![]() Just as often, it’s ridiculously funny to the point that I was often left aghast. ![]() Everyone has their time to process their time and say goodbye on their own terms - regardless of their flaws and virtues. At its core, the game understands death is an ordinary part of life, but a painful one nonetheless. ![]() A few might be so set in their toxic ways of navigating the world that they wouldn’t seek change. Others would use it as an opportunity to live normally for a little while longer. Some of us would try to make peace with our issues and relationships. It’s a meditation on life: what some of us would do if we were somehow given the chance to reflect on our own. It lets you wait to part ways until you have no other option to move forward. In a story in which connecting to these characters is the foundation for your ability to care for them, these figures paled in comparison to other, more nuanced and compelling spirits.Īnd yet… Saying goodbye to any character is heartbreaking in some sort of way. The progression of your relationship with a pair of characters rang unnaturally. The end of a spirit’s character arc felt abrupt. I couldn’t get a good sense of characters like Buck and Elena, either, who felt more like tropes than people to care for. I wanted something to elevate him from an unlikable cheater to a more complicated person. I feel part of Giovanni’s character arc is just missing. As soon as I met them, I knew it’d be hard to say goodbye.Įven though the writing is wonderful for many spirits, it’s not equally affecting across the board. There’s Gwen, your stuffy best friend whose words can cut through a shady merchant as easily as one’s heart Summer, your queer snake aunt whose kindness and wisdom produce some of the game’s most beautiful quotes Astrid, the labor activist with a penchant for gossiping and forgiving her unfaithful husband and Stanley, the timid mushroom child who throws himself at you whenever you hug him. It’s painfully easy to form those bonds with many of the characters in this game. For it’s the loving bonds we form with others that define each of us, as well as every character in Spiritfarer, after we pass on. Sometimes, those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. This is a game about care, rather not self-care. She couldn’t walk on her own anymore, you see.īut all the missions ultimately mean caring for someone else - something that, during a global pandemic in which we’re stuck at home, feels deeply rewarding. Such as when a spirit asked me to walk her to the end of the boat in the mornings and back to her cabin in the evenings. This is where you house the spirits you “collect” on your journey. Some of these quests involve gathering specific items and resources to develop your boat. By caring for them and helping them fulfill their wishes, you allow the spirits to wrap up the loose ends in their lives that otherwise keep them from achieving peace. In those moments, you, as Stella, assume the titular role of Spiritfarer: a ferry master to the deceased whose job is to help them pass on to the afterlife. I was right! It didn’t take long after its opening moments for my love to solidify. I felt then it would become special to me. I previewed Spiritfarer a few weeks before this review. However, even when the latest game by Thunder Lotus stumbles, it’s the loving and heartwarming details that made my love for it hardly waver over its lengthy 35 hours. ![]() That’s not to say it doesn’t nail the big picture. Even though it’s centered on the grand and universal concept of death, it’s those same little things in Spiritfarer that make it my favorite indie game of 2020. When I think of my own pet bird - long gone now - I remember how he’d walk across my shoulder to kiss my cheek, or always try to get a taste of my café con leche at breakfast. When thinking about the people and things we’ve lost, we often think of the little things.
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