THE LONG GAME
Spiritfarer
A progress report on the games we just can’t quit
Developer/publisher Thunder Lotus Games Format PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One Release 2020
With half a million copies sold to date, Spiritfarer has undoubtedly struck a chord. This is a game of great emotional ambition, with real teeth behind that serene Disney-Pixar smile. But there were more than a few notes of criticism mixed in with the warm initial reception. It can be frustrating, both by accident and design. And while it’s never cruel, it can be brutally affecting. Chief among those problems is its ending, a quiet, lonely anticlimax that seems to go against the central theme of companionship at the end of life.