Keepsake Reviews

+ Well executed visual design. + Fun puzzles. + I appreciated how the academy changed physically in response Lydia's actions. The cutscenes here were well done, and gave a lasting sense of progression, as if my actions mattered or had permanence in the world. - No fast travel. It takes a long time to run or walk between screens. And, you're mulling over the same screens constantly. - Too much backtracking. - Extremely linear; can't progress out-of-sequence. - No autosave. - Consistent crashes during the Trial of Wisdom. This, ultimately, led me to stop playing the game. And sapped any enjoyment I was having previously, and rendered me disinterested in ever returning to Keepsake.

This was the first game I ever reviewed as a professional game journalist — almost 20 years ago. Back then, we saw games like this differently. They felt common, and it seemed like there would always be more. Now, it feels like a rare gem. Its atmosphere of pure zen works even better today. It’s like a detective story in an empty Hogwarts where you run through 20 empty, beautiful screens back and forth. And either you fully surrender to it, meditating — or you don't play at all. It’s a great break from TikTok and the pace of modern life. It’s a shame it never became a well-known classic. But I’m happy it’s still available to buy. And you should buy it too.