Saying goodbye is part of the game—sad, but meaningful if you do it right. Spiritfarer, Thunder Lotus’ latest release, bears their established 2D style. Spiritfarer represents a very successful combination of exploration, questing, crafting, and life simulation. That might seem a little grim for a simulation game, but Spiritfarer isn’t a typical entry in the genre. There are no cheap tricks in establishing a connection to Spiritfarer’s characters and their deaths. Want more stories like this? Alternative Character Interpretation: Hades questions why she chose to associate with death so much, acting as Spiritfarer and a pallative care nurse in real life according to the artbook. So she becomes the new Spiritfarer. Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. With its colorful visuals and serene atmosphere, I found myself forgetting that Spiritfarer is about death … There’s something to be learned about the spirits on the boat with each resource mined or meal served. Make a little something for the ones you love. I’d prefer not to think about death. WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Spiritfarer.. As the Spiritfarer, Stella meets a variety of spirits that are on their way to the afterlife. But, if there is a message to be found, it would be that “death is terrible but incredibly ordinary. He ponders whether she was hoping to conquer death or grow accustomed to it for when her time came. In Spiritfarer you play as Stella, a young girl with the eponymous job of Spiritfarer, helping a fantastic cast of animal passengers to be content and tie up loose ends before their final voyage beyond death and through the Everdoor. Spiritfarer is a sincere management game about death. Almost every day, I am thankful for my Nintendo Switch. Stanley is a spirit character in Spiritfarer. At the 2019 Xbox E3 press briefing, the first indie game shown was a vibrant, whimsical, and well-animated title known as Spiritfarer by Thunder Lotus Games. Death doesn’t come at the tip of a bullet, with numbers accumulating on a scoreboard. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. Before death, Gwen was like an older sister to Stella, as their families were close. Even if it wasn’t, the entire world of Spiritfarer doesn’t encourage you to make your own goals at all, mirroring what is doubtlessly Stella’s real-life priorities. Spiritfarer, an upcoming indie adventure game from Thunder Lotus, is all about dealing with death. Some have puzzles gated behind abilities learned later in the game, while others are only necessary for gathering materials. Spiritfarer follows this story closely, as Stella and her cat Daffodil take over from Charon. It’s not a restarting point, with a loss of time and progress, as if you’ve run out of life neatly calculated in a counter running in the background. Spiritfarer is probably one of the most heartfelt, most pure games I have ever played that was a metaphor about death. Now it has received a surprise release, with a portion of the games media having been playing it for the past two weeks. However, as an Aries, I love to find a new game to take my attention, and right now, it’s Thunder Lotus Games’ Spiritfarer, and it is full of feels. This is where the “cozy management” of “a cozy management game about dying” comes in. But it's not what you're thinking. After a brief appearance at the beginning of Spiritfarer, Charon’s own time has come, and he passes along the role of taking the dead on their final journey to you, Stella, and her cat Daffodil. The concept of death usually isn’t a comfortable one. You play as a young girl named Stella, who takes over for Charon and becomes the new Spiritfarer. Now it has received a surprise release, with a portion of the games media having been playing it for the past two weeks. Except, I think it is actually about kindness. Helping a spirit become ready to go involves cooking for them, hugging them, and building them a home on your enormous houseboat. Atul, Stella’s late uncle that appears as a frog, loves pork chops and fried chicken. It’s not a restarting point, with a loss of time and progress, as if you’ve run out of life neatly calculated in a counter […] There are trees to cut down, used later to create planks necessary in building structures. The game is an upbeat and cheery adventure that also deals with the not-so-cheerful topics of loss and death. Sit down and speak to the flowers when you can. The investment in these characters, though, is what makes the rote mechanisms of Spiritfarer’s gameplay feel worthwhile, because those connections happen organically. The dedicated ‘hug’ action says all you need to know about this game. Stella is the new Spiritfarer after all, and it’s her job to care for them and to see their final requests fulfilled before they depart forever. And days before receiving the review code, a dear family member died tragically and unexpectedly, the grief of which made starting the game almost too painful. You work for it, which helps ease in the pain and grief of it all. Spiritfarer places you in the role of Stella, a new arrival in the spirit world who’s immediately given the job to take on the title of Spiritfarer from Charon, whose time on the job, and in this world, has finally come to an end. Spiritfarer, developed and published by Thunder Lotus Games, is a relaxing management game about death. Spiritfarer is a treat to dive into, with engrossing management gameplay, mysterious lands to explore, and an unforgettable story about life, death, and learning to let go. In 2017, he jumped at the chance to join studio Thunder Lotus to lead the Spiritfarer development team. Once a waypoint is set, the boat heads in that direction itself, sometimes encountering surprises — like a shipwreck with treasures — along the way. In Spiritfarer you play as the Spiritfarer Stella, ferrymaster to the deceased, along with Daffodil the cat. Playing a game where you get to focus on making meaningful memories and caring for people as they are getting ready to pass on is macabre, but Spiritfarer doesn’t linger on death as a haunting thing. It’s not entirely unlike how you’d manage an island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, slowly accumulating the materials needed to tend to your creation. In Spiritfarer you play as Stella, a young girl with the eponymous job of Spiritfarer, helping a fantastic cast of animal passengers to be content and tie up loose ends before their final voyage beyond death and through the Everdoor. Thunder Lotus’s Spiritfarer, billed as “a cosy management game about dying”, might be the queerest game of 2020 so far.You take on the role of Stella, a child in a big hat who takes over from Charon as the ferrier of souls from this world to the next. In 2017, he jumped at the chance to join studio Thunder Lotus to lead the Spiritfarer development team. You play Spiritfarer Stella, the mistress of the ferry to the deceased. Editor-in-chief. However, before they are ready to pass through the Everdoor, Stella must help these souls complete certain tasks. One of the oldest embodiments of death is the ancient Greek boatman Charon, who ferried souls across the River Styx and into the underworld. And none of the spirits are purely good or bad; some are people leaving a mess behind for others to grapple with. You play as Stella, an upbeat ferry master who is responsible for finding and helping wandering spirits pass on into the afterlife. Craft your way through farm, … Where the game distinctly diverges from its predecessors, however, is how it deals with death. Editor-in-chief. Charon, the previous Spiritfarer, gives Stella an artifact called the Everlight. Where the game distinctly diverges from its predecessors, however, is how it deals with death. In Spiritfarer we explore the mysterious ways of parting with your living self. Despite the sombre content, Spiritfarer is a joy to play. You play as Stella who has been appointed as the new “Spiritfarer”, a modern retelling of Greek Mythology and the River Styx. There’s a big, emotional payoff for embracing the mechanics of the game, however many times you’ve visited the docks to harvest iron ore. That there are ways to make it a bit less meaningless. They share things they need to complete. It has easter eggs … First Snow 18. But they do help the spirits come to terms with their deaths, and ease them into the afterlife as they work through their own grief, anger, and confusion. Helping a spirit become ready to go involves cooking for them, hugging them, and building them a home on your enormous houseboat. Go out and catch lighting in a bottle once in a while; play with the young ones; confront the swarms of fear head on. It’s a stark contrast to how I’m experiencing the grief of death in real life, but it’s comforting. The spirits talk about what they’re afraid of, or the things they’ve done wrong in their past. It’s a heavy subject — something I try not to think about usually, since it’s a constant source of dread for me (especially now between a worldwide pandemic and the ever-constant threat of climate change). Despite the sombre content, Spiritfarer is a joy to play. We have connections that we could be building and nurturing even as we maintain social distance—which is important because there are still people we love here. - Stella grew up in North America, with her sister, mother and her best friend Gwen. Spiritfarer follows this story closely, as Stella and her cat Daffodil take over from Charon. Video games revel in death, Spiritfarer focuses on what happens next, 20 weird and wonderful indie games for 2020. The ship gets larger and more complex with each passenger that comes aboard, whether a garden to grow vegetables for a vegetarian spirit has been added, or the kitchen is upgraded to create elaborate meals for picky passengers. Stella. When we award a game the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the title is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive or fun — and worth fitting into your schedule. Email us. She eased as much of their pain as she could right up until the day she became ill with cancer herself. Build a ship to explore the world, then befriend and care for spirits before finally releasing them into the afterlife. But in Spiritfarer, it’s the action of traveling to islands to collect resources, then harvesting them into something usable, that is the core. She travels between islands in the Spiritfarer world, meeting spirits that are stuck and need help in moving on. Spiritfarer explores the latter scenario, putting you on a boat full of deceased spirits to befriend as you ferry them to the next phase of their existence. The main character, Stella, becomes a "Spiritfarer" whose job is to ferry spirits of the deceased to the afterlife. You get tasked to become the Spiritfarer. That there are ways to make it a bit less meaningless. She can come off as sarcastic and apathetic, likely an armor she wore since a young age. Spiritfarer has more to offer than just being a cozy death management game. While this is a story of death and loss on its face, this game gives us a path of living life in its minutia, all the way to the end. You play as Stella, whose job is to take dying spirits through the Everdoor to their final death, when they’re ready. Her large, but initially simple, vessel is her way of doing so. Except, I think it is actually about kindness. Spiritfarer works because the entire game is built around creating these connections to the characters, all of which are complex people with tangled stories. Most of the characters on the ship, picked up throughout the game’s watercolor world, are Stella’s friends and family. Instead, he stays on the boat until Stella is ready to go herself, making him, in a way, another Spiritfarer. Between Animal Crossing, Hades, and Octopath Traveler, my video games have kept me distracted from the chaos that is the outside world. But it's not what you're thinking. In Spiritfarer you play as Stella and are accompanied by your cat, Daffodil. Spiritfarer takes place in a limbo of sorts: a domain populated by souls passing between the mortal world and the afterlife. Many video games depict death in these ways. Their stories unwind as they’re tended to. It’s not a restarting point, with a loss of time and progress, as if you’ve run out of life neatly calculated in a counter […] Sometimes they’re angry — at Stella or others on the ship. —The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—, Have a tip we should know? Between doing that emotional labor, you get to engage in all of the usual, fun Animal Crossing-like “chores” of farming, mining, cooking, fishing, harvesting, and crafting across the world. The act of dying, which we often see in video games, is less important than what happens after death in this story. In real life, it evokes less than pleasant thoughts. Welcome back to the chill boat with the not-chill cat! Spiritfarer is a game about death, but in a way that’s different than most video games. After playing Spiritfarer, I try to FaceTime with my friends or do something kind for myself because the game is a reminder that we are all in need of care. Sit down and speak to the flowers when you can. One of my favorite things about Spiritfarer, and in a sense the saddest part, is that hugging becomes a way to bond with the spirits. Spiritfarer continues to pull on the player’s heartstrings as the reality of death settles on Stella’s Spirits. Unlike other spirits, he is grown in a Garden from the Mysterious Seed, which can be fished out of the water after escorting three spirits to the Everdoor. But, if there is a message to be found, it would be that “death is terrible but incredibly ordinary. What they do have is Stella's friendship to make their resignation to their fate a little less bitter. When medicine could no longer help them. Some are not, but each has something they need — something Stella must provide. You play as Stella who has been appointed as the new “Spiritfarer”, a modern retelling of Greek Mythology and the River Styx. I know that death is not neat, that there is no bow to tie up my own personal grief. Spiritfarer may not have a place in everyone’s media diet. Spiritfarer is an indie management sim and sandbox action game developed and published by Canadian studio Thunder Lotus Games and released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Stadia on August 18, 2020. Spiritfarer uses a soft, watercolor style to introduce a darker concept of death, a concept that should not actually be considered dark after all. Still lives in Brooklyn with her over 500 Pokémon that she has Eevee trained into a mighty army. Spiritfarer Easter Eggs: Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons, & More. Spiritfarer may not have a place in everyone’s media Spiritfarer is an indie game about dying and how to come to terms with the inevitable. In death, Stella cares for the spirits not ready to move on, much the same as she did in life. Summer was the person who inspired Stella to become a nurse. Now there’s Spiritfarer, a game about death and grief, a theme developer Thunder Lotus Games led with throughout its development and marketing: “a cozy management game about dying.”. While I controlled Stella, Gauthier controlled Daffodil. You play a ferrymaster named Stella who is given the task to build a boat to explore the world and care for the spirits (who morph in animal furry form when they’re on your boat), helping them with their final wishes. Death doesn’t come at the tip of a bullet, with numbers accumulating on a scoreboard. You’ll take people … That’s not to say, though, that in Spiritfarer that these acts of caring labor fix the spirit’s current or past problems — they don’t. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. Other areas have merchants selling seeds, like cotton or sunflowers, which can be woven into linen or crushed into oil for frying, respectively. Alternative Character Interpretation: Hades questions why she chose to associate with death so much, acting as Spiritfarer and a pallative care nurse in real life according to the artbook. It’s that sort of help — in being able to help someone figure something out for themselves — that makes the repetition of management and care feel so rewarding. But it's not what you're thinking. We caught up with developers Thunder Lotus Games to discuss how the game tackles death. But I played Spiritfarer at a time when I could not ignore death; in the middle of a pandemic that has killed (and continues to kill) numbers of people I can hardly comprehend. Honestly, it might seem silly in these times to be soothed by a game about death, but Spiritfarer seems oddly necessary. Spiritfarer is a game about death, but in a way that’s different than most video games. It is a wonderful complement to the sometimes isolating space that this terrible year has been. In Spiritfarer, you play Stella, who is, in essence, a video game version of Charon the ferryman who carries the dead across the River Styx in Greek mythology. In Spiritfarer, you play Stella, who is, in essence, a video game version of Charon the ferryman who carries the dead across the River Styx in Greek mythology. Spiritfarer aims less to send a specific message than to explore different angles. Spiritfarer is a game about death, but in a way that’s different than most video games. Throughout the game, players will develop relationships with these characters, making it hard to let them go when the time comes. Princess (she/her-bisexual) is a Brooklyn born Megan Fox truther, who loves Sailor Moon, mythology, and diversity within sci-fi/fantasy. The process of acquiring these things requires multiple trips to multiple islands, looking for vendors who sell each of these meat products. That might seem a little grim for a simulation game, but Spiritfarer isn’t a typical entry in the genre. Every spirit Stella takes on has to pass through the Evergate, their death no less inevitable in this strange purgatory they’ve all found themselves within. In the myth, spirits are transported by Charon, the ferryman, through the river and into the underworld, paying passage with a token. Since the game is indicated to be the Dying Dream of a palliative care nurse, this makes a grim sort of sense: in death, as in life, she can't save her patients and loved ones, only comfort them. OnlySP sat down with Jo-Annie Gauthier, the art director at Thunder Lotus Game, to play through the demo at PAX West 2019. Thunder Lotus. Become a subscriber and support the site! I can understand why most video game developers would choose not to address these realities: a first-person shooter would be an entirely different game if the bodies didn’t simply disappear into the ether as more and more pile up. Spiritfarer is about death. You play as Stella, a charming young woman who assumes the … Each has their own story with challenges to overcome or memories that make it difficult to move on. Spiritfarer is an indie game about dying and how to come to terms with the inevitable. Instead of relying archetypal morbidity, Spiritfarer punches you in the heart and makes you cry, all in a cozy, Ghibli-style setting. - While there, Stella traveled to Japan and met Gustav. It's where your interests connect you with your people. Spiritfarer is a cosy management sim where you help the recently dead come to terms with their lost lives. Some people think of death as an ending, while others view it as a beginning. While we see the Everdoor, we don't see what's behind it. One Good Thing: Spiritfarer is an adorable video game about life and death It’s a little like The Sims on a boat, except your Sims are animals who’ve recently died. The management elements of the game, while repetitive and straightforward, are made essential because they are acts of care — the relief Stella can provide to the dead as they move toward the Everdoor, the portal to the afterlife. Because he's already passed through the Everdoor, he can't go again. Spiritfarer doesn't seek to answer the difficult unknowns about death and what comes after. Spiritfarer is out now for multiple platforms. Stella was a palliative care nurse that helped to look after patients in the last days of their life. Support us on Patreon! - As a teenager, Stella moved to France, where she met an old couple, Astrid and Giovanni, whom she saw as grandparents, since she never met her own. Stella controls the boat through a map at the ship’s helm, but there’s no need for players to guide it through the world. Spiritfarer, a life sim about dying, does exactly that. Spiritfarer is probably one of the most heartfelt, most pure games I have ever played that was a metaphor about death. It’s a management game that manages to turn a game about death in something cozy, heartwarming and relaxing. These additions, which include orchards and a massive crusher for grinding things to dust, stack precariously on top of one another, a slow game of Tetris, as shapes get more complex and harder to fit in the constrained space of the ship. Spiritfarer is an indie management sim and sandbox action game developed and published by Canadian studio Thunder Lotus Games and released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Stadia on August 18, 2020. Instead of relying archetypal morbidity, Spiritfarer punches you in the heart and makes you cry, all in a cozy, Ghibli-style setting. In Spiritfarer, you play Stella, who is, in essence, a video game version of Charon the ferryman who carries the dead across the River Styx in Greek mythology. She can rest assured knowing that she made their journey to the afterlife easier. The game honestly feels like a hug and relaxing, with death not being this terrible thing, but framed as a liminal space before something better. Spiritfarer, an upcoming indie adventure game from Thunder Lotus, is all about dealing with death. You play as Stella and command a giant boat where wayward souls gather. Charon passes on the torch to Stella, as it is now time for him to leave this realm between life and death. The main character, Stella, becomes a "Spiritfarer" whose job is to ferry spirits of the deceased to the afterlife. Death doesn’t come at the tip of a bullet, with numbers accumulating on a scoreboard. It’s a management game that manages to turn a game about death in something cozy, heartwarming and relaxing. They’re challenging in ways I haven’t seen often in video games. Spiritfarer is based on classical Greek mythology: the story of the river Styx, a waterway that’s said to be a pathway between Earth and the afterlife. Have a tip or story idea? Of course, this is far from the only game to deal with death and grief, but rather than playing as a character who cuts through enemies, struggles to cope with a loss or both , Spiritfarer never basks in the dismal. In Spiritfarer you play as Stella and are accompanied by your cat, Daffodil. When Stella reaches her destination, she’s able to hop on a dinghy to reach the islands, which vary in what they offer. Stella is the spiritfarer, and she captains a large boat to ease the dead into whatever comes next. Spiritfarer aims less to send a specific message than to explore different angles. Also, you get to have a cute cat companion by your side the whole time! Next: Spiritfarer: Where to Find Every Gem Location Spiritfarer is … On top of dealing with death, dying and the afterlife, Spiritfarer also touches on other difficult topics through the characters who board Stella's boat. Go out and catch lighting in a bottle once in a while; play with the young ones; confront the swarms of fear head on. Spiritfarer launched Aug. 18 on Linux, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One; it is coming later to Google Stadia. In Spiritfarer you play as the Spiritfarer Stella, ferrymaster to the deceased, along with Daffodil the cat. It’s inevitable and unavoidable. Sometimes, this means making a spirit’s favorite meal. I’m afraid of it — so much that I often force myself not to talk about it, as if I might speak those fears into existence. Spiritfarer is a bit of a thematic oddity. Resources collected throughout the world are brought back to the ship and processed through these additions to the boat, whether that’s turning sugar and flour into a cake, or flattening glass into sheets. First Snow 18. Check out Spiritfarer if you are looking for something a little more emotionally soothing between trying to smash your way out of the Underworld in Hades. Some people think of death as an ending, while others view it as a beginning. You build your own boat and explore this new world, befriending and caring for spirits before helping them pass on into the afterlife. Spiritfarer puts a more heartwarming spin on the concept. Spiritfarer is a management game that follows Stella and her cat, Daffodil, as they go island to island on a large ship, helping lost spirits pass on. He ponders whether she was hoping to conquer death or grow accustomed to it for when her time came. Polygon Recommends is our way of endorsing our favorite games. You get to bond with these spirits, and then you let them move on to that better plane. Spiritfarer has a lot to say about both life and death, and the way it says it is largely well done. The game was reviewed on PC using a download code provided by Thunder Lotus. They depict loss — wins and loses — but almost never approach the topic realistically. You play a ferrymaster named Stella who is given the task to build a boat to explore the world and care for the spirits (who morph in animal furry form when they’re on your boat), helping them with their final wishes. And then there’s the oil, necessary for frying the chicken — that must be harvested from sunflower seeds grown from the flowers in the garden, which are crushed down into an oil. Hugging is one of the few things you can’t do in Animal Crossing, so doing it in this game honestly makes me so happy. She died with Stella by her side. Death has been a shadow over all of us since COVID-19 became a part of our daily lives, something the makers of Thunder Lotus Games could not have known. In video games, it often marks failure. While this is a story of death and loss on its face, this game gives us a path of living life in its minutia, all the way to the end. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here. It’s also crushing, scary, and complex. Gwen grew up in a dysfunctional yet aristocratic household, having a strained relationship with her father. Thunder Lotus’s Spiritfarer, billed as “a cosy management game about dying”, might be the queerest game of 2020 so far.You take on the role of Stella, a child in a big hat who takes over from Charon as the ferrier of souls from this world to the next. Spiritfarer explores the latter scenario, putting you on a boat full of deceased spirits to befriend as you ferry them to the next phase of their existence. 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In everyone ’ s something to be found, it might seem a little grim for simulation! Is to ferry spirits of the games media having been playing it for the past two weeks,! Are purely good or bad ; some are people leaving a mess behind others! And caring for spirits before finally releasing them into the afterlife something to be found, it might seem in... Policy here pork chops and fried chicken less than pleasant thoughts for products purchased via affiliate.! To spiritfarer ’ s heartstrings as the spiritfarer development team not influence editorial content, spiritfarer punches in... Cat companion by your cat, Daffodil you need to know about this game art!