Despite rumors surfacing that the Banjo-Kazooie reboot would be given a Double Fine to revive the dormant series, they instead opted for Keeper, a beautiful little piece of art that features a different combination of birds and other characters, a vibrant lighthouse and a brightly feathered shoebill-like bird named Twig. This is an experiential piece that feels like a big departure from the usual whimsy and comedy that they’ve built their home around. Sure, there’s something inherently goofy about a lighthouse on stilts trudging across an infected mountain landscape with birds in tow, but The Keeper is definitely trying to say something, and trying to be something greater than the sum of its parts.
Everyone thought Xbox’s first-party studios would be eager to pursue Purple Dragons like Uncharted and God of War. Turns out they’ve been making keepers all along. This is in many ways similar to their own journey, an unexpected yet undeniable joy.
Keeper doesn’t tell a simple story. Naturally, there is no dialogue at all between the lighthouse and the twigs, but much is conveyed through gestures and facial expressions. In fact, the decision to frame the lighthouse’s Fresnel lenses with iron eyebrows feels like the most inspired of them all. Because they are as emotional as Emilia Clarke and spell out the emotional pulse of a story that cannot be expressed in words. The game’s themes of friendship, how change distorts and distorts values, and the subsequent pursuit of new purpose serve as a beautiful undercurrent to the surface-level environmental advocacy idea of banding together to rid the world of the sludge-like scourge known as the Wither.
And while we are led to believe that this is a post-human world where only small remnants of the community remain, the story itself is fascinatingly constructed and goes to some very original places that subvert expectations. It’s a high-concept, dream-like piece of work, and while I’m impressed by the bold change of pace The Keeper employs mid-game, its ending crescendo feels almost like a religious experience.
To borrow from another incredibly mobile structure, like Howl’s Moving Castle, the Keeper’s Lighthouse fortunately lacks the rigidity of real-world structures. In other words, Double Fine was able to maintain good movement. Depending on the momentum, it sways this way or bends that way, just as it does in the opening scene when it falls apart and is pulled back into a certain position. For a game that’s almost entirely about walking and solving puzzles, I almost felt disappointed within the first hour of the game. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the lighthouse is depicted as a groping, unsteady giraffe.
Obviously, this was no longer a factor until the midway point of the game when it was overturned. One thing I just couldn’t get over was the game’s camera. Since the player controls the lighthouse lens, the camera is fixed and cannot be freed. In the more open areas of the keeper, which often appeared in the second half, this became a problem because my view was very often obscured or facing the wrong direction completely.
Nevertheless, no matter what form the travel takes, I’ve found it fun to tour the world of Keepers. The focus of the game shifted from being as advertised to more radical ideas in the second half, and the words “game jam” came to mind far too often. That may sound like a criticism, but I’m not exactly an amateur when it comes to Lee Petty’s direction and vision at Keeper.
The problem solving itself is fairly intuitive and linear throughout, and most of what’s on offer amounts to fairly elementary logic problems. I didn’t consider this to be a scam per se because this game is experiential and I wanted to immerse myself in this wonderful surrealist existence. However, it would have been nice to struggle, especially since the “puzzle rooms” in the latter half of the game were multi-leveled. We applaud the team’s ambition to let the puzzles evolve to match the gameplay, whereas previously it would have been very easy to keep the rune faces constant throughout.
Keeper is an absolutely breathtaking audiovisual experience. Its painterly, dreamlike landscapes serve as memorable canvases for the story they set out to tell here, displaying the artists’ ability to jump from the literal remains of a semi-terrestrial glorious civilization to a world filled with cotton candy and gigantic creatures flying overhead, to a psychedelic light show that glows like a unique light-bending prism. I was amazed at the way artists were able to express their creativity. The spire in one area had an open dome on top like a Terry’s Chocolate Orange. Everything is very thought out and considered.
Keeper is only a 5-hour game, but the plethora of screenshots I got show that it’s a truly beautiful game. The only issue with visual credentials is that frames are lost during high traffic moments, but I’m sure this will be further optimized and resolved.
Of all the games Double Fine could have made, I’m glad they chose Keeper. I often think of the word “unexpected”, and it’s exactly that. This is more thought-provoking and exciting than any other game they’ve developed, and it’s the nicest swing for the fences. Like the lovely lighthouse at the heart of Keeper, this game is also marked by cracks. However, the light is so strong that it’s hard to notice.
conclusion
Keeper is a gripping, emotionally resonant, experiential title that shelves the company’s usual charm for something truly moving. Despite some annoying gameplay hang-ups, Keeper is still a beautiful must-play for those who say “games are art.”
positive
Touches on some great, thought-provoking themes
It’s a nice twist on expectations and keeps players guessing from there.
A wonderful audiovisual feast
negative
The game’s fixed camera can be a pain at times
Almost no deceleration or rattling occurs
Despite the variety, the puzzles don’t feel like they’re made with challenge in mind
