when there is no matching symbol lined up
the art style is decent, not as good as i thought it would be, i was slapped in the face on the intro when charon had very low resolution, the main character and his cat had high resolution and the rest of the screen was in the middle, absolute flashbang for my eyes
this continues for the rest of the game but isn't that bad
music is alright but i have a feeling that it'll just be the same old tune for the remainder of the game
the characters aren't too interesting, adding a menu specifically to check character happiness and their likes/dislikes objectifies them even more, but that's just my opinion
overall, kinda feels like playing a MMO, running around and farming mats, except without the promise of higher level, or rather, more fun content down the line

I tried the demo on Switch, and initially intended to get the game there, but it was on sale for an incredibly generous markdown on Steam so I grabbed it here.

I found this game while trying to find one to help cope with grief - this one was highly recommended for that, as well as trauma. A couple of reviews suggested that it may be too difficult to play in the earlier stages of grief, but I decided to try it anyway.

I recently lost my father. We were estranged for several years before his diagnosis, but we reconnected and he was sorry for the things he'd done. I spent his last few weeks at his side for a few hours each day.

Suffice to say, the reviews were correct, lol.
Not even an hour in, and I've wept twice. I don't even entirely know *why*, but there's something about how the first characters speak to you that is so .. comforting, enough so that it borders on feeling like a sort of empathy. Going off of the demo I played, I do think that feeling remains.

It's probably a game I'll take a long time to get through. I might even set it down a while; however, the comfort and kindness it brought (despite the bouts of weepiness) prompted me to leave a review already. I'll add more to this when I can get through the game.

The art is beautiful, the music is quaint, and the characters so far are quite endearing. This game was clearly crafted with love.

I got Spiritfarer on the switch and now I am playing it all over again right from the start again for a fresh new experience of the game. This game never left me, I think about it's lesson and story a lot. Please go in spoiler free, stop looking at reviews. Buy it and just play it. The music alone should be enough to swell your emotions!

I don't hate this game, not at all, and can see the sentiment behind it; behind the main story, the smaller details, and the characters, but I feel like once the charm of its art direction and interesting starting concepts are gone, the game becomes very monotonous and boring and even frustrating in some areas. Spoilers going forward

By the time I had released a spirit or two I had grown so bored. Aesthetics definitely take precedent over thought into the actual gameplay/pacing. The characters themselves also don't have that much depth to them, and it's hard to grow attached to them. Even when you do at first, many of them wind up being some degree of annoying or insufferable. The only characters I had any sort of emotional attachment to were Stanley and Daria. I'd add Buck too, but despite him being a unique character in that he's already passed, there's not much else put into him, no real emotional send off, at least from what I got to see. Those were also the three characters I felt were tolerable enough to still be interesting.

The random NPCs you find have more unique dialog than many of the main spirits, which is almost a problem; even nobody NPCs will have walls of text that mean nothing, and considering for many of the side quests you have to speak to a bunch of random NPCs until luckily finding the one that triggers a quest, that's... Lame, IDK. There is 100% a lot of fluff and padding in here to extend the game's runtime without adding any actual substance There's a lot of other small gripes I have, but I'll leave it here.

To put it simply, this game is like buying a jelly donut, but there's only a tiddlywink of jelly in the very middle. It's very good jelly, but you were expecting an adequate amount of jelly and there is no more jelly

Some game studios interpret "cozy" as doing trivial, repetitive tasks. This is one of them. None of the mini-games support the story being presented---they only pad the game's runtime. My immediate recommendation would have been to turn this game into a walking simulator, except Jotun proves that would be a bad idea for this studio.

Thunder Lotus Games does what they always do: aesthetics right first and foremost. Everything else is left to the wayside.

So I beat the game...but basically because of sunk cost fallacy. The game has some highs but far heavier lows. This is definitely a "doing chores" game above anything else.

Mild Spoiler Warning below.



Spiritfarer is beautiful with its art direction and it controls well. The story premise is interesting and I wanted to be invested in it...but I just could not be. The game revolves around two things. Resource management and interacting with Spirits living on your boat. The idea is to get to know these individuals over time and release them through the Everdoor to pass into the afterlife.

The problem is the game does neither of these particularly well. The resource management was good at first, it scratches the resource management board game itch I have. But then where to spend resources is either non-existent or you find you suddenly have to grind for another couple of hours to complete one thing.

The spirits themselves...man they basically picked every worst archetype of people out there and put them here. There were a total of 2 spirits I actually cared for by the end. You don't get to know them THAT well in the end, you mostly just get to hear their quips directed at you, which the majority of them are very negative to downright insulting you constantly. If they aren't insulting you, they are being annoying as possible. There were a couple of spirits that I looked forward to seeing their final moments just to get more background on them and how they died, but in that moment they did almost none of that, so I STILL had no connection to them as they passed. Characters weren't just "here's something I like", they were "this thing I like is my entire personality, deal with it".

Time. Your time is not respected here. You will be grinding and grinding for resources to advance minor things constantly. Not only that, there's MANY things in the game that require full, multiple in game days to pass which are about 20 mins long. There were countless times I left my game running in the background because I was forced to wait literal hours for something to be done. There is no time advancement in the game other than sleeping at night. All day hours must be waited out in real time. In addition I would be doing this and doing all the quests I could with the resources the game had available at those intervals (you have to unlock more of the map with boat upgrades for more resources) but it turned out I had to do some random interaction to progress the game. No progression was ever clear. I would just be stuck because I needed resources I didn't have access to. For example, one requires fishing. I had done so much fishing up to that point I hadn't done it again for hours because I had SO MUCH already in my inventory, so why would I ever bother to do the mundane task again?

I tried so hard to like this game but man it was such a slog to get through with how bad pacing is and how unclear progression is. I love the idea, the execution was just so far off. You shouldn't assume your players are going to just do everything on repeat after they've already done it for hours on end. It gets boring, you need to spice it up or give better direction. I guess people who enjoy "cozy" games likely will enjoy this more but I was losing my mind after every dull task.

Its a nice game but the "tutorial" feels like it goes on for ever since it doesnt specificly end and anypoint so you dont shake the feeling, gathering resourses is fun but then you have to process them and it feels a bit forced cause at the 3/4 mark of the game you keep finding new types of materials that might just be used once or twice, i feel 1/2 of the spirits are extremly ungratefull, ask too much and insted of thanking you they spit to your face, sure when you gotta say goodbye to them they try to end up on a possitive note but honestly i have been waiting for ever to kick them out so i can use their "flowers" as currency to improve the boat.
Very grindy game without much reward

Spiritfarer is one of those games that is likely to leave some kind of an impact on anyone who's just willing to give it their time and attention, which is also likely why it's regular main story achievements have a very low percentage of people who've accomplished them (besides the fact that I think the game has been in game bundles pretty often).

This is a slow based game. It has a lot of dialogue, things take time to grow, cook, finish, move between and progress and we live in a world where many might not have the attention span for it, especially if they don't get into the rhythm of the game within the first spirit or two.

However, I'd encourage anyone to return to it and try to give it a try for a while longer. I also highly recommend anyone who doesn't have the game yet to give it a try. That's because there are a lot of things in the game that may well be helpful for many to hear, if you're just willing to open up to them. The game may be all about death, the whole premise is you giving spirits their last journey before moving on to no one knows where after all, however, it's also about a lot more than that. It handles struggles, insecurities, disabilities, different joys, things people put importance into and more. It doesn't always talk about them in the most direct way, but there is a lot to be glanced from your passengers, if you just listen. You won't like all of them, you won't understand all of their ways of thinking, but that isn't the point. You'll learn of their lives, help them move on and, little by little, also learn about the character you're playing.

It should be noted that the game does have the occasional glitches usually around quests moving forward, especially within its latter half of gameplay. All I've encountered through my playthrough were minor inconveniences though; exiting to the main menu and returning into the game was all I needed to fix them.

Stumbled upon Spiritfarer by sheer chance while looking for something to play in local co-op. I was surprised to find this game in my library—I don’t remember when or why I bought it. When I started playing, I was surprised again by its sheer quality and unique mix of genres. I didn’t expect to find a Metroidvania fused with farming and building mechanics, all centered around guiding souls to their final rest.

**Overview**
The visuals are simply breathtaking. I can't remember the last time I saw such high-fidelity 2D graphics. Characters, buildings, backgrounds—everything is a feast for the eyes. The animations are top-notch—buttery smooth and plentiful. This abundance of animations makes traversing the world (gliding cat!) and interactions a lot more enjoyable.

The co-op implementation is something I truly appreciate. The game does its best to give both players the freedom to move independently. The camera zooms out considerably, leaving enough space to fit even the largest ship. Sometimes, this can be problematic—it becomes hard to perform precise tasks, or the dialogue box may not fit on the screen. Otherwise, it’s one of the best implementations I’ve seen. The only exception might be split-screen co-op, where players have complete freedom, but at the cost of reducing the available screen size by half.

Explaining what you do in the game is tricky since so many gameplay elements intertwine. First and foremost, you are a temporary stand-in for Charon, meaning your main task is to find and ferry the souls of the dead to the afterlife. You travel through the underworld on a ship, exploring islands to find lost souls or run errands for them. Hence, the gameplay naturally alternates between sailing the seas and exploring islands.

**Islands**
Exploration plays like a platformer/Metroidvania hybrid. You can explore whatever is available, but some areas remain locked until you acquire new skills (such as double jump). There is no combat or experience system—instead, learning new abilities requires two things: finding an altar and gathering enough obols from the souls. Each soul grants you an obol after boarding the ship.

Platforming in the game is quite accessible. We had some difficulty figuring out the controls for rope movement, but for the most part, we had no major issues exploring the islands. With one outrageous exception—Daria’s dream sequences. The difficulty spike here is jarring, to the point that we were forced to switch to single-player mode just to get through them. Why introduce such a brutal platforming challenge in an otherwise calm and relaxed game? I have no idea.

**Ship**
The ship is the second, and arguably larger, part of the game. It’s your floating home, and you use it to navigate the world. Travel isn’t instantaneous—you chart a course, and the ship physically moves to the destination in real-time. However, time spent traveling isn’t wasted—you’ve got a shipload of tasks to keep you busy.

One major task is food management. You grow and cook food on the ship and then cater to the needs of your passengers. Farming involves planting, watering, harvesting, and processing (milk → yogurt).

Another key element is resource gathering and processing. Early on, you primarily scavenge materials from islands. As you progress, you’ll build processing stations to refine raw materials into more advanced ones—like turning ore into ingots. These facilities are just one type of building you can construct. Others include housing for souls, food-related buildings, and a few miscellaneous structures. Everything requires resources, and later, you can upgrade both the buildings and the ship, demanding even more materials.

And here lies my main gripe with Spiritfarer—the sheer amount of repetitive tasks. By mid-game, I was burnt out from the constant chore loop and was ready to call it quits. The only reason we stuck it out was that my wife is a completionist and refuses to abandon a game halfway.

I’ll admit—part of the problem lies with us. In any game with resource gathering and crafting, it’s easy to fall into the trap of overproducing, so you have to be mindful not to waste time stockpiling unnecessary items. That said, the game could do a better job of easing the grind. One glaring improvement would be the ability to travel at night—something that only unlocks toward the very end but would have been incredibly helpful much earlier.

**Souls**
Last but not least—the souls themselves. I’m running out of steam, so I’ll keep it short. The souls are just as beautifully drawn and animated as the main characters, making it a delight to watch them wander around the ship. Their personalities are relatable, and you can easily see echoes of real-life friends and family in them. Their quests aren’t particularly memorable, but they align well with their personalities.

One soul, however, left a lasting scar—the D&D guy. He drowns you in more tasks than anyone else, but here’s the kicker: you don’t actually have to complete any of them because he’s imaginary! You can’t bring him to the afterlife. Had I known this from the start, I would’ve saved myself a lot of time and effort.

Maybe the game did hint at his optional nature, but this brings me to another notable flaw: the tension between gameplay and storytelling. The constant pressure of managing chores made it difficult to fully engage with the narrative. My wife played as the main character, meaning she handled the dialogue, while I was often too preoccupied with ship tasks to follow the story properly. As a result, I didn’t form strong attachments to most of the characters.

Spiritfarer is a truly special game that blends adventure, management, and deep emotional storytelling into an unforgettable experience. Their personal journeys are touching and often bittersweet, making each goodbye feel meaningful.

underrated game,.. it really made me cry..
every spirit has a specific personality it's hard to get over it.
a lot of fun mini games to collect resources
yes no pay wall after buying the content. content is too good truly worth the money,
i don't recommend buying it with full price tho buy when there's offer..
game is worth it. atleat for one time play its good

I had heard of this game from a TikTok. Thus, I was excited to purchase this game on discount with high hopes. It has great art style, sound design, characters etc. but my one and only issue is that the grinding in this game is tedious. I tend to lose track of the lore of each spirit in detail because i have so much resource collecting in between. It loses the depth and the effort the story writers put into the game, all for 30 hours of playtime. There's a lot of flashing lights as well. BESIDES THAT, a lot of care is put into the game. If you value casual, story, experiences and don't mind the grind, then this game is always worth the play (especially on discount).

Maybe it's just that my attention span cannot handle something calmer than a Black Ops game. I'm not sure.

EDIT: im gonna cry

This is truly one of the most thoughtful games I've ever played.

I'm always looking to find new indie games, especially ones that have an emotional story line. Spiritfarer is a very emotional game that I highly recommend to anyone. I was fortunate enough to buy this game on sale, after hearing many good reviews about it, however, I would strongly urge anyone to buy this game, no matter the price.

A few of the many pieces that make this game so amazing are the beautiful soundtracks that play throughout the game, my favorite being the one that plays when a spirit passes on. There is also a gorgeous art style that has a cozy, welcoming vibe. Additionally, the characters have such diverse personalities that are so obviously well thought-out, and pleasant to interact with.

As mentioned, the emotional factor of this game is outstanding. Honestly, I am not a very sensitive or emotional person, but this game absolutely made me cry. The story line of this game is so well written, and you're always trying to help the spirits with whatever baggage they have, so that they can move on. A few of the stories are sad, and it filled me with pride when I was able to release them to pass on.

I absolutely loved this game and I urge anyone mildly interested to buy this. You truly won't regret it.

Spiritfarer is a beautifully crafted game that blends cozy resource management with deep, emotional storytelling about life and death. At first glance, it appears to be a simple simulation where you manage resources, build structures, and ferry spirits to the afterlife. However, underneath its charming visuals and soothing gameplay lies a poignant meditation on loss, grief, and acceptance.

One of the game’s greatest strengths is how it allows players to progress at their own pace. There’s no pressure to rush through objectives or optimize efficiency. Instead, Spiritfarer encourages players to take their time, enjoy the journey, and interact meaningfully with the spirits aboard their ship. Each character has their own unique story, personality, and struggles, making their eventual departure all the more emotional.

For those who have recently lost a loved one, Spiritfarer can be a particularly cathartic experience. The game doesn’t force players to say goodbye before they are ready. Instead, it fosters an environment where players can process their emotions naturally, learning to accept and let go in their own time. The farewell moments, though heartbreaking, are handled with grace and warmth, reinforcing the idea that while loss is inevitable, love and memories endure.

The hand-drawn art style, accompanied by a soothing soundtrack, enhances the game’s introspective atmosphere. The soft animations and gentle music create a sense of comfort, making even the heaviest moments feel tender rather than overwhelming.

Overall, Spiritfarer is more than just a cozy management game. It’s a heartfelt exploration of mortality, relationships, and the importance of making peace with goodbyes. Whether you play for the charming gameplay or the emotional depth, Spiritfarer leaves a lasting impact, reminding us that saying goodbye doesn’t mean forgetting—it means cherishing the moments that made those connections special.