In a year of grief and loss, Spiritfarer made me feel things I was maybe not ready to feel.
I missed my grandfather's funeral this summer. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. My family lives in another country, borders are hard to get across in these pandemic times, and I had no idea if I would be bringing the virus with me. In the end, my family and I decided it would be best if I stayed home.
The first time I took someone to the Evergate in Spiritfarer, I cried. I cried a long time. I thought about everyone I knew who is no longer with us, and as my character in the game helped the person wrap up the story of their life, I thought about all the loose ends.
And then, later on, when one of the people you help is an elderly person with dementia, as she slowly loses the ability to remember anything in the present day and as she starts seeing you as someone from decades ago, I cried again. (My grandfather had advanced dementia, and had for years.)
I don't know if I found any closure through Spiritfarer exactly, but it sure did make me stop and properly grieve.
It feels trifling to then talk about it in terms of gameplay, but I liked the entire package this game presented. The art is beautiful. The music, the things you do in that game were all enjoyable. I liked growing plants, cooking food, helping my charges tie up the loose ends of their lives.
I know video games aren't made in a few months, and I'm sure the Spiritfarer developers didn't know they'd be launching their game in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic. But we are fortunate that they did, as we too try to bring the spirits left behind in us to our own Everdoor.
