Spiritfarer evokes Peter Pan, The Neverending Story, and Alice in Wonderland—all of 'em

Spiritfarer is resurrecting my once-dead inner child. I only realized how bleak that sounded once I'd typed it out, sorry. But this 2D sidescroller turns the similarly bleak character of Charon—the boatman on the River Styx—into an orange-haired star child with a sombrero-sized hat, a relentless smile, and a magical belt buckle. 

The world of the Spiritfarer is pierced with darkness and startling creatures, to be sure. But it's also got a no-nonsense pacing to its resource collection, a sparkling hopefulness to its soundtrack, and gorgeous backgrounds that belong in a grown-up coloring book. 

I dare you to not think of Morla the Ancient One from The Neverending Story when an enormous sea turtle surfaces. Or Alice in Wonderland's Walrus and the Carpenter when you are greeted by a regal, large-flippered marine animal. See also Dinah the Cat if you need more convincing that Lewis Carroll has a hand in all this. There's a Peter Pan-like wonder to it all and it transforms me into a grade schooler every time I see a new trailer for this game. I'm ready to farm, mine, fish, harvest, cook, and craft my way across mystical seas. 

Spiritfarer—the "cozy management game about dying"—is coming to to all current-gen platforms sometime here in 2020.