Spiritfarer hits a million sales, Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition out now

Just discovered this game thanks to this article so can add another sale from me to support these awesome devs.

Not usually my cup of tea but the trailer looked amazing so have decided to purchase and will give it a deep dive once I get my steam deck (After Q2) as I am now shopping for games to use for the deck once I get my hands on one.

Just bought it. Art direction appears very similar to GRIS - one of my all-time faves - and that alone is worth a buy. The demo is just lovely and the devs have released three free dlcs. Can't really say no at this price

I'm still waiting on my little one being old enough so that we can play through this together. I'm thinking maybe 7? If anyone that's played it has insight for guidance, that would be appreciated.

I'm still waiting on my little one being old enough so that we can play through this together. I'm thinking maybe 7? If anyone that's played it has insight for guidance, that would be appreciated.

I'm playing through it casually. Overall, I like it.

The low spoiler version is that you're ferrying spirits to their final destination via your boat. The boat is a home base you can build on and upgrade. There is a light crafting aspect where the protagonist refines materials (wood, ore, thread, and so on) and cooks food for their passengers.

The more challenging bits are the actual crafting interfaces which are action puzzlers. For example, the forge must have the bellows pumped to maintain heat in a range. The more advanced the metal the harder it is to keep it dial in. Weaving and cutting planks from wood have similarly challenging pieces. The wood is by far the hardest for me as the goal is to track a dotted line with the cursor. Most of the harvesting is very simple.

There is also a challenging platforming aspect to game play when collecting some of the rarer and more advanced materials and also when trying to reach some locations. As Stella (and her cat Daffodil which can be played couch coop) advances she can collect more skills to navigate the world (jump higher and so on).

There is a serious theme in the background concerning death and moving on. I feel it is treated well with respect without laying on the common social burdens of fear and loathing. There are some slightly spooky moments where some spirits confront darkness, but these aren't prevalent and are mostly a mechanic to collect a material. The artwork is highly stylized and beautiful in my opinion. There is an elegant whimsical feeling to the world with a fitting soundtrack.

Additionally Stella must manage her passengers. They will want fed and some are quite picky about their diets. They all need hugs periodically and have their own narratives to share with Stella.

My main complaint or criticism would like with some of the action mechanics and controls. I find them frustrating sometimes and feel they could be tighter and more refined. Also, while your goals are clearly laid out in modal window you can bring up, there is very little direction to completing them. It's easy to start wandering around wondering how and where to collect the next item or progress your passenger's storylines.

I play Spiritfarer through GamePass so I haven't bought it, but I highly recommend checking it out if you enjoy that sort of game play. Overall it's quite casual and generally relaxing with moments of intensity and mayhem. Also, I play with a controller for this title.

I'm playing through it casually. Overall, I like it.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure he'll be fine with the mechanics of the game - he's played a lot of challenging games already, and I can always take over for any tricky bits. It's moments of unexpected sadness that I'm wary of.

For example, we were watching Universe together a while ago. Pictures of stars, and planets, and interesting satellites, and Brian Cox wandering round the arse end of nowhere and it's all very jolly. "...Oh, and by the way, life will be gone forever when the sun explodes." Tears and existential dread before bedtime. That's the kind of thing I'd like to avoid before he's ready for it.

I'm playing through it casually. Overall, I like it.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure he'll be fine with the mechanics of the game - he's played a lot of challenging games already, and I can always take over for any tricky bits. It's moments of unexpected sadness that I'm wary of.

For example, we were watching Universe together a while ago. Pictures of stars, and planets, and interesting satellites, and Brian Cox wandering round the arse end of nowhere and it's all very jolly. "...Oh, and by the way, life will be gone forever when the sun explodes." Tears and existential dread before bedtime. That's the kind of thing I'd like to avoid before he's ready for it.

If you're concerned about violent content, one character describes a very nasty scene that I imagine could be pretty upsetting. They also laugh about another person's physical pain

Spoiler, click me

including an eye injury from broken glass

. Just to be aware.

If you're concerned about violent content, one character describes a very nasty scene that I imagine could be pretty upsetting. They also laugh about another person's physical pain

Spoiler, click me

including an eye injury from broken glass

. Just to be aware.

Thanks for the heads-up.

So the impression that I'm getting is that there's nothing that's suddenly upsetting (and I know to be looking out for that scene - for the unspoilered bit mostly), and it should be OK to play through together when he's about 7, with conversations about whatever potentially upsetting thing might be coming up later before they happen.

For context, he loved The Martian (with sufficient reassurance that things would actually turn out OK), he likes to watch Operation Ouch, and we're both aware of the subject matter of the game. I just want to make sure that we're both prepared for things happening and that he'll be able to put them into the right context.

FYI, Itch.io lists the Linux version as 13 while Windows is 15. I'm not sure if that means this isn't out for Linux yet.

Also, I bought it on Itch, but I don't really know how updates work there. Will there be some kind of alert when it's available, and do I update by downloading the new version manually? I wanted to support the devs, but Steam does make all this so easy...

If you're concerned about violent content, one character describes a very nasty scene that I imagine could be pretty upsetting. They also laugh about another person's physical pain

Spoiler, click me

including an eye injury from broken glass

. Just to be aware.

Thanks for the heads-up.

So the impression that I'm getting is that there's nothing that's suddenly upsetting (and I know to be looking out for that scene - for the unspoilered bit mostly), and it should be OK to play through together when he's about 7, with conversations about whatever potentially upsetting thing might be coming up later before they happen.

For context, he loved The Martian (with sufficient reassurance that things would actually turn out OK), he likes to watch Operation Ouch, and we're both aware of the subject matter of the game. I just want to make sure that we're both prepared for things happening and that he'll be able to put them into the right context.

I wouldn't say there are dramatic sudden instances of sadness, but so far some of the narratives are fraught with some degree of tragedy and remorse.

Spoiler, click me

For example, a couple of the spirits are relatives of Stella and they relate to past regrets, struggles, and sadness. There is dialogue discussing hurt relationships, failed father figures, and some kind of deep things. There is also a hope in those discussions and so far it seems as though part of the adventure is healing some of those and learning how to move forward. The Dragon is a something your farm for materials, but is also a narrative character that has threatened one of the spirits in the past and destroyed their father. You don't relive that, but they do refer to it in the narrative and dialogue.

If you and your child enjoy light platforming with a sweet story then Sable is one I would recommend checking out. It is the coming of age story about a young woman going on a journey. The game is set in a far future science fiction setting. Sable is going through a rite of passage called a "gliding" where she takes her hoverbike on a journey through deserts, ancient ruins, and the remnants of crashed space ships from another civilization and time. The game is cel-shaded stylized art with a beautiful soundtrack. It's very chill and low key so might not be challenging enough, but the puzzles and collection tasks are fun. It's a bit buggy in places, but nothing too terribly annoying in my opinion. According to Proton DB it is rated "gold".