Thunder Lotus's latest game Spiritfarer just released, and it's the perfect new indie game for fans who enjoy the relaxing pace of comparable titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons or Stardew Valley. Similar to other simulation games, Spiritfarer encompasses crafting, farming, and building features along with nourishing the relationships between lovable and unique NPCs.
In Spiritfarer, players play as Stella, a young girl with a wide, green star-shaped hat who is accompanied by her fluffy cream-colored cat, Daffodil. Often described as helpful and kind, Stella is tasked to take over the mythical Charon's duty as ferrymaster after she and Daffodil receive the Everlight — an omnifarious orb that can morph into a variety of tools as needed. Stella must sail across mysterious waters to locate spirits and help them reach the afterlife. In the process, she collects items to build different structures on her boat, like cabins or work areas for her anthropomorphic animal spirits. The beautiful music and 2D animation amplifies the mystery and tranquility of the game.
Like Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley, Spiritfarer is a great game for those looking to crawl into a comfy blanket with a soothing cup of tea for a little escape from the real world. There's a rewarding feeling to accommodating the needs of the spirits who accompany Stella on her quest. Daily tasks come off more as calming rather than monotonous or difficult, and building a bigger, better boat is another goal to strive for besides completing the storyline.
Spiritfarer Is A Relaxing Adventure Simulation Despite Its Dark Themes
Being able to fish, craft, build, and farm are some of the basic features repeatedly implemented in simulators, and for good reason. Building something awesome from scratch is gratifying, and Spiritfarer doesn't fall short of this. Players can improve and customize their boat through simple mechanics to make a more unique experience. Stella's Everlight can transform into a variety of tools such as an axe or fishing rod, so the stress of tools breaking and having to improve them doesn't exist in Spiritfarer. Tasks are generally simpler overall than they are in other simulators. For example, fishing starts out as holding a single button to reel in fish, and although it becomes slightly more difficult, it's designed to be more meditative than challenging. While the farming and cooking aspect is more reminiscent to Stardew as Animal Crossing has yet to implement these features, Spiritfarer has no combat, time constraints, or any ability to die — probably due to the nature of its purgatory-like setting.
Spiritfarer takes relationships in an unusual direction. Players are tasked with caring for their spirit companions by making sure they're feeding them their favorite foods, creating an ideal living space for them to live in, and giving out hugs when appropriate. As the spirits are all complicated individuals with deep and tangled backstories and emotions — not too dissimilar to some personalities in Stardew Valley — being able to bring them joy emotes a satisfyingly warm, fuzzy feeling. However, the main objective of Spiritfarer is to guide spirits to the afterlife, which makes for an inevitable, bittersweet departure. Due its darker theme of death and learning to "let go," Spiritfarer may not be as kid-friendly as titles like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon. Yet the way it handles topics like suicide, selfishness, and moving on is surprisingly nourishing to the soul. Players are able empathize and connect with the NPCs more profoundly than seen in previous games.
The autonomy in simulation games is arguably what makes them so successful. Stella is able learn new abilities and travel to a variety of small islands at will to collect building and farming resources, and to meet new friends. The bonds created in Spiritfarer make for a wholesome experience, despite the game revolving around the looming topic of death. Though gameplay mechanics are simple, the storyline is complex and moving, which sets Spiritfarer apart from other simulators. It teaches players how to cope with loss and uncertainty in a magical setting with adorable animations. Players can experience this wondrous adventure on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux systems.