Keeper Review (Xbox Series X|S & PC)

Keeper doesn’t need to project a cone of light on the world for you to understand that it’s lost in turmoil; it just needs a simple lighthouse—a sentient tower with several legs; a seabird with a nest; and a dream—a beacon that can, and hopefully will remediate your problems. No, Keeper doesn’t tell you anything to help you solve your problems; it puts you on a track, and it casts a faint but seemingly harmless trail for you to follow. A walking lighthouse; a squawk of a fluttering companion; and an entire dream-like universe with a platitude of wholesome vistas and puzzles. It’s here, right in the heart of a Journey–like escapade, where Keeper finds its own light switch and learns to illuminate your emotions.

Believe it or not, there is a story behind Keeper, though to be honest, without any context, you would naturally struggle to make heads or tails of what that plot is. See, Keeper begins in a similar manner as a lot of context-less third-person platform-based puzzlers, with a voiceless protagonist finding their feet in an unfamiliar world that’s rife with curious critters and radiant energies. It doesn’t introduce you to the realm through a series of text-filled malarkey or strenuous tutorials, but rather, through a webbing of leisurely strolls and stumbles, ascents and emotional gestures that, frankly, you don’t need a degree in psychology to comprehend. A beaming ray of light looms in the sky, and you, simply, are tasked with embarking on a noble quest to find it.

Keeper is a game that, in all seriousness, gets better with time. At first, it seems like a bit of a doddle; the lighthouse feels annoyingly clunky to pivot, and the purpose of your journey almost feels pointless and without merit. But then, as you begin to find your legs, the world slowly begins to find its balance. Eventually, the birds begin to squawk, and the citizens finally fill your head with small pockets of lore and information to help fill in the blanks. Twenty minutes in, and it establishes a foundation for a captivating affair that looks, breathes, and above all, shines bright like a diamond. After that, it does all in its power to keep you alight in your desperate pursuit to find answers. And you know what? It does it all remarkably well.

Keeper of Lights

Keeper puts you on the eight-legged stilts of an old and forgotten lighthouse—a questionable landmark that, after being bolted to life by strands of tendrils and a disturbing aroma of bad tidings, finds its legs and ultimately decides to embark on a quest to ascend the farthest reaches of its world to reach the center. It doesn’t enlighten you on the details, but it does give you a vague idea of which direction you need to travel in order to illuminate the destination. A seabird soon claims sanctuary upon your beacon, and before long you find yourself out on a star-crossed adventure of puzzling affairs and voiceless camaraderie, magical enlightenment and woeful climaxes. An epic quest begins, and you, luckily, get to witness it unfold from the front seat.

What entails over the course of a three-hour journey is a series of bite-sized puzzles that either involve time manipulation, platforming, or utilizing the strength and aviation prowess of your faithful companion to unlock doors, collect items, or manually transform specific objects into tools to help you further progress through the world and its vast dreamscape boroughs.

At the heart of all of this is a fairly self-explanatory A-to-B expedition that pulls you from one anchor point to the next. Beneath its linear path, however, is a key element that single-handedly transforms the world into a labyrinthine cortex of hidden crags and crevices and not to mention tons of secret areas, each of which house pockets of lore and powerful landmarks. See, as you explore the world as the arachnid lighthouse, you can use the power of your lamp to illuminate your surroundings and, on occasion, smokescreen walls that hide certain pathways and objects. It isn’t a crucial part of your journey, though it does add an extra layer to the overall experience. And that’s great, because frankly, context isn’t exactly its strong suit.

Keeper of the Lamp

Over the course of a relatively sizable quest, Keeper entices you to step beyond the borders of a seemingly ordinary universe and into the depths of a mysterious realm of emotional virtues and spiritual beauty. There are eccentric creatures to wax, ominous dungeons to explore, and an entire tapestry of thought-provoking puzzles that keep you second guessing as you carve through the storm en route to that all-important beacon. It never spills the secrets, nor does it take the opportunity to fill your head with factual jargon; on the contrary, it points you in the right direction, and it ushers you forward.

Artistically, Keeper finds the perfect balance between being a charming composition that bears the brunt of a seemingly idyllic universe and a fascinating corridor of mystery and unspoken turmoil. Through the power of light and off-the-cuff gestures, it knuckles in on various visual and audio cues to paint its narrative and fill in the blanks. It doesn’t always make sense, and it certainly leaves you feeling a little dazed and at a loss for words. However, the lack of impromptu spiel works in its favor here, given that it utilizes the power of unspoken lore and landmarks to cast its own shadows. Heck, if Journey could pull it out of the bag, then so can Keeper.

As far as mechanics go, Keeper runs a well-oiled ship that, frankly, doesn’t need the added weight of an overly complicated palette to immerse you in its tale. It’s a walking simulator at heart, and so, if you were hoping to dig your heels in a combat-heavy romper stomper, then you’ll probably be disappointed with the lack of action Keeper harbors. But, that isn’t to say that you won’t find anything of the sort. I’ll leave it at that, if only to prevent any potential spoilers from spilling out of the pot.

Verdict

Keeper is one of those games that stick with you long after the cord has been pulled on the lightbulb and the final sparks disintegrate. It’s an emotional tale that, although without the context and eye-opening binds that help flesh out the narrative, illuminates several of its greatest strengths just before the curtain falls. And for me, that says a lot about a game — when you feel something without understanding the context of the situation. Keeper, thankfully, has that special ability to weave a compelling endgame into something that sticks with you for the long haul.

If you’re looking to shed light on a new puzzler that dares to be bold with peculiar ideas and context-less pulp, then there’s an incredibly strong chance that you will adore romping through the ultraviolet hills of Keeper’s beaming portal for a handful of hours. All in all, it’s an excellent experience that waxes the best of emotional audiovisual cues and thought-provoking puzzle pieces. It’s short, sweet, and arguably one of the better hikes that you’ll take before year’s end. Well played, Double Fine.