| Keeper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Double Fine |
| Publisher | Xbox Game Studios |
| Director | Lee Petty |
| Composer | David Earl [1] |
| Platforms | |
| Release |
|
| Genre | Adventure |
| Mode | Single-player |
Keeper is an adventure game developed by Double Fine and published by Xbox Game Studios. It was released on Windows and Xbox Series X/S on October 17, 2025.
In Keeper, the player controls an animated lighthouse, with the ability to move and uses its lamp to light the way forward or to focus its light to interact with the environment, such as to remove obstacles that block forward progress. The lighthouse is accompanied by a bird-like creature named Twig; the lighthouse helps protect Twig, and in return, Twig can also perform interactions with the world to help the lighthouse to proceed forward, such as pulling vines off a target to be lit. Together, the two travel through a surreal, post-apocalyptic environment guided by a beacon from a nearby mountain, while avoiding a parasitic-like species known as the Wither that is attempting to consume life. [2]
Keeper was the idea of Lee Petty which bore out from the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, Petty spent a good deal of time backpacking through the wilderness and caving areas in California, [2] which led to thoughts about how the world would develop without the impact of humans. These thoughts led to the concept of a post-humanity game world to expand upon. In expanding the world, Petty was inspired by surreal artists Max Ernst and Salvador Dali, and films such as The Dark Crystal and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind that explored strange, unusual places. [3]
Petty designed the game as a short adventure game, designed as a "palate cleanser". [2] He opted to not include any written or spoken narration for the game, and instead have the player take in the world without having to worry about failure. Puzzles were designed to be part of the environment, with Petty expecting some players to wander into a puzzle and spending time to figure out its mechanics, compared to games where dialog would direct the player towards exactly what they must do. [2] As part of the wordless nature of the game, Petty's team worked to develop the visual interactions between the lighthouse and Twig to convey emotions. [2]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | PC: 83/100 (28 reviews) [4] XSXS: 78/100 (44 reviews) [5] |
| OpenCritic | 83% recommend [a] [6] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer Games Magazine | 9/10 [7] |
| Eurogamer | 5/5 [8] |
| Game Informer | 7.5/10 [9] |
| GameSpot | 9/10 [10] |
| GamesRadar+ | 4.5/5 [11] |
| Hardcore Gamer | 4.0/5 [12] |
| HobbyConsolas | 71/100 [13] |
| IGN | 9/10 [1] |
| The Guardian | 3/5 [14] |
Keeper received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. [4] [5]