Spiritfarer

Spiritfarer arrived on PlayStation 4 in 2020 and offered an unusual combination of management simulation and an emotionally charged story about death and farewell. The player takes on the role of Stella, a newly minted ferrymaster of spirits, who carries the ghosts of deceased friends and acquaintances across the sea on her boat toward their final rest. Each character has their own story, personality, needs and favorite foods — the player builds cabins for them, grows crops, cooks meals and completes small tasks for them, until the moment comes to let them go and say goodbye forever with an embrace at the lighthouse at the end of the pier. The boat itself can gradually be expanded with dozens of specialized rooms, turning it into a living, ever-growing home for a whole crowded crew of spirits.

In terms of gameplay it's a broad mix of crafts: fishing, mining, farming, cooking and upgrading the boat blend with platforming sections while exploring islands, where the player gradually finds new materials, recipes and companions. The hand-drawn graphics have a warm, fairy-tale look that contrasts with the heavy themes the game deals with, and it's precisely this contrast that gives the story its power — sorrow is handled here with kindness and without fear of feeling. The musical accompaniment supports the game's meditative pace and gives the player room to fully feel each character's departure without the game ever pushing them to rush, and the player chooses for themselves whether to spend the day on productive work aboard the ship or in a quiet conversation with one of its residents.

Spiritfarer was very well received for its sensitive handling of the themes of dying and caregiving, which rarely appears this directly in the games industry, and many players and journalists praised the game's ability to be comforting and honestly sad at the same time. Its long playtime, which gives room for gradually building relationships with the characters, makes it an experience that's often recommended more as an emotional journey than as a classic game about challenge, and it remains to this day one of the most frequently mentioned indie titles of its generation on the theme of loss and acceptance.

Why play it: For players open to an emotional journey rather than a classic challenge — a sensitive and honestly sad take on the themes of dying and caregiving that gives plenty of room to gradually build relationships with the characters.