All light, no fight
By Paul Hunter
Keeper on Xbox Series X|S (also on PC) comes from Double Fine with publisher Xbox Game Studios, and that pedigree shows. This is the team behind Psychonauts and Brütal Legend, and the studio’s taste for bold visual ideas is on full display. Unlike their previous titles, dialogue takes a back seat in Keeper. You follow light, watch the camera steer your eye, and settle into a rhythm that favours curiosity over noise.
It’s a compact run at around six hours, which makes it perfect for a weekend sit-down. The exploration and puzzle-based design stays focused, so you keep moving instead of hitting a wall. Each area is arranged with care, colour does heavy lifting, and the journey builds toward livelier beats in the back half. Does a wordless, light-led ascent across this strange island sound like a weekend well spent on Series X? Let’s find out!
Since there's no dialogue to lean on, Keeper communicates through careful cinematics, small animations, and the way scenes are presented. Ruins and statues hint at a civilisation that once tried to push back the blight. You’ll see pieces of that history in passing, but these are fleeting moments as the path always leads onward.
At the centre is growth: Early moments sell fragility as the lighthouse wobbles and adjusts, but later unexpected form changes show show a character growing in confidence and abilities. Twig’s presence mirrors that arc, a companion who matures alongside the lighthouse as the journey unfolds.
Just ahead of the finale, a segment highlights how this world survives through cooperation. It’s a short statement told with images and timing, not text. The climb gains pace from there, and the ending lands with a clear message, reflective and earned. The sum total is a clear, confident arc about companionship and time, told in quiet steps and deliberate pacing, and it resonates because you’re the one who puts the pieces together.
Your bird companion Twig doubles as a flexible toolset. Send her to collect a lever, spin a crank, or weigh down on a plate. The chunky stretch toys with time through marked alters: Flip time back and she becomes an egg for weight, flip forward and she becomes a ghost, slipping past walls to hit a switch from the far side. The cause-and-effect is clean enough to invite tinkering.
Early routes stay tight with clear interaction prompts and shot composition that steers your eyes. If you’d rather trek through scenes unaided, prompts can be disabled in the Accessibility menu. Either way, the framing keeps the important details visible while leaving room to wander a little.
The gameplay widens as you go, like a semi-open area segment that adds float and glide. Later, you'll navigate the seas in even bigger areas, before finally the pace spikes with skateboard-type tracks. You pump speed on curved walls, launch off halfpipes, and smash through breakable barriers. Clearing a chained loop after two failed approaches was a small fist-pump moment, and it fits the story’s build-up.
Life is everywhere in this game. Pebbles sprout legs and scatter across damp stone. Small worm-birds shuffle through blue grass and tuck into tiny doorways. Tendril drifters float past like slow balloons. Farther inland, birds peck with wooden beaks, crabs clank in metal shells, and mini steampunk-inspired machines tick along with faces set to time.
The score shifts well with the scenery. Light percussion matches open ground. Synth lines swell inside caves. Bells hit during bigger reveals. The final stretch swaps into an electronic rush that meshes perfectly with the faster traversal. Overall, Keeper delivers a confident package: bold colour, a lively ecosystem, and a score that rises and falls with the pace.
Final Score: 9/10 - Amazing
Developer: Double Fine
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Genre: Adventure
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
Keeper on Xbox Series X|S (also on PC) comes from Double Fine with publisher Xbox Game Studios, and that pedigree shows. This is the team behind Psychonauts and Brütal Legend, and the studio’s taste for bold visual ideas is on full display. Unlike their previous titles, dialogue takes a back seat in Keeper. You follow light, watch the camera steer your eye, and settle into a rhythm that favours curiosity over noise.
It’s a compact run at around six hours, which makes it perfect for a weekend sit-down. The exploration and puzzle-based design stays focused, so you keep moving instead of hitting a wall. Each area is arranged with care, colour does heavy lifting, and the journey builds toward livelier beats in the back half. Does a wordless, light-led ascent across this strange island sound like a weekend well spent on Series X? Let’s find out!
Story and Narrative
The story in Keeper starts a lighthouse, weathered by ages, awakensing and collapseing on unsteady legs. A seabird named Twig lands on top, and the pair begin a steady walk toward the mountain that watches over a post-human island ruled by animals and strange technology. An affliction known as Wither is slowly taking over the land, a steady shadow rather than a loud threat.Since there's no dialogue to lean on, Keeper communicates through careful cinematics, small animations, and the way scenes are presented. Ruins and statues hint at a civilisation that once tried to push back the blight. You’ll see pieces of that history in passing, but these are fleeting moments as the path always leads onward.
At the centre is growth: Early moments sell fragility as the lighthouse wobbles and adjusts, but later unexpected form changes show show a character growing in confidence and abilities. Twig’s presence mirrors that arc, a companion who matures alongside the lighthouse as the journey unfolds.
Just ahead of the finale, a segment highlights how this world survives through cooperation. It’s a short statement told with images and timing, not text. The climb gains pace from there, and the ending lands with a clear message, reflective and earned. The sum total is a clear, confident arc about companionship and time, told in quiet steps and deliberate pacing, and it resonates because you’re the one who puts the pieces together.
Gameplay and Mechanics
In Keeper, most thing react on light. Your lighthouse beam grows plants to bridge gaps, powers dormant contraptions, and clears growths that clog pathways obstructions.Your bird companion Twig doubles as a flexible toolset. Send her to collect a lever, spin a crank, or weigh down on a plate. The chunky stretch toys with time through marked alters: Flip time back and she becomes an egg for weight, flip forward and she becomes a ghost, slipping past walls to hit a switch from the far side. The cause-and-effect is clean enough to invite tinkering.
Early routes stay tight with clear interaction prompts and shot composition that steers your eyes. If you’d rather trek through scenes unaided, prompts can be disabled in the Accessibility menu. Either way, the framing keeps the important details visible while leaving room to wander a little.
The gameplay widens as you go, like a semi-open area segment that adds float and glide. Later, you'll navigate the seas in even bigger areas, before finally the pace spikes with skateboard-type tracks. You pump speed on curved walls, launch off halfpipes, and smash through breakable barriers. Clearing a chained loop after two failed approaches was a small fist-pump moment, and it fits the story’s build-up.
Presentation and Audio
Visually, Keeper goes all in on painterly texture. Broad strokes and confident colour define the island, with striking silhouettes that snap clearly against the backdrops. You cross valleys piled with boulders and roots before the palette cools for meadows, then twilight caverns. The sheer visual variety is astounding, with coastal rock giving way to burnt red cliffs with long sea views before swapping to coral glowing gardens with fungal towers looming overhead.Life is everywhere in this game. Pebbles sprout legs and scatter across damp stone. Small worm-birds shuffle through blue grass and tuck into tiny doorways. Tendril drifters float past like slow balloons. Farther inland, birds peck with wooden beaks, crabs clank in metal shells, and mini steampunk-inspired machines tick along with faces set to time.
The score shifts well with the scenery. Light percussion matches open ground. Synth lines swell inside caves. Bells hit during bigger reveals. The final stretch swaps into an electronic rush that meshes perfectly with the faster traversal. Overall, Keeper delivers a confident package: bold colour, a lively ecosystem, and a score that rises and falls with the pace.
The Verdict
Keeper delivers a focused six-hour journey built on movement, light, and confident pacing. Puzzles are fun to complete, and curiosity is rewarded with nice secrets. Presentation stands out with a hand-painted look, lively wildlife, thoughtful camera work, and a score that swells at the right moments. For narrative-first adventures, it’s an easy recommendation.Final Score: 9/10 - Amazing
Keeper details
Platform: Xbox Series X|S, PCDeveloper: Double Fine
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Genre: Adventure
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.