Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition

This is why in my opinion, Indie games can make some of the best experiences people can have with the video game. Indie games made to introduce a brand new creative world with great characters as well as put in the effort to make it a great game. They don't feel like they are doing it for money. It feels like they are doing because they have an idea. In conclusion, yes it's worth it. A great game that teaches a difficult lesson to learn, which is to move on and say goodbye. A game where you as the player truly feel connected to others, in a wide world to explore. “Uplifting, sweet, and thoughtful, until that final goodbye, but that’s how so many goodbyes are, aren’t they?”

Had a few drinks and now I'm emotionally attached to a bunch of ghosts. Beautiful game. Hate it. Love it. Send help pls

The game gives you feels, and it's sad in a good way. I've heard that the best kind of sadness actually provides you with overall positive experiences in form of catharsis and release. Spiritfarer is all about the release. As you play, you will learn to move away from keeping things from moving on, to yearning to let go. And for that alone you should definitely try this game. The world is magical, comfy, and dream-like. I find myself thinking a lot about it long after I've completed the game. The art style is amazing without being pretentious and it captures the exact message and tone the game meant to convey: deep yet whimsical, deathly but alive. [spoiler]The relative otherworldly (but friendly) silence in your ship when all of your guests have moved on makes you want to do it all over again.[/spoiler] My only gripe with it would be the same I've had with other "comfy, relaxing" games. There's just so much things going on! And everything's timed, with negative results if you missed something. Try to play without the [b]completionist[/b] mindset of always wanting to collect everything and get all things done on your first go. I believe Spiritfarer was always intended to be experienced slowly. After all, given a chance to spend some time with your long-lost loved ones, you'd want to savor the time you have with them too, wouldn't you?

I approached this thinking "Oh, it's just gonna be a game about escorting spirits to the afterlife". I was wrong, I WAS HORRIBLY HORRIBLY WRONG. As of writing, I am still recovering from the ending and ugly crying my fucking eyes and heart out. This game has quite easily solidified it's way into my list of favorite games. It's such a gut-wrenching but beautiful journey. The art style, environment ambiance and soundtrack is so beautiful too (Except you Alex, you ruin the mood sometimes, but anyway). I don't usually leave long reviews, but my God, I highly recommend this game. It's so good.

What an emotional rollercoaster of a game... I wasn't expecting to cry. You can't help but relate to the characters you meet, so when the end to their journey finally comes, it's like saying good bye to someone you know personally. The music, art, and mechanics are smooth and beautiful. I don't know if I'll be able to finish the game because it hurts my soul.

This game was a good surprise to me, in that I was worried I wouldn't like it on my first few hours but ended up falling in love with it the more I played. I'm not too big into resource management and building sorts of games, but I do adore the use of games as a storytelling device moreso than something to just play. Now Spiritfarer gets rather complicated in this, as it makes a near perfect use of its form to tell a wonderful story that is sure to make the player shed some tears, but might also be somewhat limiting by the nature of its genre. Spiritfarer's story is a journey about loss and death but also about life and filling it with all sorts of different people. It's about how so many people come and go into your life, and they all leave something behind with you. They change you, shape you, become part of you. And it utilizes its game form to showcase this: the quests the characters give you, what you build for them, what you gather from them and ultimately what they leave behind for you, you get to keep it, to use it to make your ship bigger, to make the next people you meet happy, to improve your character and learn new skills, and this is a very fun and interesting way to represent that. It's also very striking to me how directly tied the events are to the lives the characters led, in a very subtle way that you might only get if you sit to consider it for a moment. Little bits of information about them that you will only get subtle hints and implications about through small dialogues or visual hints. Most of the mechanics and gameplay represent some part of the narrative and the character stories, and I find this a brilliant and creative way to use gameplay to tell a story, without much need for words. Now here is the tricky part. The gameplay itself, if we ignore the story, gets pretty repetitive and grind-y, mostly at the first few hours and then towards the end. Because the events, quests and overall gameplay are mostly narrative devices, the actual gameplay feel by itself feels tiresome at times. This is okay if you really love management/building games or if you care more about story, narrative and characters than the gameplay itself, but if you need more than that to enjoy a game, this one is probably not for you. So it's far from being a game that anyone could enjoy. The resource grind specifically really got me annoyed at times, though it's fairly easy to get all that you need compared to other games that require grinding. Now other than this, my one other issue is that some progression makes sense narratively but not for the game context. Specifically some of the upgrades, characters and abilities you get in the endgame are fairly useless by the time you get them, and this feels counterproductive for the feel of the game, even though they're great as part of the narrative. For example, Jackie is most likely the last character you'll get, but he gives the honey upgrade, which by this point is useless, since you probably don't cook anymore, and his highest mood perk is helping people in the ship, which, again, is useless, because your only other passenger in the ship by now is Buck. Sure, the latter can be a failsafe for Elena to get ecstatic mood if you couldn't get there before, but it's a weird choice for this mood perk to exist when your crew is gone. But it makes sense for Jackie's character, so it's not bad to exist, and since Jackie was not a patient, it also makes sense for the story to be last... So, the TL;DR here is that the prioritization of storytelling via game mechanics ends up occasionally having weird, mildly frustrating results. This by no means makes the game substantially worse, as I enjoyed every minute of it even with this issue. In the end, my recommendation really comes down to priorities. If the genre is your cup of tea, or if you want a wonderful, thoughtful, emotional story, you should absolutely go for this game. Not only is the storytelling incredibly well thought out, but it's accompanied by beautiful visuals, lovable and diverse characters, both in design and personality, and some great relaxing music. Also bonus points for it being a very relaxing game to play if you're stressed! Even with its flaws, I adored every minute of my journey in this game.

9/10 Just an amazing story and fun time. The management in the game isn't overwhelming and simple enough for anyone to pick up yet still has some diversity. The character's I absolutely adored (Jackie, Elena and B&M were rough around the edges) Beverly easily had the coziest home while Buck had the coolest. I could gush about this game for a while but to keep it short, check this game out it is a ride you won't regret boarding.

One of the most emotionally moving, calming, and deeply impactful games I've ever played. I first played this game after my mother's passing. It was exactly what I needed when I needed it and has helped to shape my view of death. I still start up a new game every now and then. Just to see my old friends and this world all over again.

I love this game so much, I actually stopped playing after 49 hours once I realised how close I am to the end (and I don't want to let them go). It took me a while to figure out what was happening re: [spoiler] every single character on the boat will have to go through! Uncle Atul BROKE me! I am never getting over that shock! [/spoiler] Ultimately though, I learned so much about letting go and compassion. Even the worst people you know will die someday, and deserve that compassion in death when they are afraid. I will never get tired of replaying this game. It is so soothing. Redefines the cozy genre of games. Absolutely worth the money.

I usually don't fare well with management games, often picking them up on sale and playing them for a few hours then forgetting all about it, BUT Spiritfarer has me hooked! It's quite unlike the typical management games you would find on the market as its mechanics and adventure make it fun, spiriting you away from the 'managing' part of the game effectively, even if its only for a short while. Moreover, the character stories are very engaging and have me experiencing a multitude of emotions while playing. The abilities are NOT clunky at all and the gameplay feels so smooth overall. Currently have about 20 hrs on this game, and I'm still eager to play more!

Had my heart torn out stomped on and carefully bandaged only for it to happen again. 10/10 will ruin your life for the better.

love the gameplay, the music and the intention behind it. It was crazily moving. A must-try!!!

this game has an amazing story and is wonderfully relaxing to play, it takes time reading through all the dialog but there are so many funny parts and just as many heart wrenching parts and is worth the time to admire

Spiritfarer has to be one of my favourite games of all time, learning about each and every one of the characters stories and helping them find peace was something I found profoundly comforting throughout my play through. The game can be quite a resource grind and a long waiting game if you're grinding for achievements, but I personally enjoyed the grind, and I would do it again. I highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a deep and emotional game, with a cute art style of course.

“Spiritfarer is not just a game — it's a gentle goodbye.” With every hug, every shared meal, and every tearful farewell, Spiritfarer teaches us that letting go is an act of love. Wrapped in hand-drawn beauty and a soothing soundtrack, it turns death into a journey of healing — for the spirits and for yourself. A rare game that stays with you long after it's over. [10/10]

A lovely cozy game that keeps the visual/mechanical part of my brain busy while I'm actively listening to something else. The art and sound design is particularly nice. The only aspect that I struggled with is that it wasn't clear to me which tasks are locked behind an upgrade until you attempt to complete them (or which task would enable me to progress towards that upgrade). In theory, that's ok and encourages aimless exploration, but after 4 hours of dead ends I ended up Googling in frustration.

I sincerely expected more from the game's story. Each NPC is supposed to have their own sad/tragic/existential drama — but all of them are presented so... scarcely? It's like you're not given enough to actually understand anything. So... I expected to be this "Charon", listening to people’s stories and guiding them through their final journey. But in the end, I felt more like a confused Uber driver, giving rides to passengers who expected me to guess what the h??? they were talking about. I think the game's art is great and might be enough to motivate some players to finish it — especially cozy game lovers. But honestly, I think there are better experiences out there.

A nice and relaxing game with a pleasant learning curve. Interesting characters, cool travel to islands, and a ship customization system. I love events at sea, especially with shooting stars. A beautiful game

Spiritfarer is one of the best games I have ever played, that I can't recommend to most people. It tells a heart-wrenching story, but in a very tedious way. Nearing the end of the game I shed actual tears, but they don't make up for the mindless chore that was the 30 hours that preceded them. The story is told exclusively by conversation bubbles, so it is touching in the same way that a book is touching. Which is not a bad thing by itself, but considering video gamres are interactive media, it could have been so much more interesting. The game would have benefitted HEAVILY from voice acting, and if not that, it could have at least used more animations and camera angles, instead of you having to read thousands of text bubbles coming out of still characters. The story also only gets interesting after you understand what is actually happening, and although I don't want to spoil it for anyone, I feel like the chores would have been a lot easier to tolerate if that was made obvious earlier, or even before you start the game. Also at the very end of the game, you get some upgrades that should have been discovered in the first hours, like easier mining and fishing, and upgrades to the buildings that make them need much less of your time. All of the animations and mini-games are fun the first few times, but after the 100th time it just feels like the game is wasting yout time for no reason. It also doesn't help that the tasks given to you are just "go here and read bubbles from this character", "now go there and so the same", "now to this place", (...). To conclude, Spiritfarer is an amazing story, but it is not an amazing game. And it gets this rating from me not because of what it is, but because it falls so, so short of what it could have been.

Gentle, heartfelt, and visually stunning—Spiritfarer is a game that embraces the delicate art of saying goodbye. It’s not about defeating enemies or climbing leaderboards; it’s about connection, compassion, and helping others let go. The animation is gorgeous, hand-drawn with warmth and soul. Every movement, environment, and character interaction feels personal and serene, like a comforting storybook come to life. 🎼 The music? Absolutely moving. Soft, emotional piano and string melodies wrap around the narrative like a warm hug, perfectly complementing the themes of memory, loss, and love. It never overwhelms—it resonates quietly and powerfully. Gameplay-wise, there's so much to do: build and upgrade your ship, farm, cook, fish, and fulfill the last wishes of your spirit friends. It’s slow-paced, but deliberately so, encouraging mindfulness and emotional reflection. 📌 Final Verdict: Spiritfarer is not just a game—it’s an experience. Poetic, meditative, and unforgettably human. It invites you to care deeply, reflect on what matters, and embrace farewells with grace.

One day, a book and a game met and fell in love. Eventually, they got married and had a child named Spiritfarer. All was well until, a few years later, the game parent passed away. Spiritfarer was raised solely by the book. And that brings us to today. Spiritfarer reads like a novel, and unfortunately, plays like one too. The gameplay feels dull and unengaging, adding little substance beyond the story. Many of the mechanics are borrowed from other titles but lack depth or originality. The platforming is frustrating and lacks fluidity—something that should be a basic requirement. The tutorial is even more frustrating and unclear. And the writing for the first character didn’t land for me, which is especially disappointing when narrative is meant to be the game’s strongest suit. This might resonate with book lovers looking to dip a toe into gaming. But as someone seeking a true gameplay experience, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d been handed a story when I signed up for an adventure.

This game needs to be re-tagged from Management to Idle Simulator. This game would be much better if the boat moved, at least 500% faster. I wanted to like it but I simply can't. There's far too much sitting around waiting for the boat to get to where it's going. (The whole reason I have 5 hours is because travel takes so long & you're idle for so long, that I would close the window out & simply forget I was waiting)

Pretty great game, a lot of fun for a good price, unfortunately not my cup of tea.

only played about 2 hours, but this game didn't come of the ground AT ALL. The traveling is SO boring, slow and not challeging at all.. You are barely a ferry but just someone floating around with people on your ship. The people on the ship don't ask much, and i'm pretty sure it doesns't matter if you let them starve, crops grow fast enough and don't need any attention. Cooking is just another waiting thing and since the people barely eat, doesn't matter. Such a shame, i think this game might become fun eventually? But after 2 hours and really don't want to wait 5 minutes to go back to the shark again so MAYBE i can buy something that I need.. nah.

Relaxing gameplay and interesting characters with engaging life stories. Lean back with a warm drink, enjoy, and stack up on tissues if you are the crying type.

I put nearly 70 hours into this game on Nintendo Switch, and loved it so much that I did it all over again here on Steam. Where do I even start? This game gets me on a spiritual level. The art is beautiful. The music is ethereal. The gameplay is relaxing. The writing is hilarious, soulful, and meaningful. I will say this. There are certain areas and segments that will unexpectedly test your mettle with 2D platforming. I think this may make the experience stressful for some in a way the developers may not have intended. But other than that, this is an amazing game, one of the only games that has ever made me cry, an absolute steal at some of the discounts they offer, and overall my 8th favorite game of all time. 9.5/10

absolutely beautiful game. the art style & animation is incredible, and the music !!!! ethereal. the characters are all a lot of fun and the way their stories are revealed is very compelling. the actual gameplay progression also felt really well matched to the storyline, i never felt like i was getting bored of doing little tasks to progress the story even when it would become repetitive. the overall story was a gutpunch in a good way, and it's stuck with me for a long while after actually finishing the game. will definitely be coming back to play in the future <3

unique graphics and storyline. a greatly emotionsl snd exquisite experience.

absolutely phenomenal game. the graphics and music were absolutely gorgeous, honestly my first impression of the game was how beautiful the visuals are <3

Like, I would guess, a lot of people who played this game, I very recently lost someone close to me. And as someone who is rapidly entering middle age and who is seeing his loved ones age at a rate that seems to only accelerate, the theme of loss and preparing for it resonated with me. This gameplay low key sucks in the same way that a lot of everyday, mundane tasks which you do for your loved ones suck. It's boring to do the day-to-day tasks which feel solely like burdens. But you do them for other people and they take on a new meaning, and once those people are gone, those tasks become both painful and a source of comfort. And the mostly tedious gameplay is bolstered by a beautiful aesthetic, a great sound track, and writing that expertly threads the needle between goofy and saccharine and moving. I don't know how many times I cried playing this game, but it was a lot. It was very, very good and a must-play for anyone who appreciates games as narrative experiences and not just as skill challenges.

As an old school RPG player (Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears) to Shooters (COD, Fortnite) I was looking for a game I could get lost in, and boy does this work. Everything about it is just awesome. The Music, characters, story, its is just a great all around game (even made me teary eyed). Just take your time with it and enjoy the ride cause its a great one and a gem of a game.

Highly recommend! A beautiful and refreshingly mature game that gently deals with trauma and death in a suprisingly sensitive and healing way while still being fun. The gameplay somehow scratches my itch both for schedule-free adventure AND optimized productivity.

exceeded my expectations! it feels slow every so often but then you find something you missed and boom back into the action. im having so much fun playing this and its so beautiful!

great game, honestly. deffinitely worth the price imo

This game is very beautiful, adventurous, interesting, emotional. One of my favorite games EVER! You'll never regret playing it.

Very Peaceful game to play, I'm loving it. If you like playing Stardew Valley And Terraria, you will Love this game. Gameplay is 10/10, And if you played Celeste the music is very similar. 11/10 on the music. Overall a great game so far.

This game is so cutesy and fun. There are so many things to do, and I never feel like I'm wasting time

great story, great graphics, repetitive is eh,

Spiritfarer is a really beautiful game, even as its gameplay starts to unravel into tedium. The writing is very good, making a really captivating display of the developers' own grief. You feel it every time you help the characters with their journey, knowing that it will all end in you pulling the trigger on their journey to nothingness. I also appreciate that not all of these characters are good people. It would be easy to make people care if all of them were saints, but having some characters that bully or cheat makes them feel that much more real. This is woven quite well into the game's structure, with the ship you sail being powered by the deaths of those same people you may wish to keep around. Letting go of these people, allowing them to complete their final wishes, really reinforces this message. All of this contributes to a payoff that turns this formula on its head for a true emotional gutpunch. The gameplay on the other hand, is more of a mixed bag. It starts very strong when you have few buildings and a ton of unexplored land. Exploration is fun (though mostly when you get all of the movement upgrades), and having upgrade blueprints tucked away in hidden areas motivates you to look in every corner. However, the ship becomes a bit high maintenance as you get to the mid-to-late-game. You have so many resources to juggle for necessary upgrades that you have to meticulously lay out your ship so you're not having to go from one end to another each time you want to make an item. The most egregious part of this gameplay loop are the routine maintenance tasks (field, garden, sheep, mill, etc.). All of these tasks (besides the annoying mill) have some beautiful handcrafted animation to it. It's fun to see the first few times, but as you get beyond 10 hours in it starts to become a time waster. You just end up wishing for some automation, like how the chicken farm is a very simple routine of depositing seeds and picking up the eggs. This extends to the active effort tasks, like the spirits' minigames and the forge. These minigames become annoying over the long-ish runtime of the game, much like Bioshock 1 (an odd comparison but I think it fits). Quest design is also a bit lacking, with the vast majority being fetch quests. This is alleviated by the good writing and ability to travel while doing other things, but it still contributes to the monotony. The gameplay loop, crucially, only starts to drag on towards the later parts, which makes me able to grit my teeth long enough to the point where I have all of the resources I need. For all of the gameplay's faults, I think it at least helps to reinforce a sense of growth. Every crop, every ingot, every metal sheet is all a result of your conscious effort. It gets you into a flow state that lets you take in the gorgeous art. The striking colors and beautiful environments start to shine between all these moments of busywork. You start to feel invested in every little bit of work you put towards your ship and its inhabitants. Spiritfarer really nails what it's trying to be - a narrative game about exploring grief and the land of the dead. While I can go into detail about how the gameplay can drag down the experience, I still find myself very impacted by what it is saying. It's not perfect, but it is a journey that feels meaningful without having to pander to your emotions. - 8/10

Very Good if you are looking for a game for couples that lasts a while with beautiful visuals, very pleased

This is the most relaxing game I've ever played very great animations and characters in the game. I like the idea of crafting your own things on the boat and letting other passengers on the boat and building a boat for them 8/10. Definitely recommend this game.

The quality of this game surprised me. i enjoyed every minute of this game. If you need a break from all those combat heavy games, give this a try, it was truly a joy to play.

This game makes you sad and mad. Only these two emotions. The story is somewhat good but pretty sad. Playing mechanics are awful. I can't explain how angry I was from the constant falling because I landed 0,1 mm to the left or right. And these mini-games where you need to jump or fly are throughout the whole game. They become even more often in the end. Also this game has a lot of bugs, especially in building mode. I don't know how many times I had to forcefully close my game because it didn't react to anything. At least it saves automatically, so I didn't lose my progress. Before playing this game I thought it was something like Stardew Valley or Coral Island. I was definitely wrong. This game is 100% not chill. I will finish it only because I'm a completionist, but it's definitely not a game I would like to replay.

The game play isn't the best in the world, but its near narrative perfection, and that makes the experience generally very satisfying.

Thought this game sounded like something I would be interested in and it felt like a slog from the first half hour. I'm not the best with aimless driven games and this paired with farming/management system just...yeah didn't vibe with me at all.

Picked this up in the summer sale, would have still payed full price. Gorgeous Artstyle and stunning visuals, lovely Characters and beautiful catching Story. 10/10

It can get a little bit more rushed/hectic than I'd like with how short the days are, and how much there can be to do. Overall a nice, fairly chill game, though.

so chill, love everything about this game, especially the art

such a beautiful, cozy game that will make you CRY This game really makes you love all the characters, the art and soundtrack are gorgeous I really love this game

i am not okay. you know those games that don’t try to be flashy or revolutionary but instead crawl into your chest, curl up around your heart, and live there forever? yeah. that’s this one. it’s a story about grief. about healing. about saying goodbye when you never really wanted to. and the way it unfolds?? it gently holds your hand through every step and then rips your soul out in the kindest way possible. the ART? dreamy. melancholic. like a watercolor memory that’s slowly fading but still holds so much meaning. the SOUNDTRACK?? i’m not even exaggerating—it’s like a lullaby for your inner child who’s just trying to let go. i thought i was just playing a game. instead i got therapy. 10/10 would sob again. please go play this.