Trailer Review - Spiritfarer Gwen Trailer

The "Gwen Trailer" for the upcoming game Spiritfarer is notable for its quiet restraint, and telling a story by thinking of the game moments as scenes in a story. It uses the game loop as the story structure, and for a bit of dramatic tension it uses the end as the opening. I think this is a good way to structure the story of a trailer because today's audiences don't have the patience for a slow reveal of what is happening (at least, not when they're not a captive audience). By starting with the main characters already together, it begs the question: "What is the relationship between these characters?" 

The trailer opens on a beautiful scene of a red river and trees of a muted beige. A boat drifts into frame holding Gwen, a humanoid deer-like character, and Stella who is paddling the boat with her cat resting on her shoulder. I always encourage trailer makers to hook the audience as soon as possible; here the beautiful art serves as the hook. Nineteen seconds seems like an unthinkably long duration for an opening shot with virtually no action, but it beautifully sets the pace. It says to the audience: "Sit back and relax."

The frame wipes to reveal a large ship on the open water around dawn. Stella and her cat run across the ship from left to right illuminated by an unseen light. When they reach the bow of the ship there's some sort of green hooded figure which is replaced by Gwen in a glowing light. Up through this moment the music is understated, but on Gwen's arrival it flourishes. A word bubble pops up, and she says: "Hey, Stella."

I like how simple the word bubbles are. Too often I'll see dialogue in trailers which is not meant to contribute to the trailer's story, just there to show "Hey, there's dialogue in this game."

We then cut to a montage of scenes during the daytime. Gwen uses a loom to make thread for Stella, Stella finishes baking a cake, and gives a piece to Gwen, then they share a laugh after Stella unsuccessfully attempts to remove a weed from the garden. Stella's cat sits idle or rolls around during each of these scenes. There is no sense of building towards some sort of climax or stacking game ideas atop each other, but here it serves the slice of life feel of the game.

We then cut to the sunset. Gwen walks to the bow to tell Stella and her cat: "It's time." We're not sure what it's time for, but the question it plants can't help but inspire curiosity for what is to come. The three of them get into the boat from the beginning of the trailer, and Stella starts to paddle. 

Then we're back at the scene from the opening of the trailer. Stella finishes paddling, and hugs Gwen. Gwen's body glows, and float above the boat. The camera pulls back to reveal some sort of arch, and there's a rush of light which transitions to the night sky where a deer-shaped constellation appears, then the title logo reveals.

The floating spool of thread is the most video game-y looking thing in this, but it doesn't feel like game UI so it doesn't take us out of the moment.

I love love love this trailer! I like how the flashback format nicely bookends the story, and how the game moments create scenes which feel like a short story montage. The art, animation and music are top notch, and make each moment affecting, and a delight to watch. If the animation for each action was shorter, we wouldn't be able to luxuriate in each moment. There are a lot of games where animations are made to be fast and responsive to the player pressing buttons, but here their fidelity are befitting the pace of the game. 

On paper, not a lot happens in this trailer, especially for one which clocks in at 135 seconds, a full 45 seconds longer than a typical game trailer. but the sense of tranquility and peace is enhanced by the slower pacing. To be honest, I think this would've been a better announce trailer than what they debuted during E3. Take a look:

This trailer has a bit of the same sense of peace and tranquility, but it feels more like a typical game trailer with its title cards of: BUILD, CARE, EXPLORE (though "Learn how to say Goodbye" is a VERY good twist to draws attention). It also shows little game moments, and even has a climactic moment with the thunderstorm before finishing by saying goodbye to Gwen. 

I think this trailer would've worked better as a second trailer because it expands upon the ideas of the trailer focused on Gwen. Oftentimes announcement trailers which show very few game mechanics, leave the audience wondering: "Okay, but what is the GAME part of this!?" This trailer would've answered that question by showing more characters, new interactions, and give a sense of the game's scope. 

I think trailers with a less typical titlecard/gameplay structure perform better at shows like E3 too because they feel more like an experience than a list of bullet points. That said, these are both still very good trailers and I don't think they did themselves a disservice by releasing them in this order, but the Gwen trailer gets a chef's kiss from me. 

People don't like to be sold to, but they LOVE to be told stories!