On a warm, sleepy summer afternoon, while the rest of my family were napping, I cried and cried until my tears ran dry.

I had just finished my now favorite game of all time, “Spiritfarer.” In the few weeks before that day, I played the game bit by bit, immersed in its calming version of the afterlife — finding spirits, ferrying them across the Styx, getting to know them, loving them and eventually letting them go.

When I let each spirit go I wasn’t just grieving random lines of code. The characters in “Spiritfarer” were based on the developers’ real stories. Each and every one was written with love for those lost to cancer, dementia, old age and suicide.

When people hear video games, most think of something akin to a toy, to be played with and discarded once the player has grown up. Adult gamers are thought to be childish, playing “Call of Duty” and being toxic online when they should be working.

This, however, is not true. Video games are not only an art form but one of the most complex art forms producing some of the most impactful stories I’ve ever seen.

A lot of the negative sentiment towards video games comes from a lack of public consciousness. Like other art forms — film and literature namely — game designers often have to make a product that sells, limiting expression in some ways.

For AAA games, which have major publishers and higher budgets, it’s hard to give creative freedom to the developers, since the game needs to earn back the money it took to create. Nearly all art forms do the same, though, yet we don’t criticize film as an art form just because of the occasional mindless action movie. However, for indie games, which are made by individuals or small teams, developers have plenty of freedom. Since they start with a lower budget and fewer people, indie games are often more creative and personal.

From the comedic existentialism of “The Stanley Parable” to the melancholic journey of “Hollow Knight” to the psychological horror of “Doki Doki Literature Club” to the reimagined Greek mythos of “Hades,” video games can explore nearly every genre with the added benefit of having real audience autonomy.

And game development is becoming ever more accessible — there are open-source game engines, game development events and thousands of resources for design and implementation. It’s easy to start making a game now, though it’s difficult to finish. Games require graphics, sounds, music, story, gameplay and a dozen more design areas and the coding to back it all up.

Considering how much goes into a game, it’s uncommon to see a good game and rarer still to “find a true masterpiece.” However, ask anyone who’s played “Outer Wilds,” “Celeste” or “Undertale”. They may not just enjoy them — they may find those games life-changing.

“Spiritfarer” is a self-proclaimed cozy game about death where you give people closure as they pass on. As you take their hand and guide them to their end, you get closure as well.

That afternoon, I came out the other side a little less afraid of death. No piece of art has ever made me feel as strongly as I did then. I doubt that another piece of art — film, literature, or game — will ever make me feel as strongly again.