Video Game: Spiritfarer Prepares A Beautiful Death For The Souls Of The Departed
Cherish Memorials, a funeral service had been a witness to many griefs and sorrow. Dealing with the loss of a loved one is a painful journey. We stay away from death most of our lives. In order to function, to be able to live everyday life, to have goals, it seems necessary that we close the inevitable end with all its terrible images – in a metaphorical box somewhere under the bed, next to the winter clothes.
Video games can provide a way to approach this box. In the game mechanics, death can come a little closer to us – they are small confrontations, small enough not to be so scary, maybe even bring joy.
Of course, these quiet moments are often lost in the video game medium and its marketing campaigns. This makes the rattle of engines and weapons easier to market. Practically, death always comes with a purpose, a goal, and a certainty: You kill for a good cause.
One knows images of battlefields, crosshairs, shots. This is how challenges are conquered and reflexes tested. However, death itself and the path to it, dying, rarely find a place in video games. But there are games that approach this topic in their own way. Mechanics that turn dying into a game – and a way of making death more tangible.
Prepare a beautiful death for souls
In “Spiritfarer” the players take on the role of the protagonist Stella, who makes a ship her own in order to bring the souls of deceased beings to the other side. It is a huge effort because souls have needs: They want to be comfortable, want to sleep, eat, have fun.
If you need to talk, you want to share the last thoughts and feelings of your life with Stella. They tell of their longings and fears – that can be a serving of popcorn as well as the regrets of an unfulfilled life. Until they say goodbye – forever. The newly made friends go their way into the hereafter, say goodbye.
“Spiritfarer” is in its basic mechanics a management game. It is important to find enough resources to make the souls on the ship as comfortable as possible. Creating gardens, growing vegetables, or a functional kitchen – all of this needs wood, seeds, or stones, which can only be found on the journey across the sea.
The many characters in “Spiritfarer” tell quietly. When players are ready, they can listen to the stories – take part. The game is never intrusive, leaving the player in their own space, at their own pace. One thing is always clear: These friends you make here will leave again. Therefore, appreciate the time you can spend with them.