Graveyard Keeper

First of all I'd like to say that I really enjoyed the game but after a few hours my experience soured. One of the glaring shortfalls of this game is the amount of unfinished content, notably the absence of the Town and Fort. Gameplay and dialogue suggest that the Town is the place to be with references to the Catherdral and a Ship of the Dead. However, after grinding for hours to purchase a Town Pass you face the realisation that you can't in-fact enter the town! It doesn't exist! The Devs have responded (on Steam) that it was all a big joke and that there was never any intention to implement it. This screams incomplete and unpolished. Be warned!

I like the idea of becoming a graveyard keeper. The gameworld, it's atmosphere and setting are cool. The characters and world are nicely designed. Yet the gameplay is flawed and needs fixing. Example: If you cut down a tree, you get 1-2 logs. You'll need logs for everything. You wanna build 1 jointing? You'll need a wooden beam (and other stuff). So as you advance trough the tiers, you'll need more items. Makes sense? Yes, now here's the thing. You can only carry 1 Log at a time. You'll cut down more and more trees close to your farm, so you'll have to walk longer distances. In the end, you don't become more efficent, you'll just have to build more and more items, to advance. The same can applied for all the basic ressources (stone and iron). Also if you get your store. You can sell vegetables. But you can only seel them in boxes. And guess what? You may only carry 1 box of those at a time. Also: You don't get to have a mount. You cannot ride a donkey (as is shown on the title screens). Alchemy is pure grinding. You cannot enter the city. Huge parts of the gameworld are not finished. Fishing is just plain stupid. You cannot produce certain items in batches. Quest system needs better guidance. The map doesn't show where your character is actually located. Wait till this gets patched.

Having now played this from start to current finish I am ready to review this. The good: -Interesting story and concept -"Cheap labor" -some automation in the mid to late game The bad: -Some stuff is spoon fed to you, and other stuff you basicaly need to go to the wiki unless you are crazy enough to bang you head againts the desk till you have a vision quest or divine intervention. -Early game seems to take a long time, and you can kind of get into a rut if you don't go and find something else to do. -No warning that going to town will cause the Zeus(god) to smite you with lightning bolts, so don't waste you coin on the permit -No warning that steping on a glowing grate in the basement will insinerat you (though you get better) -No warning that upgrading your church will prevent you from doing services till you can afford to pay for something, which sucks as early game thats the best way to make coin. -No indication that if your missing the ability to do something its probably because you are missing a Tech/Skill unlock If your into Stardew Valley or Moonlighter you will proably enjoy this but I would wait till it is on sale.

Ignore the 2018 reviews. This game is fully developed now and it is one of the most addicting pixel graphics games you will play. It is not just another farming simulator, in fact, farming is only about 1/5th of the game. It would be a shame for anyone to think this is a clone of anything, as it is a game of it's own. Your character will need to advance in the community / through the story, or you will not be able to progress. Good story, fun gameplay, a must play at full price and especially on sale. I've easily put 60+ hours in so far.

I bought this game thanks to a review \ playthrough done by one of my favorite Youtubers, so I had high hopes. Those high hopes only strengthened after seeing the first 5-10 hours of gameplay - it's fun, quirky, somewhat charming. The art is looking good (even if similar to other titles by this developer), the humor is on point (at times), building everything feels rewarding, the lvl-up system is fine (grindy as hell). But now, after putting 60 hours into the game, I can safely answer others' question of "Should I buy this?" - don't. This game is simply unfinished. The grind isn't adding to the charm or fun of it - it's to obscure the fact that it's barren. Most of these 60h was me just waiting for stuff - waiting for a quest NPC, waiting for something to bake, to grow, to mine itself, to apply injections. The music... I can't say anything about it. I guess it's fine if you listen to it once or twice, but after a while the loop gets to your head, so I just turned the music off. Oh and also - this game is full of bugs, most of which hardlock the game, preventing you from progressing the story. Just in case you wonder - when an NPC asks you to come tomorrow, you HAVE to come on the NEXT DAY. This isn't a "see you later" - it's a requirement and a strict date for you to come and get an item from them. I'd say that there's potential in this game, but seeing how laidback the devs are about updating Graveyard Keeper, I doubt that. Perhaps, if you're reading this review in some year 2020-2021, things might've already changed. But at this point in time, it's not worth the money or time invested.