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)

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.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3109581397


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.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3113518634

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.


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.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3109581869

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.

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.


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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