It’s a wonderful game on the surface, especially for the first few hours, but then it becomes bogged down in mindless, insane grind with far too much needless travel, over complicated crafting, and a really rough UI. You can technically play this with a controller but you won’t want to. I don’t think I’ve ever had to check a wiki more to understand the 5 level deep ingredient mix on something that is so deeply pointless.
It’s gorgeous, with great writing and theme, but it’s just far too over engineered to be fun unless you really like just wasting time.
I bought it with the content DLCs so this review reflects the complete experience. I came into it wanting a long, Stardew Valley-like experience and that is exactly what I got. The thing is, when I finished it, it felt like there was a lot more I could do (didn't reach the bottom of the dungeon, didn't fully automate production, didn't fill the cemetary with bodies) but I had reached the end of the plot content so I had no more sticks to chase. I had more of everything than I knew what to do with it and there was really no point in continuing. The end of the game teases going to Town but sadly doesn't actually take you there so I assume that's where Graveyard Keeper 2 (if it is ever made) is going. I admit, I looked immediately to see if that sequel existed and sadly it does not.
TL;DR: if you like relatively relaxing chore games like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, give this a go. The graveyard element of it is just a unique twist to the genre's mechanics that is very well done.
This game is overwhelming. And not in a good way. Because it keeps you busy forever. This is not a "game", its more like a "job" you have to do.
+ Nice graphics, this is pixel art done right
- Its just a chore. Where is the gameplay. Do this, done that... that is not fun.
I really wanted to like this game. Titles like Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, and the Run Factory series are some of my favourites. I love the melding of slice-of-life sim with relationship building, and I thought Graveyard Keeper's focus on crafting would be a fun new spin.
Unfortunately, the fun to be have in Graveyard Keeper is hidden behind an endless grind. Every item you construct needs certain resources. In turn, acquiring or creating these resources require you to have crafted other buildings or unlocked parts of the tech tree.
Unsure where to find a particular resource? Better Alt+Tab out to check the wiki, because the game doesn't have anything like mousover tooltips to tell you how to create different ingredients and components. Want to complete a job for one of the villagers? Keep that wiki handy, because it's likely that completing one job requires you to complete a different job in order to unlock a quest item.
Some reviews warned me this game was wiki-reliant, but I thought that meant I'd be tabbing out as often as I do in Stardew. In Graveyard Keeper, the wiki may as well be built into the game itself, because it's critical to figuring out what to do or where to go next.
It's a shame, because there are a lot of pieces I enjoy. I like the art style and the dialogue is well-written. The characters drop a lot of breadcrumbs hinting at how the world works and why you've wound up looking after a graveyard outside a village, but making progress in the story is just such a grind that I'm not interested in hearing it.
If all this doesn't put you off, give it a go, but I went in unprepared for the tedium baked-in to the design of Graveyard Keeper. I liken it to a mobile game, where progress is gated by timers that can only be bypassed if you swipe your credit card. In Graveyard Keeper, you don't even have that option.
Graveyard Keeper shares a lot of similarities with Stardew Valley, however the game shines with NPC interactions, all the NPC characters in this game have their own nonsensical voices, which remind me of the game, Chulip on the PS2.
Your role as the Keeper slowly evolves as you collect more items, expand your home, expand the church and make blocked paths accessible. You collect materials to do this, and money is obtained by burying bodies in the local cemetary.
The game seems to hold a TON of content, and you often have to wait until you collect the correct materials or wait until a path is unblocked for you to do more in the game to let you unlock stuff that you couldn't before with NPC quests.
If you are a fan of Stardew Valley, you will love this game!
