Spiritfarer

 A warm, bittersweet hug goodbye

Trigger warning: This piece discusses death, grief, mental illness and loss. It is positively angled, but is still discussed.

Spiritfarer is a independent game focusing on management simulation. It's a breed of game that has always failed to capture my attention for more than a brief moment. There are those that would dismiss Spiritfarer for belonging to a genre famous for tedium and very slow pacing. I too was one of those people. It may come across in the few blogs I've written that I am often steadfast in my opinions, and whilst I aim to be as open to new people, opinions and experiences, there are some things I know I will not enjoy. Brussel sprouts. Coronation Street. Boris Johnson's press conferences. Management simulations are on that list. And yet something about the marketing of Spiritfarer drew me in, and I couldn't figure out why. I'll link a trailer below so you get the vibe it's going for: 

To me, it felt like a warm hug. Something undeniably cosy oozed out of every orifice. It seemed like something I wanted to try. I knew very little going in other than, as the title implies, you ferry spirits. To summarise, you play as Stella, a mysterious young woman who takes over from a retiring Charon, the ferryman of the dead. Your boat travels around collecting lost souls who have lingered after death due to wishes or debts being left unresolved. You help those souls, care for them while they are on the boat and finally help them move on by guiding them through a magical bridge called the Everdoor. The gameplay basically revolves around various mini-games and resource collection to fuel an economy that you build up through said mini-games. These tasks are taken from a small pool of randomised events, and therefore can become very tiresome very fast. So what's the hook if the 'faring' is so monotonous? The spirits, naturally. And these spirits take the forms of cute anthropomorphic animals. Because of course. It wasn't like the experience didn't have enough charm already.

Full steam ahead into spoiler territory

I highly recommend if you're at all interested to try it out. From here on, immediate and major spoilers; it's almost impossible to cover without discussing major reveals. It is revealed part way into the voyage that each new spirit you bring onto the boat is in fact a family member of Stella's that has passed, or someone that Stella had had a meaningful experience with earlier in her life. Those include Atul, a frog, who turns out to be Stella's uncle. Another is Stanley, an 8 year old with a terminal condition that Stella (a carer) looked after and forged a strong bond with (who manifests himself as a sentient mushroom). Finally, and most impactfully in my experience, Alice, a frail old hedgehog who was the first patient that died under Stella's care. She suffers from dementia, and much like real life it seeps in slowly and undetected, in the most indistinguishable of ways. In a game centred around tedium, Alice asking you to do the same tasks over and over again seems normal, but soon she forgets your name, loses track of her room on the boat and begins believing you are her daughter Annie. It's heartbreaking, particularly after suffering a loss in my own family to Alzheimer's in recent years and blindsided me as it unfolded, all whilst remaining impressively tasteful.

Then you have to take her to the Everdoor...

She slowly begins to succumb to her dementia, and it's a gut punch.

The Everdoor is the final destination in Spiritfarer. You return there time after time to bid farewell to each spirit after their last wishes have been fulfilled and debts settled. Each visit prompts a somber rowboat ride; all other spirits remain on the main boat, giving you alone time to have a final conversation with the spirit in question. These are often heartfelt and profound, giving one last insight into their character and their relationship with Stella. But Alice's Everdoor trip hit different. For the most part Alice rambles about random things as many who suffer with Alzheimers/Dementia do, but in the final moments before she disappears forever... she lapses and somewhat remembers who you are. And then she's gone. And beyond the initial choking up and tears, I found myself grieving Alice's' absence on the boat going forward; the same with every other spirit. And it reminded me of my last interactions with my grandad and I broke. At the same time however, I experienced that cozy feeling settle in; a warm sensation that made me feel both Alice and my grandad were ok. It's bizarre, and some may skew it as nigh-on pathetic or pitiful, but that's the impact the game had. Each spirit has their own story and quirks, their own conclusions and their own emotional goodbyes that make you long for more time than you know you'll get.

 Spiritfarer is a beautiful game tackling grief, death and the concept of the afterlife in one of the most cozy and palatable ways I have ever seen. The game is also frequently updated, adding new spirits to encounter and bring closure to, each just as distinct, representative and narratively important as the last. And I savour having my heart broken every single time. Congrats Spiritfarer, you made me cry over a knitting-loving, family oriented virtual hedgehog in a summer hat. But don't have been mistaken, I love you for it.

The Everdoor awaits...

SH