Keeper
Developer/publisher Xbox Game Studios (Double Fine Productions) Format PC, Xbox Series Release Out now
Keeper’s central themes are all extravagantly laid out in its opening scene. You play as the semi-eponymous walking, sentient lighthouse – or more specifically the rotating light at the very top of the tower, brought inexplicably to life by sheer will, and now able to move courtesy of four ungainly arachnoid legs, held together with old rebar. When you, the player, first gain control of your in-game ‘body’, it’s also the first time that the keeper, your character, has ever tried to stand up. The fragmented, precariously stacked stone cylinder that represents your corporeal self flounders perilously from side to side and you have to pull hard on the analogue stick to keep from toppling over. While the sky brightens, and vibrant nature starts to unfold around you, you gradually learn to walk upright. Here, the game’s emotional core is revealed. At its centre is a conflict between elegance and ardour, flow and futility. The world is teeming with gorgeous life – but life inherently represents a struggle.