When Double Fine’s Keeper was first revealed during last summer’s Xbox Games Showcase, it made quite an impact. Or so it seemed around me. I wasn’t immediately taken with this game that’d become known as “the one where you play as a lighthouse.” While I appreciate the studio’s dare-to-be-different attitude, its games aren’t in my regular rotation. It wasn’t until it released last October, and I saw some its gameplay that I finally took notice. It sat in my Game Pass queue until the new year, for which I had made a resolution: to try new games on Sundays. Keeper was the first game in line when January’s first Sunday hit. It only took a handful of hours to complete, and after I did, part of me wondered if the rest of the year would be all downhill from there. In short, Keeper is an absolute keeper!

While Keeper is quite unusual as far as style goes, its gameplay and mechanics are rooted in classic puzzlers. Its silent story is told through visuals that truly dazzle at some points and make one feel as though they are walking through a fever dream at others. Creativity explodes from every corner of this game, from the level designs to its characters and atmosphere. There are no waypoints, just a way forward, and figuring out how to simply do that if often a puzzle in and of itself. One does indeed play as an ambulatory lighthouse…mostly. And one is not alone during this lighthouse’s journey. It’s not spoiling things to say that an avian companion comes into the picture — that much was made clear from the game’s trailers — but to say more would be. Keeper is a gem of a good time that needs to be experienced fresh from the start.  

Reminiscent of a game like Herdling, no directions are given as to what one must do to progress. On-screen prompts appear whenever basic direction is needed; otherwise, there is no HUD, map, or quest text. The game doesn’t need any of that, because to intrude upon its visuals would be tragic. Having no IU means that the players can soak in every saturated inch of Keeper’s amazing landscapes. That said, though the world of Keeper appears vast in scope, it is primarily an on-rails experience. Some areas offer a bit to explore, but every region a player enters is laid out in meaningful ways. While there are a few secrets to uncover, there’s no fluff to the levels – every pathway leads to something, sometimes something extraordinary.

Truth be told, I can’t think of a single downside to this game or bad thing to say about it. If I had any qualms, I’d chalk them up to my own stubbornness and personal defects. With less-than-optimal eyesight, for example, I sometimes had difficulty distinguishing pathways (meaning I didn’t find all the game’s secrets). Similarly, there were times when I became a little frustrated with wayfinding generally. In those moments, I kept thinking that having a map of some sort available would have been useful. I also had a few moments where I simply wished I could interact with more of the world. But, by the end of the game, all these doubts had vanished, and I had become perfectly enthralled with what was in front of me. If you want to play a game that’s unlike anything else – it’s a weird, wordless puzzle game without compare – then do anything you can to play Keeper.

All images, including lede, were captured by author during Xbox gameplay of Keeper (© Double Fine Productions).