When I hugged the crying Mr. Frog for the first time in the starry sea of _Spiritfarer_, his heavy sadness was almost transmitted to my palm through the handle. As a new soul traveler, I not only have to drive a ship through the mysterious sea, but also learn to gently see off every soul on board at the right time.
The game opens on the night when the stars and the moon shine. Stella, who I played, took over the heavy responsibility from Charon and began to take care of those souls who did not want to leave. But what really makes this game about death full of vitality is those seemingly ordinary daily lives: planting tomatoes for Grandma Hedgehog in the morning light, teaching the mushroom boy to draw in the afternoon, and giving Bruce and Mickey a farewell hug in the middle of the night. Every soul has his own cottage on the boat, and the construction process of each cottage is to piece together their unfinished lives.
The most profound farewell happened on a summer night. When Uncle Elk Astrid stood in front of the Eternal Gate and reviewed her career as a teacher for the last time, the game asked me to choose a farewell gift: her favorite cherry pie or the annotated collection of poems? There is no right or wrong in this choice, but it makes me deeply understand the true meaning of farewell — the important thing is not what to leave behind, but how to let the deceased leave with dignity.
The game’s interpretation of “putting down” is full of poetry. When saying goodbye to the frog entrepreneur Gustav, you need to complete his final art project first; before helping the little bird sister Daria set off, you must untie her knot with her sister. The most tearful thing is that when the souls are ready to leave, they will take the initiative to remove the decoration of the room and leave the space for later travelers — this restrained gentleness is more touching than any sensational.
As the voyage continued, I found myself changing. At first, I was impatient with the willful demands of the souls, but later I learned to understand their unspoken desires from each quirk. When the old cat Alice repeatedly asked the same question because of memory decline, I no longer answered briefly, but accompanied her to watch the sea — some questions do not need answers, just someone to accompany her to ask.
At dusk after customs clearance, I turned out my grandmother’s photo. The greatest magic of this game is that it turns the heavy theme of “death” into a farewell lesson that can be practiced repeatedly. If you have also lost someone important, _Spiritfarer_ will give you the warmest healing. It will not eliminate the pain of parting, but it will make you believe that every serious farewell is the deepest respect for life.
