Keeper

Steam Reviews

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• Recommended Posted October 19, 2025 on Steam Easily one of the most impressive visual experiences in all of videogames. Ever. If you think the trailer goes places... just wait till you see the second half of the game. This is so special.
• Recommended Posted October 17, 2025 on Steam I've lately been on a binge of art games, interestingly different interactive experiences and all that is masterfully deviant in gaming. And I can tell you this game is a work of art in every sense of the word. Lee Petty's best work yet. It's a scape of environment, concepts, feelings, meaning, sound, that you traverse organically. There is no HUD, there is no score, there is no combat, there is nothing that can detract from the lush, richly imagined world that you traverse just guided by your curiosity and wonder. Visually, it looks like the sort of beautiful game concept art you may have seen long before a game release, art that usually looks nothing like the final product, even if the final product is beautiful. In Keeper's case, it's like the concept art came to life and *is* the product. This game, and I am not exaggerating, is like a painting almost every single frame of the experience. I can't even name you a game that is this beautiful in terms of flawless execution on art direction. You'll come across very many exquisite compositions that you can just take a still of and hang on a wall in your house. Nothing is jarring, out of place, ugly or aesthetically weird looking. It's filled to the brim with a very rich palette of colors that is such a feast to the eye you might start suspecting you spontaneously contracted tetrachromacy. Its painterly quality reminded me of one of my favorite movies "What Dreams May Come".. there are many moments in the game where you could swear you're looking at actual paint in a subtle yet visceral way I've not seen in any other game, even ones that are supremely artful like Shadow of The Colossus or Journey. It's hard to put into words, but it's very clear great effort went into creating a world where the player naturally explores and discovers, while beautifully conducting the player's experience along the way as well. Keeper is an interactive reel of stunning continuous shots that feel endless as you explore curious puzzles and an ever-branching environment. You'll go through awe, disappointment, curiosity, surprise, and delight as you let this game take you on a journey through its living and breathing art. I wrote the above just a few hours in. After finishing it, I'd like to add: Just finished Keeper and literally shed tears during the final credits roll, accompanied by a hauntingly beautiful score. What this game achieves in stirring emotion with light and form alone is genius. It’s an emotional rollercoaster that crescendos and culminates in something overwhelming. And it's that explosion of creativity that made me shed tears. The experience evolves and intensifies, but I don’t want to spoil it. The best thing you can do is go into it blind. Don’t watch any reviews. The ones that truly understand it, like Gamespot’s (IGN less so), don’t spoil anything anyway. Of course art is subjective, but rating this game anything below a 9 feels like a crime against games, art, and possibly humanity. So without spoiling it, I'd like to add that once you start playing Keeper, you actually took LSD. You just don't know it yet. I promise it will take you places you don't expect, and it's not about a cutesy lighthouse any more than Dostoyevsky’s "The Idiot" isn’t about a fool or Munch’s "The Scream" is about yelling. Visually, it’s as if Salvador Dalí’s, Zdzisław Beksiński’s, and Max Ernst’s works were fused and brought to life into a work that very much has its own distinctive character. I am not exaggerating when I say there is no other game with this many moments that could be framed as art. Golden ratios, rule of thirds, leading lines, implied lines, framing, negative space, worm’s-eye views, bird’s-eye views, layering, and foreground framing are everywhere. The visual rhythms and Gestalt principles are masterfully handled. The play with color, from complementary and analogous to triadic and tetradic, and the color symbolism throughout, are all shockingly good. This is a masterclass in art, and its visuals will be studied in art classes. It's in fact that brilliant and I dare say genius. Mark my words. Keeper is the pinnacle of what games can be as art: raw creative expression pulling you into a whirl of feelings. It shot straight into my top three art games of all time, alongside Journey and Shadow of the Colossus. And yet Keeper is in league of its own.
• Recommended Posted February 26, 2026 on Steam I was immediately attracted to Keeper by the unique artwork. The game looked drop-dead gorgeous. And, it is. Unfortunately, the surreal and colorful landscape is about all it has to offer. As I played through, the word that came to mind was “soulless.” Keeper is a beautiful experience with very little underneath. What you see is all that you get. The story centers around a broken lighthouse that travels with a companion bird. Despite overwhelming obstacles and two changes in physical form, our lighthouse and bird ultimately make it to the mountain top. What is driving them forward or what awaits them at the end of their sojourn is never quite clear. You are continually challenged to find your way through obstacles. Usually this involves a mechanical puzzle that is solved with the help of your bird friend. Most are obvious, but some require the prerequisite gathering of objects or creatures. There are some fun mechanics but, over time, it becomes quite repetitive. Keeper is not a heartfelt adventure. It is a beautiful walking simulator with some control issues. First, the camera angle is fixed. You cannot look around and, at times, have no idea of what surrounds you or where you are headed. This is especially exasperating when platforming. If you miss a jump and need to backtrack, you are likely to be aiming in a direction that you cannot see. Second, the game holds your hand a lot. While this keeps you from falling off cliffs and requires less precision, it means that the game is powering much of your motion and giving you the illusion of control. You are moving forward, and the game keeps you on track (literally). The game autosaves at regular intervals. However, there is no in-game indication that a save has occurred. When you exit, you will be told the time elapsed since the last save point and you have the option of continuing to play if this will mean lost progress. Completionists will be happy to hear that 100% requires finding 12 statues and finishing the game. Any missed items can be located by using the chapter select menu, after completion. What I see with Keeper is a lost opportunity. It could have been a game that grabbed your attention and your heart. It has all the elements: An underdog character, a cute sidekick, a corrupt world in need of rescue, and a trip to the mountain top. This would have required a much more passionate soundtrack, a bit of lore, and increasing the anthropomorphism of the lighthouse and the bird. Perhaps I would have been more satisfied with Keeper, had I not recently played The Midnight Walk. Starting with similar elements, that developer (Moonhood) went beyond phenomenal artwork and created an emotional masterpiece. I would only recommend Keeper to the player who is satisfied with a beautiful, albeit unemotional journey. If you don't mind traveling with the sole reward of scenery and forward motion, then this game may be for you. If you want more from your investment (such as a story or characters to care about), then I would encourage you to look elsewhere.
• Recommended Posted October 18, 2025 on Steam Great little short experience, definitely more on the artsy side. BOY OH BOY WOULD I LOVE TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL THE CAMERA DIRECTLY, THOUGH.
• Recommended Posted December 22, 2025 on Steam [h2]Things I love about it, that some gamers out there will potentially hate:[/h2] • It’s short, but in my case it means it didn’t overstay its welcome. • The story is cryptic, especially by today’s standards. Forget about tedious, uncanny exposition. No, scratch that - forget about exposition altogether. The interpretation is yours, and yours alone. • The gameplay is light on the “mechanics” side of things. You mostly travel (by walking, sailing, and rolling) and solve really easy puzzles here and there. The only times I got stuck happened because I didn’t pay attention and stubbornly pushed where the game didn’t want me to go yet. • Its main focus is not your typical challenges or competition, but a magical, otherworldly adventure and an evocation of childlike awe (and boy, does it do it plenty). • The music is one of the best scores I’ve had the pleasure to listen to. Just like the gameplay, its role is not to dominate, but to exemplify the themes and feelings you’re meant to experience. • Despite it all, it is not - and let me put emphasis on that - a pretentious title aimed at buffoons. • There are some mildly creepy, unsettling themes, bordering on “cosmic horror,” but they’re served in a way that I would feel comfortable presenting to a child (although preferably being accompanied). It was wonderful - plain and simple. I haven’t felt so enchanted by a game since my Amiga days (30 years ago now), when I fantasized about all the surreal, impossible worlds the platform was famous for. I hope it won’t share the fate of many other projects of this type and won’t end up as an “underperforming cult classic” on some top-10 list a decade from now.
• Recommended Posted October 18, 2025 on Steam Keeper is a such nice little game, basically a lighthouse 'walking sim' with light puzzles and a little platforming. The art style and environments are so beautiful. Especially when playing on a capable HDR display, the game looks phenomenal! Gameplay-wise it does change things up a few times to not become too stale, without wanting to spoil it. I feel like the puzzles however do get a little repetitive in the second part. The game is rather heavy on performance, which I already assumed due to the use of UE5. Some review here mentioned the game is playable "well" on Steam Deck which is clearly a lie or just insane copium. It can't even maintain 30 FPS on very low settings with FSR Performance (which also looks abysmal), so don't even bother. Sadly Microsoft didn't care to promote this game at all, which is a shame since it doesn't get the attention it deserves. Probably they're just looking for yet another excuse to shut down even more studios. I really hope that's not the case, Double Fine makes such amazing games!