It’s been a while since Tim Schafer’s done press briefings, he admits. The head of Double Fine, a studio best known for the Psychonauts series, is trying to explain Keeper, a puzzle adventure game where you are, literally, a sentient, walking lighthouse. Double Fine is now one of several studios bought up by Microsoft and the team apparently took the opportunity to lean into all the resources available and, he said, “make something weird.”
It’s definitely that. The colors and atmosphere of Keeper have at least the touch of Psychonauts DNA. Keeper puts players in control of the aforementioned lighthouse, awakened (and joined) by a curious, occasionally aggressive, bird named Twig. Interestingly, the lighthouse currently has no name.
Double Fine's art director, Lee Petty came up with the concept for the game, apparently inspired by his time spent hiking during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is reflected in a lot of ways, whether its the rolling hills and landscapes that the anthropomorphised lighthouse roams, or the fact that there’s not a single word of dialogue. The interactions between the bird and building, which seem to pepper both cutscenes and gameplay, are like Pixar shorts.
The environments have a drippy surrealist style to them to, and the lack of a map, health bar or any HUD at all means you’re not distracted as you explore and solve puzzles.
In some early gameplay footage, I saw how the lighthouse's main form of interaction comes from its light beam. Not only does this help you seek out pathways and objects, but it can also be focused on the countless skittering creatures. Sometimes this causes creatures to flee, while other times they’ll offer up magical orbs willingly and unwillingly, which open up later areas or bring towering creatures (structures?) to life. In Double Fine fashion, things look weird, too, with melted mountain peaks with more than a dost of Dali.
You don't have to attack everything, either. During three different gameplay demos, I watched all kinds of creatures hide, run, and just exist in this world where humanity has long since disappeared. Oh there’s briefly a giant flying whale too.
Using the lighthouse’s beam on certain things will leave an twinkling spark behind, meaning that Twig the bird can interact with it. During a later segment, the lighthouse can manipulate time, turning its bird companion back into an egg while a building repairs itself — and frees up a pathway. Twig remains an egg for a while until later, when the lighthouse can fast-forward time. Abilities like this seem location-dependent, rather than a Metroidvania collection of skills built up over the game. At another juncture, the lighthouse walks into a cloud of pink fluffy mist, unlocking the ability to jump and float around levels.
Schafer says the themes of life-changing and metamorphosis will continue to bubble up during Keeper and the lighthouse and bird duo is clearly central to all of it. It reminds me a little of Banjo Kazooie (the latter was a bird) but also Ico; at one point, the seemingly impervious lighthouse loses its footing, but Twig willfully tries to drag their partner to safety. Did Twig even help? Maybe not, but the sentiment was there.
Keeper will launch on Xbox Series S|X and PC on October 17th, including Xbox Game Pass.
