Spiritfarer: revision #8

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**Spiritfarer** is a management game about dying, developed and self-published by Thunder Lotus Games.[^1] Playing as Stella, ferrymaster to the deceased, the player builds a boat to explore the world, cares for spirit friends aboard, and eventually releases them into the afterlife.[^1] It launched on 18 August 2020 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store and GOG) at $29.99, arriving day one on Xbox Game Pass for console and PC.[^2]

## Gameplay

Spiritfarer blends boat-building, resource management and platforming with quiet character stories: the player farms, cooks, crafts and upgrades the ship while tending to the emotional needs of each spirit passenger before saying goodbye.[^1] A second player can join in local co-op as Daffodil the cat.[^1]

## Development and release

The game was built in Unity, with its hand-drawn character animation created in Toon Boom Harmony.[^5] A Stadia version followed the initial launch on 21 August 2020.[^4] Thunder Lotus supported the game with three major free content updates, culminating in the *Farewell Edition* — the base game bundled with all released content — on 13 December 2021.[^3]

## Reception

On the day the Farewell Edition launched, Thunder Lotus announced Spiritfarer had passed one million copies sold.[^3] The game earned nominations across The Game Awards 2020, the 2021 BAFTA Games Awards, the 24th D.I.C.E. Awards and the Nebula Awards, plus multi-category wins at the Canadian Game Awards.[^3] Its blend of gentle systems and grief-forward storytelling made it a fixture of the [[cozy-game|cozy games]] conversation alongside titles like [[Coffee Talk]].

## External links

- [Official website](https://thunderlotusgames.com/spiritfarer)
- [Steam page](https://store.steampowered.com/app/972660/)

[^1]: Valve. ["Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition"](https://store.steampowered.com/app/972660/) — Steam store data. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
[^2]: VGChartz. ["Spiritfarer Launches Today for Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC"](https://www.vgchartz.com/article/444917/spiritfarer-launches-today-for-switch-ps4-xbox-one-and-pc/) — VGChartz, 18 August 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
[^3]: Thunder Lotus Games. ["A Fond Farewell — Spiritfarer Sells 1 Million Units. Farewell Edition Is Out Today!"](https://thunderlotusgames.com/press-releases/spiritfarer-farewell-edition-press/) — press release, 13 December 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
[^4]: Thunder Lotus Games. ["Critically Acclaimed Cozy Management Game 'Spiritfarer' Releases on Stadia"](https://thunderlotusgames.com/press-releases/critically-acclaimed-cozy-management-game-spiritfarer-releases-on-stadia/) — press release, 21 August 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
[^5]: Toon Boom. ["Thunder Lotus Games on animating the afterlife in Spiritfarer"](https://www.toonboom.com/thunder-lotus-games-on-animating-the-afterlife-in-spiritfarer) — Toon Boom interview. Retrieved 9 July 2026.