SpiritFarer Makes Death a Beautiful Journey
SpiritFarer is quite a beautiful game. It shows a 2D hand-drawn style of artwork, which is a signature of Thunder Lotus Games, an absolutely easy on the ears soundtrack, and makes it seem like you are a good ferry master of the dead. As Nicolas Guérin, Creative Director of SpiritFarer, puts it, “SpiritFarer is a positive game about loss, friendship, empathy, and what is left behind.” This game has the feeling of being cute and fun while balancing the deep and heavy subject of death.
SpiritFarer takes roles we typically understand as dark and brooding and turns them into something positive rather than depressive. It feels like each friend and passenger taken along will be more like a positive release rather than a crippling loss.
“Statius, Silvae 2. 1. 228 ff: Neither the ferryman [Kharon (Charon)] nor the comrade [the Hydra] of the cruel beast [Kerberos (Cerberus)] bars the way [to the Underworld] to innocent souls.””
One could compare Stella, the main character, to Charon who is the ferry master of the dead in Greek Mythology. Charon’s name can mean “of keen gaze” usually as a reference to Charon’s eyes and overall look. I like to think that taking that in a positive light shows us Stella in her bright and vibrant outfit with her big silly hat. She also has eyes that look so full of wonder at her world. I believe in this comparison because in early Greek art Charon seems unkempt and almost demon-esque. In later geek art he still looks unkempt but he is given a more kind and refined demeanor. Thunder Lotus has made all 3 of their current games based on mythologies of some sort (Jotun-Norse, Sundered-H.P. Lovecraft) and now SpiritFarer-Greek; Charon.
SpiritFarer will be above all a management game with other aspects tying together its themes. As Guérin puts it, there will be parts of a farm sim, cooking for spirits, harvesting from orchards, and teaching spirits as well as being taught by spirits. He explains that players will farm resources from around the world and reinvest those into the boat to help accommodate spirits and make them feel at ease. In the GameSpot Day 2 talks, Guérin explains that they love to play with size and scale as in their previous games.
The spirits in the game are the souls of humans that have manifested in the form of animals that reveal their inner personalities. The game itself will focus on relationships and less on grinding out farming, though there will be farming and resource management. Thunder Lotus says that it will take about 30 hours to finish and hundreds more to experience everything the game has to offer. For everyone who loves personalizing their games there will be customization options for Stella, the boat, and Daffodil the cat. Did we mention there is a cute cat too? Adorable.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this likely heartwarming experience that just might tell us more about our selves and the world we live in.
SpiritFarer is set for an early 2020 release date on PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, PS4, and Switch. More information can be found on the official Thunder Lotus Games website. You can also follow them on Twitter or Facebook.
Support Forever Classic Games through this referral link to purchase Spiritfarer on the Epic Games Store.
Sources;
Playstation Blog
E3 2019 Stream
"The Ferryman and His Fee: A Study in Ethnology, Archaeology, and Tradition"
GameSpot Stage Show Day 2
Update 10/11/2021 - Epic referral link added, slight formatting changes.
