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Sail the Seas of Loss and Healing
If you've ever played a Thunder Lotus Games project before, the stunning artwork and beautiful animations of Spiritfarer should come as no surprise. What may surprise fans about this work is just how easy-going it is, comparatively speaking. In a world of rogue-lites, rogue-likes, and souls-likes, sometimes a relaxing experience can be a breath of fresh sea air. You could use any number of game genres to describe what Spiritfarer is, or tries to do, but in many respects, those labels seem to fall a bit short.
In my best effort to box-in the experience, I would say Spiritfarer is a base management game with some minor platforming elements where you’ll sail the world to help departed souls find peace through completing their quests and help them pass on to the afterlife. Spiritfarer is clearly meant to be an easier, relaxing/cozy game, versus something more action oriented like Jotun or Sundered - Thunder Lotus Games' previous projects. As the game progresses, you’ll befriend many souls, learn about their trauma, and help them through their final wishes. You can also play co-op, although I did not have the opportunity to do so myself.
Publisher: Thunder Lotus Games Developer: Thunder Lotus Games Platform: Played on Switch, PC Availability: Released August 18, 2020 on PC Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, and October 4, 2022 for iOS and Android |
The game starts with you, Stella, and your partner/cat Daffodil taking over the job of Spiritfarer from Charon. He presents you with something called the Everlight and sends you on your way to find a new boat to carry out your tasks. You soon find a boat, get it fixed up, and begin your journey in earnest. The game does a really great job of onboarding you into the experience, and even as you progress and open up the world and get new abilities and ship functions. Characters will explain every new mechanic themselves, offering you a bit of development and insight into the characters themselves - all while teaching you the nuts and bolts of the management aspect of the gameplay.
Your ship starts off with only a few functions – You can do a simple fishing mini- game, sail to new locations, and sit on a couch. You receive a blueprint table early on that can allow you to upgrade your ship. Eventually your ship will have the capacity to mine, cook, harvest, farm, and craft items that can be used for many different things. Some items are good gifts, others are used to upgrade your ship, etc. I'm a sucker for fishing in games, even if it is extremely basic (as it is here), so I took it slow in the beginning; collecting items lost at sea while sailing and hauling in a few nice meals consumed my early hours.
Between islands, there is plenty of time to do the tasks you need, whether that’s quests for your spirit pals, or any other of the various management functions. I never felt rushed as I played through the game. Other management games really seem to push you toward efficiency to get the results you want – something I’m not too fond of, because it feels like chores to me – but Spiritfarer’s more laid back approach allows you to take these at your own pace without penalty. You really get to steer your own experience; doing the tasks in any order and at any pace you choose. The calmness and ease with which you can approach the game really lends itself to a system like the switch and it's mobility. It's kind of the perfect couch game.
I do quite appreciate the freedom in design of the ship itself. Each new room you get can be placed on the deck, but you are given full control over the height and position of each new room - allowing for a lot of creative applications in design for your vessel. I have seen some really cool designs online, but I'm quite boring in this regard; I just stacked the rooms on top one another in perfect rows like shipping containers, organized by function and size. There's no right way to do this, and I think that's neat.
Daily tasks and work keeps you busy - all needed to get materials to advance.
The art of Spiritfarer is easily its greatest strength, in a game full of them. I truly cannot overstate how stunning the visuals are here. Each of the characters have a fun, unique style to them that breathes personality with each animation. The vistas and sunsets are a wonder to look at, and the way they've made each and every scene just BLEED style is truly something worth beholding. That strength isn't limited to the pictures on screen, either, as the music is quite phenomenal. While generally soothing, and light-hearted, there are great pieces with an ominous air, or even expressing deep sadness. Each note goes so well with the scenes they accompany, I'm almost in awe. Truly, no misses here.
Despite the game being 4 years old at time of writing, I think it would be a disservice to really talk in-depth about the story for anyone who may not have played it yet. The way the characters stories are presented, the thoughts and feelings they might evoke, and the masterful way it all intertwines with the overarching story are all best experienced. It feels like something that could be so personal to each player, I would be remiss to go into spoilers about it. If you have an inkling of a desire to play the game, do it blind. Trust me on that. While the beginning of the game might feel very barebones in it's narrative presentation, it really comes around and ties in beautifully.
The little vignettes the characters offer speak to a lot of experiences many of us have encountered. Even if we have not seen these exact scenarios play out in real life, we can see ourselves and our lives in them in many ways, as we have all dealt with loss in one way or another. I often found myself thinking of lost family and friends as I played the game. It was a bit bittersweet. You cherish those moments you have so much more when those you love have left you, but it brings the pain of loss when you remember.
Everything about the game oozes style.
What complaints, then, could someone have about this game? Well, from my perspective, here are a few things I took issue with: The game is almost too simple, many in-game tasks start to feel too much like busywork, and it's a slow start to get into any semblance of over-arching story beats. It is easy to see how these points are just matters of personal preference - there is nothing technically wrong with any of the mechanics, progression, or stability of the game itself. I just kind of don't vibe with some of these things.
Frankly, I generally don't enjoy base management style games in general; so, something like Spiritfarer might be immediately flagged as a bad fit. The art and quality of the developer's previous work is what drew me in. So, it might seem a bit unfair to dock the game for then having base management game mechanics. However, I do feel like if they had made those mechanics more interesting or, at the very least, less time consuming, I would have liked the game more.
Thematic dichotomies are well expressed - there's great visual storytelling within the game.
In fact, the simplicity of it's core mechanics is a huge detriment in this same regard. Because the busywork of base management is so omnipresent, something interesting or beautiful the first few go-arounds quickly morphs into tedium and monotony. I do understand that the game is going for a more laid-back approach, so asking for too much complexity might be abject idiocy. I find it hard to pin-point what I feel they should have done different - should it be more complex? Faster to do? Should we have to do the tasks less often? I don't have a real, concrete answer - doubly so since these games are just not made for me - but I do know I don't like whatever this is.
Finally, while the story is legitimately wonderful once it all comes together, it takes a bit too long to really get anywhere at all. I feel like even if you beeline the major points, you're just kind of wandering for a little too long. It seems a bit directionless, but that may not be accidental. I have to wonder if this is intentional, as so much of the game is pointing to it's overall thematic elements; could this feeling of being directionless and being adrift tie into what the game is meant to portray? It is hard to say, but if you feel like it is purposeful, it's easy to excuse.
Verdict Spiritfarer is a beautiful game, with some truly stunning artwork, music, and writing that is ultimately lifted up by what you bring into the experience. While there are some elements I don’t personally vibe with, it is an otherwise engaging and deeply moving game that should command your attention, and bring you many moments of joy, or even sadness. Thunder Lotus has once again proved they have an excellent command of their voice, using all aspects of their game to create something worth everyone’s time.  |
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