izigame.me

It seems to me that my review is long overdue. I first played it in the beginning of 2021, if not mistaken, and the second time—the last time—on this latest update. Better late than never, I guess.
“Don’t hesitate to explore the ship.
You can even give that fishing rod a try. The world is your oyster.”
The game mechanics are pretty much summed up in the trailer: replacing Charon and assuming the role of the Spiritfarer, you travel on your ship, invite the spirits on board, gather resources, complete their requests, and let them go when they are ready. That’s it. The gameplay has some elements of platformer, but a simplified one. There’s no need to worry things will get too hard. And you don’t need to insanely farm the resources. Everything gravitates towards “coziness,” and I think the devs even mentioned this themselves. You are welcome to journey through the sea at whatever pace you’re comfortable with. No need to haste. Nothing to rush. The world is all yours to explore.
“Yes, I’ll remember. The weight of your music.
And all of your noises. Dead giveaways.”
Music in one of the most noteworthy aspects of the game. One of the simplest means to give rise and fall to our emotions, and Spiritfarer perfectly harnesses this quality. The game is adorned with a vibrant range of musical scores, giving out various kinds of auditory experience. The serene comfort at night, the small, cheerful wake-up nudge at dawn, the annoying hustle-bustle at the bus stop (which you can ask the NPC to shut it. Feel pretty sorry for them), the exhilarating competition as you battle against a giant tuna at the end of your rod, etc. Each spirit on board also has their own designated tune matching their character and background. Even some small details like the sound upon acquiring crafting materials, or items in general, is denoting a sense of achievement. Their musical prowess in this game, admittedly, is no ethereal grace. It can never be, not in that sense of grandeur. But it is an amicable company. Lovely fellows. Friends of different types you’re traveling with. They soothe you, amuse you, excite you, and, when the time comes—not to forget that music is the instrument which speaks directly to the within—gives a giant quake to the very core of your soul. The music scores alone are gorgeous, and even more so when associated with the memories it accompanies. For me, when heard, anywhere, yes, I’ll remember.
“And even after the last one of all humans will have returned to the primordial chaos,
provided that we have protected it, art will remain.”
Art comes in many forms. In Spiritfarer, the most impressive form it has achieved is through storytelling and the stories themselves. You started the game as a blank slate, knowing but your name Stella and your cat’s name Daffodil, and that you have inherited the ferryman office to tend—and, on some occasions, to mend—the spirits who are yet to come. The story progresses as you talk. In fact, dialogues are the sole means to advance the story. Each conversation held sheds partial light on each spirit’s past, as well as their present: concern, fear, joy, regret, all of those which constitute humanity. Some obvious, some obscure; so much to read, and as much to read into. And their lives are all intertwined with you, be it in your childhood or your more mature self. As you start to map the uncharted lands and seas, you map the spirit’s life. As you map the spirit’s life, you map yours.
Literary feat is a due praise when it comes to Spiritfarer. The ingenuity lies simply in engaging, conversational prose. Each spirit has their own characteristic way of speaking, as well as their own view on various matters. Most of them talk about their life and the things they hold dear or important: family, love, art, boardgames (yes, boardgame, and all the time, too), etc. Their stories—some of them, or most, or all—are too relatable, or at least within reach of imagination and empathy. The spirits usually deliver them in loquacious length, and sometimes in reminisce of mixed feelings. Either way it never gets dull. Within the typical text bubble, there are short gasps of nothing, long sighs of everything, faltering speeches as some memories weigh them down, doubts and grieves, shivers and tremors you can see being there even if the animation wouldn’t show you. And that is what their stories encompass. Impressive and deeply impassioned. Should the quote be true and art will ever remain, I have no doubt so will this game.
“Under a guiding star-lit sky,
We will learn how to say goodbye.”
When I mentioned that your duty is to let them go when they are ready, it is not always about clearing up past issues or fulfilling their last wish. It is, at times, more like you are just being there with them, for them. This place is not a purgatory as some might have attested, neither is it a plane of resignation and detachment, where you have a redemption arc or learn to simply resign to the vicissitudes of life. No, you just… be there, getting to know them better, what they did, sometimes why, sometimes how, try your best to do what you can in your capacity. And, as their stories unfurl, you might understand them—even if only a bit more—and learn to accept them as who they are. Many characters in the game I think we can relate to on different levels. A reflection of some sort of our parents, our elderly, our children, our friends, or perhaps of ourselves. And that’s why some people described this game as therapeutic, heart-warming, and emotional. Because it indeed is.
The game has come to its farewell edition. And every time I see it, Daria’s word always somehow echoes in my mind: “Stella. You had to. Did you think it would not end here?”. Well, I wish. But everything would end here, wouldn’t it? I even think it's a message from dev team to all the players. So, like Stella, I just need to give it a big, big hug and maybe a favorite dish and bring it to Everdoor.
As the game has prepared all of us to this point, now it’s time for me—a player—to let go as well.


Notice: The quotes provided above came from in-game dialogues of various characters together with some lyrics from the theme song. Though it proved difficult when you needed to be specific, I tried my best to leave out any potential spoilers (except those quotes. Oh, what an irony) that might gravely affect your gaming experience. I hope I did it well.