It’s the end for Spiritfarer and Jackie & Daria are here to close the book on things.
That might sound a little grim but this soul-shuttling action game is as life-affirming as they come. It casts you as a Stella, a newly “recruited” ferryman who not only retrieves the souls of the deceased but helps them come to terms with their passing.
“Gorgeous, emotional and heartwarming from start to finish, playing Spiritfarer is like sinking into a nice, cosy duvet,” was how we described it in our review. Even though we’ve played it from beginning to end, I still find it hugely affecting when I dip back in, so much so that I’ve stopped calling it Spiritfarter.
And now, while Spiritfarer’s in no danger of being delisted, developers Thunder Lotus Games are drawing a line under it with this, the the third and final free update. The Jackie & Daria update adds, er, Jackie and Daria as well as the island where the pair dwell.
Jackie was, or perhaps still is, Daria’s carer and, setting foot inside a dilapidated hospital, it’s up to you to help them move on. Yes, “dilapidated hospital”, you read that right. Thankfully, this isn’t Silent Hill so the chances of getting your face ripped off, even though Jackie has taken the form of an anthropomorphic jackal, are nil.
Instead, you can expect to explore the relationship between the two, and shed a tear or two as you tease out their secrets. “The team was unanimous in their desire to make the game’s final update something special, and I feel they’ve really pulled out all the stops here”, writes Spiritfarer’s Creative Director Nicolas Guérin.
We’re certainly hoping Spiritfarer’s Jackie & Daria update delivers, and doesn’t just pull a Game of Thrones on us. We’ll be able to find out when the free download arrives this December 13th, landing on the Xbox Game Pass, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and Stadia.
