Hello there, Spiritfarers!

The team and I are proud to finally unveil what we’ve been working on in the last few months. We’ll be releasing brand new content for Spiritfarer throughout this year!

Without further ado, here’s our Spiritfarer Roadmap! ːstella_happyː



We have three major updates in the works, all of which will be completely free! ːcat_starsː

We are currently planning to release them in Spring, Summer and Fall of this year, and they will contain their own set of changes, including new spirits, new buildings, new resources and overall quality of life improvements to the game.


As Stella is getting more familiar with the job of Spiritfaring, she starts to uncover some of her memories, which are starting to blossom as wondrous flowers over her cabin. These flowers house butterflies that roost to form...

Our brand new friend : Lily, Stella’s younger sister.



Lily is the only spirit that's active during the night. Just as she had been a shining presence in her big sister’s life, here she illuminates the night and lets you navigate your boat even when it’s dark! Isn’t that convenient!

In addition to adding Lily, we’ll be enhancing the cooperative experience with a brand new UI and the ability to do some coop fishing! All that and more! 🎣

The Lily Update is set to take flight this Spring!


While exploring Oxbury, Stella is accosted by a stranger who turns out to be her old neighbor Beverly! She’s been feeling rather lonely on this island and couldn’t be happier to have finally found someone to talk to about the past!



Speaking of the past, remember Overhead Projectors? To keep in line with our walk down memory lane, we’ll be introducing a new station called the Archive Room, where you’ll be able to inspect a brand new set of collectibles called Acetate Sheets. Who knows what kind of information these wonderful transparent sheets will hold!

We also have a plethora of quality of life tweaks in the works - full details to come at a later date! I can’t spoil all the surprises! ːcat_coolː

You’ll get the chance to reminisce about the good old days alongside Beverly this Summer.


Out of the blue, Stella receives coordinates for a new island that houses a run-down hospital. There, she’ll meet Jackie, the caretaker, and Daria, his main patient. Seeing that Jackie is overworked, Stella decides to lend him a hand.



You’ll be able to explore a whole new island, interact with two new spirits and experience a brand new event! Additional details coming later this year! 👀



All will be revealed when the Jackie & Daria Update launches this Fall.


More details to come when we settle on a specific release date for each content update. Remember that all these updates will be completely free!

Speaking of free content, I just wanted to let you know we added badges to Spiritfarer today, where you'll be able to unlock Spiritfarer stickers and emotes! Head to the Points Shop to unlock yours today!

Special thanks to our Discord community and all our Mailing List subscribers, whose feedback really helped us focus our efforts in the right direction for these content updates!

Oh, and one last thing, it would mean a lot to us if you could please take the time to review Spiritfarer!

Thank you so much for reading, have a wonderful day!

Cheers,
-Med

Hey everyone,

As this year draws to a close, I figured I'd take you on a journey back through memory lane and reflect on the... eventful year that was 2020... but first, I want to extend my deepest and most sincere gratitude to each and every one of you, who have supported us over these last twelve months and gave us the strength in face of adversities, and made this year truly unforgettable.

You're the best darn community we could've ever hoped for! 🥰



To celebrate the holiday season, we'll be partying in style with huge discounts on all of our games, including Spiritfarer. 

• Jotun & Sundered both have a huge -80% discount.
  
• Spiritfarer is also on sale ever sale at a staggering -25% discount!

Oh, you're in picking up all of them? Well, you're in luck! We actually have the Thunder Lotus Collection ready for you, with an additional -10% discount!
With deals this craaaazy, it'd be insane not to share!



Now onto this year's recap!

Start of 2020 - Winter

We started the year strong with a small event called... PAX East, where we got to meet so many of you... in person! Still wild to think we used to gather in large groups... 



I actually still have pleasant dreams about how comfy this rug was, as some of you have pointed out.

PAX East was actually the last time we'd be able to showcase our game in person. While the pandemic wouldn't actually start for another couple of weeks, we did our best to avoid the PAX Plague by bringing around 1500 earphone covers, and roughly as many wet wipes to clean the controllers. We actually managed to run out of both midway through the last day of PAX.

We're still happy to this day of how amazing the event has been, thanks to all of you and (most of all) our volunteers: Greg, David and Joe! 😄

Proud, with an award in hand and a couple of awesome articles under our belts, we drove back to Montréal to continue working on completing the full game.

Spring

As the pandemic started and before everything started closing down, we took the utmost precaution and moved to working remotely, and to help everyone remember to wash their hands: we asked Atul for help!



With our plans steadily moving forward and Spiritfarer being steadily on track, we got the opportunity to release both of our previous titles, Sundered and Jotun, to Stadia.

Summer

It was at that point that we realized that the pandemic would be here to stay and that we'd have to release Spiritfarer remotely. While we were slightly bummed out, our wonderful partners at the Knights of the Light Table surprised us with the finished version of our animated trailer.



Reinvigorated, we worked with all our strength to get all the builds ready for publication, before our target date for release: Nintendo Indie World, on August 18th 2020.



When the day finally arrived, we were ready and we surprised the world by dropping the game live now! Proud with what we've just accomplished, we were met with thunderous applause from a rapidly growing community, a community that was built on inclusivity and respect. 😊



We really couldn't be happier!

Fall

When the spooky season rolled around, Stella & Daffodil got all dressed up to celebrate!



In the meantime, we worked on resolving most of the issues Spiritfarer had on release and pushed out a patch containing all these languages.

End of 2020

We mostly continued working on minor fixes, and slowly prepared everything we need for 2021. As 2020 draws to a close, we are eternally grateful for all the happiness and support you've all brought us.

To celebrate, Max LL, our wonderful composer, published the official sheet music for Stella's Departure.



We also decided to give some love back by publishing a list of all the games we've played this year. Curious what to do during the holidays? Try some of these games out, they're worth the detour!

What's the plan for 2021?

To get ready for next year's development cycle, we actually opened up our discussions to you all earlier this month. We shared our ideas and accepted any and all of your suggestions. Then, you voted on what interested you for additional Spiritfarer content.

While we haven't fully tied the knot on all our plans for next year, we were really happy with your suggestions and comments! We'll let you know what we'll be doing with your suggestions in early 2021, so stay tuned!



We also actually have a lot of exciting new plans, that are not just inside Spiritfarer, coming next year! So, expect a lot of amazing things coming from us, some of them might even be physical... wait did I just hear merch? You'll have to wait and find out 😉

If you want to stay up to date with our news, I highly recommend you sign up for our mailing list, if you haven't already!


Well, that about wraps it up for today. So much has happened, it genuinely feels like multiple years have passed, yet here we are... at the doorstep of 2021. Thanks again for making this year so special!

Stay happy, stay healthy, and I wish you all a jolly good Holiday Season & a happy New Year!
See you in 2021!

Cheers and lots of love,
-Med and the Thunder Lotus team

Hey fine folks!

It's Thanksgiving time for our friends down in the US of A, but we're reminded that it's never the wrong time to show a little gratitude! In that spirit, we'd like to offer our warmest thanks to all of you for helping make Spiritfarer the most enthusiastically received launch in our Studio's young career! We wanted to make this game something special, possibly not everyone's cup of tea, but we never dreamed that the game would touch as many as deeply as it has.

So: thank you all for your love and support!

If you're feeling generous, we'd like to ask that you please help spread the word about our game:

• Please nominate Spiritfarer in the Sit Back and Relax Category (and of course any other category that feels right to you!) in The Steam Awards!
  
• Spiritfarer has been nominated in two categories in The Game Awards! We hope you'll consider casting your vote for Spiritfarer as Best Indie and the Games For Impact awards.
  
• Don't forget that the best way to help get the word for your favorite games is to please review the game on Steam! It really does make a huge difference, so thanks for taking the time!
  
• Finally, if you want to share the Spiritfarer love in real time with fellow fans (and the devs!) do please join our Discord Community!

That's all she wrote for today! Stay tuned for news about our exciting post-launch plans for Spiritfarer, which we're currently mulling over with great care.

Thanks again, y'all - stay safe, stay healthy, hug often.

Cheers,

- Rodrigue and the Spiritfarer Team

Hey everyone!

What a rush! We surprise-released our cozy management game about dying yesterday, taking advantage of an opportunity to have Nintendo broadcast our drop-dead gorgeous animated trailer in their Indie World Direct Showcase! Have you seen it? Check it out!



We're simply in love with that video - we didn't make it ourselves, though (check the full credits in the YouTube description). But we think it captures the essence of what we want you to experience in Spiritfarer.

Of course, our Launch Trailer has all the juicy bits of gameplay you want to see, and is front and center on our Steam page.

You may be interested in checking out our Steam-exclusive Digital Deluxe Edition, which includes the stellar soundtrack by Max LL, and also a beautiful 95 page art book.



That's all I got for now, folks! Spiritfarer is a game that's near and dear to our hearts, and we're so very proud of it. We hope you'll enjoy the experience!

See you on the mystical seas!

- Rodrigue and the Spiritfarer Team

Hey everyone,

Just a quick heads up to ask you to check out the latest and greatest Spiritfarer Gameplay Teaser! Behold:



This new teaser finds Stella following Alice the Hedgehog Spirit on a not-so-little trip to heretofore unexplored locales, from the frozen landscapes of Nordweiler to the metropolitan areas of Oxbury. By the end, Stella is seen hurrying home, zipline-bound.

If you've been following us for a while, you'll also notice some new faces, such as Giovanni the Lion Spirit and Stan the Mushroom Spirit too!

Let us know what you think, please! And do please Wishlist and Follow Spiritfarer if you haven't already.

Cheers,

- Rodrigue and the Spiritfarer Team

EDIT: due to the revised dates for the Steam Game Festival, we have pushed our AMA to Thursday, June 18, at 12pm ET! Thanks for understanding!


Heyo!

🥳 All aboard for the Summer Edition of the Steam Game Festival! 🥳

Won't you please come join us for the Spiritfarer Developer AMA? Got questions for us? We'll answer anything you ask! (it says so right there in the title!)*

Date: June 18, 2020
Time: 12:00 PM ET
Where: https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/


❓ Can't make it to the AMA? Have a burning question? Please submit it in advance [[url=https://forms.gle/GtfU5nUVvmXZeJPv8]HERE[/url]], and we'll try our best to answer it during the event!

⏰ Please don't forget to set a reminder, too!




*Spoiler: If your question is "When will Spiritfarer release?", our answer will be: "We don't have a firm release date for Spiritfarer yet - we'll see what the future holds!" But if you wishlist the game, you'll know as soon as we do! ;)


https://store.steampowered.com/app/972660/Spiritfarer/

Hey everyone,

Just a quick heads up to ask you to check out the latest Spiritfarer Gameplay Teaser! Please feast your eyeballs on this:



In this teaser, we wanted to give a spotlight to some of the sprightlier platforming levels that we're designing as spicy interludes to Spiritfarer's cozy management and emotional narrative. Long time fans know that we do enjoy us some smooth and satisfying platforming gameplay, and I personally feel there's some silky smooth Eshe DNA in Stella's moves!

Let us know what you think, please! And do please Wishlist and Follow Spiritfarer if you haven't already.

Hope you're keeping happy and healthy out there, y'all!

See you out on the mystical seas,

- Rodrigue and the Spiritfarer Team

Hey everyone,

I hope that you and yours are all keeping it together out there, and staying healthy!

Did you happen to notice that the FREE playable demo for Spiritfarer is being featured in the Steam Game Festival - Spring Edition? It'll be available through the weekend before it's removed from Steam. If you haven't checked it out, this is your chance to get your first taste of the game we've been pouring our hearts and souls into for nearly two years now! (and if you have, maybe share with a friend who you think would dig it!)

Grab or share the limited time Spiritfarer demo HERE!

The demo is great, but TBH, it's just a little taster for the full game. Yes, production is rolling on at full tilt, and the whole team is spending this weekend playing through our first Beta build, before we're ready to release it for testing among a select group of players! Let it be known that the Spiritfarer Closed Beta is happening soon™, and if you're interested in participating, we're holding signups through our mailing list until March 25h!

Please head HERE to subscribe to the mailing list, and we'll send you a link to get yourself on the list! (Note: If you're already a subscriber, we got you covered - you'll receive the same link shortly.)

Hope to have you on the Closed Beta Team!

Cheers,

- Rodrigue and the Spiritfarer Team

Hey everyone,

Today, I'm very excited to announce that a FREE playable demo for Spiritfarer is available NOW, for a limited 48-hour window before it is removed from Steam. Now's your chance to get your first taste of the game we've been pouring our hearts and souls into for nearly two years now!

In the demo, you'll be playing as Stella (with her trusty feline companion Daffodil - who can be played by a friend on a second controller, if you like!). You'll meet the snake spirit Summer and fulfilling her last requests before she completes her transition to the afterlife. You'll learn to improve your boat, explore the world, fish, garden, cook, and more!

Grab the limited time Spiritfarer demo HERE!

As a little bonus to the demo, we're offering a Mini Booklet introducing the characters of the demo to all subscribers of our newsletter! I do try my best to make the newsletter as fan-focused as possible, with free goodies and behind-the-scenes stuff galore, so I hope you'll join the family too, if you haven't already!

Head HERE to subscribe to the mailing list and get your free Mini Booklet!

The demo is being made available as part of The Game Festival, a first-of-its-kind digital consumer event that is launching a digital pilot program on Steam to celebrate this year's Game Awards. We love this idea of a new, digital version of the cons we travel the world to bring our games to - we're stoked to be taking part this year, and can't wait to see how The Game Festival might grow over the next few years!

Let us know what you think of the demo, wontcha please!

Cheers,

- Rodrigue and the Spiritfarer Team

Hey everyone!

It’s a big red letter day here at Thunder Lotus! We’re super stoked to finally reveal the project we’ve been lovingly crafting over the past 18 months or so. Behold Spiritfarer: a cozy management game about dying.

Queue our first trailer and prepare thyselves for the feels!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnuEvePlxWI

Spiritfarer is a project that’s near and dear to our hearts. Here’s the basic pitch:

In Spiritfarer, you play Stella, ferrymaster to the deceased. Build a boat to explore the world, then befriend and care for spirits before finally releasing them into the afterlife. Farm, mine, fish, harvest, cook, and craft your way across mystical seas. Join the adventure as Daffodil the cat, in two-player cooperative play. Spend relaxing quality time with your spirit passengers, create lasting memories, and, ultimately, learn how to say goodbye to your cherished friends.

Expect a release next year on Steam, as well as with Xbox Game Pass for PC and Console, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch!

We can’t wait to tell you more about the game over the next few days, weeks, and months.

Today, as I write this, we’re enjoying the frenzy of E3 2019, where we’ve been invited by the good people at Microsoft to present the first playable demo of Spiritfarer as part of their E3 activities. Come say hi at the Microsoft Theater if you’re in town for the convention! If not, maybe we’re coming to another con near you over the next few months, hmm?

Stay tuned (and do please Follow or Wishlist Spiritfarer)!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/972660/Spiritfarer/

Back to you soon with more Spiritfarer news!

Cheers y’all,

– Rodrigue and the Thunder Lotus team