Keeper is the next game from Double Fine Productions. The storied developer behind classics such as Grim Fandango, Brutal Legend, and my personal 2021 game of the year, Psychonauts 2. Keeper is a story driven, puzzle/adventure game that sees you assume control of a sentient lighthouse with a bird companion, called Twig. Featuring no dialogue, the story is instead told through the environment and interactions between the lighthouse, Twig, and other creatures you come across during the course of the ~8 hours it takes to finish.
The world you will explore carries a unique and quite beautiful visual style, with a painterly effect applied to 3D geometry that, in some moments, looks like concept art in motion. The overall aesthetic is aided by the fact that the player has no camera control in Keeper. The camera and viewpoint are curated by the developer, and this control over what you see, and when, results in some truly stunning scenes as you traverse the world or enter a new area. This visual identity, along with the unique soundtrack, creates what I can only describe as a weird yet chill vibe, and it’s one that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with.
As mentioned above, you start the game assuming control of a Lighthouse that has, through an unknown power, become sentient. The controls are simple, starting with only the use of the left analogue to walk through the environment, with new ways to interact quickly introduced, such as the ability to move the light and focus the beam with the right analogue and right trigger, as well as direct Twig to manipulate certain objects in the game world. The core motivation of the game is to reach the peak of a distant mountain and avoid/circumvent a nefarious entity known as the Wither. Without dialogue, this objective is communicated through clever use of camera focus, sounds, and visual cues, and it was refreshing to learn about the game world in this way as opposed to being explicitly told.
Simply Satisfying
The game’s puzzles are relatively simple, with nothing delivering a real challenge as I played through the game. Rotating statues, aligning your light beam, and activating things in a particular order are all examples of what you will face. Whilst none of these puzzles is truly groundbreaking or new, I did particularly enjoy a section that has you manipulating time in order to progress. The game also has scattered throughout slightly hidden totems of sort that are tied to achievements while offering some additional world building. Traversal is simple, though, without spoiling anything, the way in which you traverse the world does change at key points, and these changes happen at just the right time to keep the game feeling fresh. Although, I could have had more time with game’s final chapters as traversal here was a particular highlight, culminating in some sequences that had me grinning the entire time.
Character development and story are a key aspect of Keeper, and, with no dialogue, these are handled by environmental story telling and wonderfully emotive characters. Your companion, Twig, is colourful, with exaggerated expressions and movements, whilst the player character is similarly able to effectively emote, despite the more rigid structure. I found myself becoming invested in the characters and their relationship with each other and the world they inhabited. It is ultimately a story of companionship and overcoming challenges together as they journey through this world. The relatively short 8-hour journey evokes emotion as certain story beats land, and I found myself often reminded that Double Fine really are one of the best in the business when it comes to melding emotion with humour and whimsy.
Painting in Motion
Speaking of the world, the game is gorgeous. As I mentioned above, the aesthetic is unique in its composition. But, beyond this, the world is brimming with life and detail. The environment will react to the player character in small ways, such as flowers blooming as you shine a light on them, or other creatures observing you as you move past them. Like the characters, the world is vivid and exaggerated with bright colours and a huge amount of variety. You can be exploring a dark warren of tunnels to then emerge into a huge outdoor space covered in pink cotton, blue waterfalls, and vivid greenery, and the game is often ferrying you from one environment to the next, each feeling distinct and unique. If you have played Psychonauts 2, you will have a good idea of what I describe above.
From a technical point of view, the game is running in Unreal Engine and is quite heavy. I played the majority of the game on a high end PC, able to keep fps above 60 at max settings, but the Series X version, right now, is locked to 30fps. The game does not require quick reflexes for the most part, so 30fps is fine, though the last few sections of the game did benefit from a higher framerate and, thus, better response time, in my opinion.
The audio is a highlight. I am a huge proponent of strong audio in games, and the subtle ambient music, here, along with the sounds made by creatures, characters, and the environment all serve to add to that weird yet chill vibe.
It’s a Keeper!
Keeper is as much an “experience” as it is a game. It does not pose a challenge, and you are guided through the story with little to no ability to deviate, but it was a journey I really enjoyed and a welcome change from the games I have been playing recently that have a lot more player agency. I have used the term “pallet cleanser” before, that is, a slightly shorter game that offers a real change of pace and vibe vs. recently played games. For lack of a better term, this is how I would describe Keeper. This in no way diminishes the brilliant job Lee Petty and Double Fine have done here, and actually, for me, this landed at the perfect time. It won’t be for everyone, but if you generally enjoy these types of game, you will have a great time with Keeper, and it is well worth the $29.99 asking price. (the game is also available in Gamepass Ultimate and Gamepass PC).
Thank you to Xbox for providing us review access to Keeper. You can find Seasoned Gaming’s review policy here.
This is great. I will pick this up when I pick back gamepass.
Seems like a fun af journey.
Appreciate the review. They way you painted everything was amazing.