Spiritfarer comes from Thunder Lotus out of Montreal, an indie developer team with three visually stunning games under their belt. Their newest game puts you in the shoes of Stella, who replaces Charon (the greek steward of the Underworld) as the Spiritfarer—the one who must guide the deceased into their restful eternal peace.
As Stella, you meet spirits across a vast sea, take them in, get to know them, care for them, and ultimately see them off to the end of their existence. It contrasts a dark, thought-provoking story with a joyful colour palette and design, and music that makes you want to stay in the game for hours and hours.
The setting, a beautiful and expansive ocean purgatory, is exciting to explore, with countless new islands and locations featuring vibrant characters to interact with.
If you like games like Stardew Valley, or you just love a whimsical world, you will love Spiritfarer. Give it a try—it’s got co-op too!
Stephanie Peloza, also known as Stef Sanjati, is a streamer, dog mom, and Head Narrative Designer at Paidia Gaming
The Montreal team of Thunder Lotus strikes again with another beautiful hand-drawn game. Spiritfarer puts you in control of Stella on the day she replaces Charon, the current Spiritfarer on his way to the afterlife after he fulfilled his purpose.
Spiritfarer is a game about passing, about death but mostly about caring. Stella’s goal is to guide the souls of the newly departed to the afterlife using your ferry and comfort them, reassuring them that everything is going to be fine. As a matter of fact, you can emotionally interact with the characters and, for example, hug them to show that you care. It’s deeply touching and sometimes sad but in a nuanced and purposeful way.
Moreover, there’s no rush in Spiritfarer. Everyone can enjoy the game at their own pace. Whether you want to engage in the myriads of activities available like fishing atop of your boat or guide the maximum amount of people to the afterlife as quickly as possible, the choice is yours.
Technically speaking, Spiritfarer is as beautiful as it gets. The animations and overall graphics are top-notch and reveal Thunder Lotus’ mastery of the craft that you can only get in Canada.
