When I first picked up Spiritfarer, I was excited. It seemed like a mix of a cozy, character-driven, adventure game and a base-management game, which is right down my alley. The first couple of hours were a blast. After all of that, I still somewhat enjoyed the game. Yet I can’t help but feel that this game isn’t worth the thirty dollar price tag.

There isn’t a whole lot of content in this game, but most of what is in the game is executed very well. The movement feels smooth and the resource gathering is satisfying. But this repetitive gameplay loop of running out of materials to give to a character you don’t like and taking a bus stop all the way to the other side of the map to get that one specific material while you completely stop the main storyline is frustrating at best and at worst, reminds you that you had to spend thirty dollars to do chores.

The game spends too much time talking about characters that aren’t interesting. I find few of the characters in the game actually interesting, and the ones that aren’t are those who advance the story more.

The animation is probably the main draw of the game and the artwork is amazingly beautiful. Even with the slow cutscenes at the Everdoor, I’m still having a good time just looking at how beautiful everything is.

The Movement is incredibly smooth as well. It feels like no matter how big you upgrade your ferry, it still takes no time at all to cross it and get to where you want to be. Placing down ziplines and wind drafts to move around also increases the fluidity of the movement.

The base-management is somewhat bland. It’s kind of interesting when you get to do it all at one time, but there’s so much time in between these “sessions” that you don’t get to experience it much.

With how much I complain about the game, I still find myself losing track of time everytime I play. So with all that said, this game is a 7/10. It’s fun to lose track of time on, but if you pay too much attention to the details it needs some polish.