5 Best Games Like Spiritfarer

So, you’ve ferried a few dozen spirits over to the great beyond in Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition — so what happens next? Well, if you happened to enjoy your time as the fledgling collector of souls, and are looking to remediate the post-limbo blues that its melancholic conclusion left behind, then be sure to read on. Here are the best alternatives to Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition.

5. Kena: Bridge of Spirits

If you enjoyed the morbid but weirdly wholesome venture of ferrying lost souls to the afterlife in Spiritfarer, then you’ll likely find Kena: Bridge of Spirits up to your speed. Its premise is relatively similar: embark on a quest to navigate souls through the afterlife and into the great beyond. Unlike Spiritfarer—a game that primarily uses social interaction and city-building to forge its plot points—however, Kena instead relies on puzzle-solving, open-world exploration, and even the odd bit of combat, too.

To put it short, Kena: Bridge of Spirits follows a young girl named Kena—a spirit guide who has the ability to send the deceased to the afterlife. As Kena, players are invited to set out across a Pixar-inspired wonderland—a world in which characters vary from joyful to mischievous, and locales stretch across tropical forests and neon-coated mountains. Sure enough, it isn’t the longest game in the world, but it is without doubt one of the most memorable journeys you’ll ever embark on.

4. Bear and Breakfast

If you’d much rather keep ahold of your guests, and not, you know, send them packing to the afterlife, then you’ll want to consider Bear and Breakfast, a cozy management sim in which you create your own chain of bustling woodland B&B resorts. It isn’t as emotional as Spiritfarer, nor is it filled with final farewells between lifelong friends, either; it’s lighthearted, if anything, which makes it a perfect treat for those who are still batting away the tears from dockside of Spiritfarer’s vessel for the souls.

Bear and Breakfast is simple: transform old cabins into flourishing estates and invite guests to stay at them for extended periods of time. As the grizzly overseer of sorts, you must gather resources to upgrade facilities, cook hearty communal banquets, and see to every guest who secures their reservation. Sound like a bit of a bear-den? On paper, sure, but thanks to the game’s easy-to-digest mechanics and nonlinear gameplay, you’ll find that any newcomer will have all it takes to be the next social entrepreneur.

3. Afterparty

Afterparty comes from the same train of thought that brought Oxenfree to life. As a product of the same mindset, players can expect to delve into a side-scrolling adventure that’s both light on the puzzles, and heavy on the social camaraderie between NPCs and protagonists. What’s more, as it’s set in the very depths of Hell, it also comes rather close to the same wavelength as Spiritfarer. Or at least, it attempts to make light of a horrifying situation, anyway.

In Afterparty, you take on the roles of Milo and Lola—two teenage kids who’ve mistakenly wound up dead, and knocking at the devil’s door. To get out of said situation, the two must set our across the seven layers of Hell and confront the devil to strike a bargain—a bargain that, weirdly enough, involves consuming more alcohol than the kingpin of Hell himself. It’s evidently comedic, and more importantly, incredibly entertaining right from the get-go.

2. Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds isn’t necessarily all about guiding lost souls to the other side, as such, but more about savoring the final moments before facing a global catastrophe, and more importantly, sharing them with those who are closest to you. It’s also about finding a way to alter such a disastrous course, and doing all in your power to prevent those you hold dear from meeting such a grizzly demise. A little like Spiritfarer, in a way, but with less cooking and repair work, and more puzzle-solving and exploration, really.

Outer Wilds puts you in the center of a global crisis—a period of time in which the world and everything in it is on the brink of being destroyed. Stuck in an endless loop, you must set out to unravel the mysteries behind the world’s inevitable collapse, and whittle away at certain puzzles in order to edge just a little closer to preventing it from happening. There’s plenty of wholesome conversations to explore, and arguably one of the best story-driven adventures to experience in the realm of independent gaming. Don’t believe us? Just check out the awards it was given back in 2019.

1. Cozy Grove

In Cozy Grove, you will once again be taking on the role of a spirit guide—a jack-of-all-trades, if you will, who must explore a haunted forest and essentially aid those in need. Again, a lot like Spiritfarer — right down to the crafting and social elements, even. And while it does miss out on a few of the heartfelt moments that Spiritfarer has an abundance of, it does tap into plenty of the same core gameplay features, including city-building and cooking.

Aside from the obvious spiritual connection with Spiritfarer, Cozy Grove also takes several pages out of Animal Crossing’s book. As a life simulation game, players can also develop everlasting relationships, obtain new hobbies, and even scavenge for the tools needed to build a home for themselves out in the deep, dark woods. Sure enough, there’s a lot to enjoy from this one, so if you’re after something that’ll keep you busy for the long haul, then look no further.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up any of the above five games this month? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.