By: Daniel Kendle

Hey guys, welcome back to JOYSTiCK Reviews, nominee and winner at the 2025 Webby Awards for ‘Best Reason to Switch Browsers.’ I’m flattered, honestly; it feels good to beat IGN’s decades-long win streak.

‘Keeper’ is a light puzzle-platformer released for Xbox Series X|S and PC in 2025. You play as a sentient lighthouse exploring an island, all the while accompanied by a green bird friend. I emphasize the “light” used in both genre descriptions, as ‘Keeper’ primarily focuses on art design, atmosphere, and story. It’s a dialogue-less story, told through lucid imagery and sights.

But how good is the game at telling this story? Does the lack of language hinder this game, or help it? Should we have cast Sam Rockwell as a sentient lighthouse after all? As always, let’s find out.

. . .

‘Keeper’ has a runtime of around 3-4 hours, per my estimations. As such, it’s a bit hard to discuss the story thoroughly without delving into mild spoilers. While I won’t be giving away the climax and ending, I’ll still be mentioning key plot moments throughout my review.

The game follows a typical 3-act structure, loosely-akin to the Hero’s Journey story outline. You begin the game on the beach, learning to control your limbs as you walk around the shore of the lighthouse. You then meet this green bird who’d just escaped this evil magic energy, and after teaming up, the 2 of you head into the thick of the island to find a way to stop the magic’s spread.

After that introduction, the game’s plot mostly sticks to a location-by-location chain of events. Events in the story are usually tied to the area you’re in: for example, you eventually come across this town themed around automatons and the sun and moon. Here, you have to solve puzzles to open a locked path that prevents you from continuing forward.

This is a solid way to structure a wordless story, in my opinion. Having plot events control what the characters do instead of the other way ‘round helps keep the pace steady throughout. It also prevents instances of the characters having to somehow try to convey information without speaking, a task harder than it may seem. Emotions are instead at the forefront of the lighthouse and bird’s arc, a much easier area of storytelling to show without speaking.

Each area in the game serves to progress both the main duo’s bond and their reason to find the source of the dark magic. Throughout the many habitats, instances of the energy (represented with swarms of insects) scuttle around in recesses and crannies, scattering with your presence. As their presence grows with time spent on your voyage, your drive to eradicate them grows in tandem. That, and your friendship with the bird, and the eventual chick it raises.

I’ll stop here to not spoil the ending, but the second half of this game goes in a very weird, quirky direction. While it did get tedious at points, the end result is an experience unlike little else from this year. The final scene right before the credits was my particular favorite, letting psychedelic elements of past scenes come full-circle. It’s absurd, yes, but that’s what makes ‘Keeper’s’ story work so well.

The graphics are also lovely to look at, and the game probably has my favorite art direction of 2025. Environments are delicately-designed and detailed, leaving little to no speck of the map unpolished. Some parts of the game – vistas in particular – led to me sitting for a moment, admiring the view. When a game allows the player such liberties like these, it’s truly special.

The character design is top-notch, too. The lighthouse and bird have very charming, cartoony appearances that synergize with the bizarre world they inhabit. They’re well animated, too – another plus on top of this game’s visuals. Everything in the game is well-animated, actually! Flora and fauna have plenty of life to them, shown through interesting and eye-catching movements. I mentioned earlier that dark magic is represented through flying swarms of bugs, which is a unique way to visualize “evil energy.”

As you can see, ‘Keeper’ thrives on its presentation and storytelling. But does it falter anywhere? Well, there is one aspect of the game I find lacking: the puzzles. Most are inconsequential, small affairs that don’t extend to more beyond simple roadblocks. Solving them doesn’t grant a “eureka!” moment, instead a mild satisfaction from being able to keep progressing the story. They aren’t bad necessarily, but definitely lackluster compared to surrounding parts of the game. In my humble opinion, they could’ve had a bit more love shown onto them.

That’s a mild complaint, however. To conclude, ‘Keeper’ is a lovely game, one with a heavy focus on immersion and atmosphere. It handles these areas expertly, crafting a brief, magical experience that cements itself among 2025’s best games. I give it an 8/10, and urge you to check it out if you haven’t.

‘Keeper’ is available on Xbox Series X|S and PC.