Keeper is a psychedelic platformer by American indie team Double Fine. It launched in November 2025 on Steam and Xbox. The studio in San Francisco is already responsible for classics such as Psychonauts and Broken Age.
Microsoft bought Double Fine in 2019, enabling them to overcome financial struggles, finish Psychonauts 2 (2021), and then move on to this surrealist little number. Whilst it’s not perfect, it does offer a visual treat and some of the most bizarre happenings of any 2025 video game. We enjoyed it, even if the price is a little steep.
Surrealist Jaunt in the Nifty Keeper
Former LucasArts developer Tim Schafer founded Double Fine in July 2000. That was the studio responsible for classics such as The Curse of Monkey Island (1997) amongst many other adventure games.
Double Fine took a different route, crafting weird worlds to explore. Psychonauts has a cult following and is famous for its trip into brain matter. Keeper is more on the trippy side, offering a colourful world with which to explore as a lighthouse. This being comes to life to save a bird creature thing, whom you befriend and form a double duo.
You then head off into the world, solve some puzzles, and progress. All of which allows you to see and hear new, increasingly dreamy things. Seriously, it’s quite the trip. Behold!
These cinematic games tend to be around two to three hours in length (such as with the iconic 2016 hit INSIDE), which is exactly what Keeper offers. The puzzles on show aren’t overly taxing (but get a bit more abstract later in the game), but the main draw is just how strange the world of Keeper is.
The further you progress, the more insane the ideas become. We were impressed with the inventiveness of the platforming. Although that can be let down by clunky controls at times, plus some gamers may struggle with the madness of it all. What are you doing? Pfftt… no idea.
But it is fun on the whole, as a visual treat and a cinematic style feast for the eyes. Just in a 4/5 sense, rather than this being an outright indie game classic.
There’s also lush orchestral score to go with the game’s surrealist looks, one that plays big on atmospherics as part of the weird world you inhabit (check out the nice sunset in the below clip, too).
The only major downside to all this is the asking price of £25. A little steep indeed for a game offering three hours of gameplay. We get the production costs must have been high, given the extent of its intricate world, but that’s high for an indie game.
However, if you’re willing to pay that you do get a very intriguing game. And one that certainly wins the 2025 price for most psychedelic. Stick on Love’s Forever Changes whilst playing and you’ll be far out, man.
The Making of Keeper
If you’re interested in the world of video game development then here’s a documentary on the making of Keeper. It’s important to remember making video games is bloody hard. Many gamers find it easy to criticise devs for the tiniest gameplay errors, but a huge amount goes into creating gaming worlds.
Some devs highlight their experience on social media, documenting the meticulous process of creating a title over many years. It’s not easy and it takes perseverance to tie up all loose ends. Many things that need doing won’t even be noticed by gamers, but will be if they’re not done properly.
It’s an unforgiving environment, yet we have maximum respect for any developer who puts the effort in for us to play these bloody things.
