Keeper Review: Xbox Game of the Year? - Kinda Funny Gamescast

Summary

Kinda Funny Gamescast Episode Summary

Episode Title: Keeper Review: Xbox Game of the Year?
Date: October 17, 2025
Hosts: Greg Miller, Paris Lily, Mike Howard (Snowbike Mike), Blessing Adeoye

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Main Theme / Purpose

This episode is a deep-dive review (with light and full spoilers) of Keeper, the new atmospheric puzzle-adventure from Double Fine Productions, published by Xbox. The cast discusses their playthroughs, debates how Keeper fits into Double Fine's creative legacy, and considers whether it stands as an Xbox Game of the Year contender. The panel also reflects on broader issues like the value of unique, artistic indie games in today’s industry.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What is Keeper? – Game Overview

• Description (10:25): A wordless, atmospheric adventure where you play as a lighthouse awakened by a seabird, embarking on a journey filled with simple puzzles, light platforming, and evolving mechanics.
• Critical Reception: 78 on Metacritic. IGN and GameSpot both scored it 9/10; Game Informer 7.5/10.
• Length: Playtime ranged from 3 hours (Mike, rushing) to 8 hours (Paris, exploring). Six hours was common (Blessing).

“Keeper is double Fine at its most confident. A visual feast, a tone poem, an exploration of movement mechanics, a fable about the world and what we owe to it.” – Greg Miller reading GameSpot review (10:25)

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2. Vibes, Artistry, and Core Gameplay

• All About the Vibe: The game is described as a “vibe game”—art-forward, emotional, with an audiovisual journey akin to Disney rides or Pixar films.
• Mechanics: Gameplay centers around very accessible puzzles, environmental interaction with light, dashes, and occasional new mechanics per area (like floating on “cotton candy” clouds).
• Linear but Atmospheric: The experience is tightly guided, nearly “on rails,” with environmental storytelling and minimal collectibles.

“It is more art than game—and that’s okay. Love the music, zero dialogue... A Double Fine ass game.” – Paris Lily (13:41)

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3. Comparisons, Accessibility, and Artistic Identity

• Comparisons to Other Games:
  • “It reminds me of what I love about Shadow of the Colossus or ICO... but I’m so in awe of what I’m looking at moment to moment.” – Blessing (16:06)
  • Parallels with Stray for its atmospheric world and emotional beats (26:45).
• What Makes it ‘Double Fine’?:
  • “It feels like you’re on psychedelics—the art style, the wacky nature, the humor, the out-of-the-box thinking... Not many studios get weird the way Double Fine does.” – Mike (18:37)
  • “In this conservative market... people just want to make money, you don’t see a lot of big swings. This is a small game, but clearly they [Xbox] made space for it.” – Greg (19:26)

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4. Gameplay Details and Different Playstyles

• Gameplay Loop: Puzzles primarily involve using light, triggering environmental changes, overcoming minor obstacles, and experiencing subtle shifts in area-specific mechanics.
• Discrepancy in Playtimes: Comes down to playstyle—rushing main path (Mike's 3 hours) vs. stopping to admire the world, hunt for secrets (Paris’ 8 hours).
• Replayability: Generally considered a “one-and-done” game, but unforgettable for its artistry and emotional impact.

“For me, I stopped a lot, looking at stuff, like, oh, that’s pretty... It’s more about the experience.” – Paris (13:41)
"Photo mode? I stopped to look at everything!" – Paris (14:00)

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5. Critical Scores & Initial Impressions (Likert Ratings)

• Paris: 9/10 – “I really love this game. As a piece of art, not something you need to replay, but it leaves you thinking.” (15:49)
• Blessing: 8.5/10 – “Throwing my score out the window, I fucking adore this video game. Keeper is fucking phenomenal.” (16:06)
• Mike: 7.5/10 – “A capital G Good. For me, Keeper is a vibe game, a Double Fine vibe. The art is beautiful, but gameplay just a good experience.” (21:54)
• Whole Panel: Agreement on recommending Keeper, especially to those craving artistry and emotional resonance.

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6. Audio and Visual Experience

• Soundtrack:
  • Entirely wordless, but tells its story through music, cues, and world design.
  • “The audio director told us they had to invent new instruments for the game. It’s Double Fine’s first full Dolby Atmos soundtrack.” – Blessing & Mike (27:48)
• Mixed reception: Mike found some tracks “weird,” others “awesome;” Blessing praises variety and uniqueness, but wouldn’t listen outside the game.

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7. Who Is Keeper For? Accessibility, Emotional Impact, and Recommendations

• For Non-Platformer Fans: Even those who didn’t love Psychonauts might enjoy Keeper; “very different experience, short, and focused on emotion/art.” – Paris (28:30)
• Walking Simulator Debate: First act is somewhat “walking-sim,” but always has light puzzling; not an insult, just part of the journey.
• Emotional Resonance: The story, told entirely without words, brought some close to tears—especially parents reflecting on “caretaker” themes.

“Did anybody cry?”
“Almost. I wish I did.” – Blessing (32:36) “I think you would, Greg. We’re parents, we’ve got kids.” – Paris (32:49)

• Family-Friendly: Accessible and non-scary, suitable for playing/experiencing with kids or as an “art class” lesson. (34:27)

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8. Spoiler-Free Closing Thoughts

• Recommended To: Anyone interested in short, art-focused, emotional games; those who enjoy Journey, Shadow of the Colossus, or unique indies.
• Industry Reflections:
  • Praise for Xbox enabling Double Fine and similar studios to take creative risks (41:13).
  • Concerns about the sustainability of such games in a risk-averse, consolidation-driven industry.

“We need these kind of games. Not everything needs to be 20 or 30 hours. Absolutely something I think everyone should at least play once.” – Paris (41:13)

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9. Spoiler Section – Gameplay Beats, Surprises & Themes

(Starts ~45:54)

Major Spoilers:

• Form Shifts: Play as the lighthouse (first act), then the lighthouse falls apart and you become a boat, then a spinning wheel, and finally a Pegasus-like creature.
• Favorite Moments: The “wheel” section is called out for its exhilarating, almost “Tony Hawk” feeling; Pegasus segment “should have lasted longer!” (52:02).
• Themes:
  • Parental/Caretaker allegory (“The lighthouse is the dad, the bird your partner… It’s about protecting family and letting them go on their journey.” – Paris, 55:23-56:21)
  • Environmental stewardship and generational responsibility.
• Ending: “The finale gets so wild. No one would believe me if I said ‘You’re a lighthouse, then a boat, then a wheel of death, then a Pegasus, then you become the eyeball of a mountain to save the island!’” – Mike (54:15, paraphrased)
• Critiques: Some puzzles are a little finicky (bird controls, lever yanking), and the middle “boat” section was polarizing—inspired more freedom for Mike, felt disjointed to Blessing.

Notable Spoiler Quotes:

• “When the lighthouse falls apart and you become a boat, I couldn’t believe it. I thought, are we going to control the bird? Nope, we’re freaking a boat!” – Paris (46:24)
• “For me, I felt like the journey was—crawl, walk, run, FLY. I liked that buildup.” – Paris (58:16)
• “Does this even make sense thematically? But that’s Double Fine. This shouldn’t exist in today’s industry, but thank god it does.” – Mike/Blessing (61:51)

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• “I fucking adore this video game. Keeper is fucking phenomenal.” – Blessing (16:06)
• “The art style... it feels like you’re on psychedelics. Getting weird with it. That’s what makes it so Double Fine.” – Mike (18:37)
• “Photo mode with it. So the basic premise... your lighthouse, you awaken, this bird comes to you, you sprout legs…” – Paris (14:01)
• “Is this a walking simulator? First 90 minutes are. But then Act 2 and 3, the gameplay changes up.” – Mike (30:33)
• “If I was a teacher, this is the kind of game you wheel toward your class for an art lesson.” – Blessing (34:19)
• “As a dad, the lighthouse is the dad… My job is to protect my family and that’s what I felt like at the end.” – Paris (55:23)
• “What did you think, Paris?” “I want Double Fine to make Double Fine games. If you told me this existed, I wouldn’t believe it—except Double Fine made it.” – Blessing & Paris (62:20)
• “Does Microsoft shield Double Fine? Man, I hope so. Because these games need to exist.” – Blessing (64:18)

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Closing Thoughts & Recommendations

• Keeper is celebrated as a triumph of visual, musical, and emotional artistry, providing an experience that is both unique and tightly crafted—even if it’s not for everyone seeking deep or complex puzzles.
• The cast recommends it “highly” as one of Xbox’s standout releases this year and a rare artistic gem.
• The episode ends with hopes that Xbox and the game industry at large will continue to make room for such creative, unconventional, shorter experiences—especially as studio consolidation increases.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment Description | Timestamp | | -------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | | Cast introductions, Keeper overview | 08:25 | | How long did it take to finish Keeper? | 11:12 | | Paris’ full review and score | 13:41 | | Blessing’s effusive praise & criticisms, score | 15:56 | | “What makes this a Double Fine game?” | 18:37 | | Industry/creativity discussion on creative risks | 19:26 | | Deep gameplay description & why playtime varies | 22:02 | | Comparison to Stray and other indies | 26:45 | | Audio/music design (instruments, Dolby Atmos) | 27:48 | | Spoiler-free recommendations for different audiences | 28:30 | | “Walking simulator” debate | 30:33 | | Emotional impact (Did anyone cry?) | 32:36 | | Is it family-friendly, art class analogy | 34:27 | | Final positive remarks and industry context | 41:13 | | Scores & closing recommendations | 43:44 | | Spoiler Section Begins | 45:54 | | Lighthouse dies, form changes | 46:16 | | Wheel/Pegasus segment reaction | 52:01 | | Ending/thematic interpretations | 55:25 | | Reflections on Double Fine’s creative identity | 62:20 | | Industry sustainability, game pass, creativity debate | 63:09 | | Closing the spoiler cast (final thoughts) | 64:27 |

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For listeners considering Keeper or those who crave fresh, unconventional experiences in gaming, this episode is an enthusiastic, thorough exploration with industry-savvy insight and heartfelt critique.

Transcript

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[Greg Miller]

What's up, everybody? Welcome to the Kind of Funny Games cast for Friday, October 17, 2025. Today we're brought to you by Solo Leveling Arise Overdrive, the action RPG based on the popular Solo Leveling franchise that Mike Howard loves. Audio listeners. He thumbs up. Yeah. Of course. It launches on November 17 and is open for pre order and wishlisting on Steam and Xbox PC. But folks at TwitchCon can experience an exclusive demo at Solo Leveling Arise drives Booth, of course, and Shady Rays is our other sponsor. But we'll tell you about that later. For now, hello, Best voice in the business. Paris.

[Mike]

Lily.

[Paris Lily]

Hey, how are you? Afternoon. How are you doing?

[Greg Miller]

Greg, where you running to? What happened? The dog knew something. What happened? The kids do something. What happened over there?

[Paris Lily]

I turned fan on.

[Greg Miller]

Okay.

[Paris Lily]

I was like, wait, it's getting hot in here already.

[Greg Miller]

You lost your focus?

[Blessing]

Yeah, I broke the focus.

[Paris Lily]

Yeah, see? I lost my focus.

[Greg Miller]

See?

[Paris Lily]

Damn it. All right, I'm back.

[Greg Miller]

Of course. Next to him. Forbes 30 under 30. AKA New York Game Awards. Nominated AKA Poppy of all trades. Blessing at a. Yo.

[Blessing]

Yay, Junior. Good day, Greg.

[Greg Miller]

You look good in this Pac man sweatshirt.

[Blessing]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

Shout out, Pac Man. But we got the. We got the shirt from Pac Man. From a Pac Man.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah. When Pac man was in the office. I remember that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Blessing]

Why was Pac man in the office?

[Mike]

He was a Pac Man. Battle Royale.

[Greg Miller]

Pac Man Boy. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike]

We had a lot of fun with that one.

[Greg Miller]

We did. Yeah.

[Mike]

We brought the whole suit and stuff. It was awesome.

[Blessing]

A good time.

[Greg Miller]

And of course, there he is, the master of hype, rehabilitating his groin, Mike Howard.

[Mike]

I'm like LeBron James. I'm out two to three weeks with a groin injury. Shouldn't have played that scary game late last night, but it was awesome.

[Greg Miller]

What game was this again?

[Mike]

Who's at the door? Oh, who's at the door? I recommend that one. A fun probably $15 Steam scary game. Get you a good little fright fest for about an hour and then after that I think you'll probably know the jump scares. But still you'll have a good time giving Mortuary's assistant meet Zukosis of course, the upcoming very exciting Shark Dentist everybody's pumped up about.

[Greg Miller]

Kind of can't wait for Shark Dentist.

[Blessing]

We got to talk about Mike's vast knowledge of video games. Cuz the three things you just named is insane.

[Mike]

Y

[Blessing]

the Zucosis meets the upcoming Shark Dentist.

[Greg Miller]

You. You, you can't forget about Shark Dentist now.

[Mike]

Come on, you know how Shark Dentist coming soon. You're looking good.

[Blessing]

That's. Honestly, I'm very impressed.

[Mike]

Thank you.

[Blessing]

By the games you just listed.

[Mike]

Thank you, homie.

[Greg Miller]

Paris, what a joy to have you on so many gamescast this week. Of course, you were just here for the Xbox Ally review. Thank you for doing that and then have you here today. I'm stoked to hear you talk about Keeper.

[Paris Lily]

I know, I'm excited to be here. I'm actually going to go to TwitchCon right after this.

[Greg Miller]

Are you gonna go to the solo leveling Arise Overdrive booth and try it out?

[Paris Lily]

I might. No, I'm not. No, I'm not, I'm not going. I'm not going in actual TwitchCon. I'm going to outside shit doing the parties. TwitchCon.

[Blessing]

Okay.

[Paris Lily]

Yes.

[Greg Miller]

He's gonna be a hobnobbin. Yeah, he'll be rubbing elbows with popular Shroud doctor Dr. Lupo. Yeah, he's still doing the thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Blessing]

Valkyrae.

[Greg Miller]

There you go.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Pokimane. Ninja.

[Blessing]

Cinna, is Ninja gonna be a twitchcon agent? Who?

[Greg Miller]

Ninja can't be a twitchcon.

[Blessing]

Is he not on Twitch?

[Greg Miller]

I just think he's too big.

[Blessing]

I mean but that's TwitchCon. Don't they get big?

[Greg Miller]

Twitch can't throw the money around to get Ninja out there, can they?

[Blessing]

I mean, I feel like, I feel like, I feel like Ninja's the top of what. What they can throw money around to get. I feel like once you get to

[Greg Miller]

speed, is Shroud gonna be there?

[Blessing]

I would think so.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Blessing]

I mean, am I, am I off about this, Mike?

[Mike]

No, I, I, you could definitely get Ninja nowadays if you do. Remember back when they brought it to San Jose in Our neck of the woods. After, of course, 2015, when Greg Miller was headlining TwitchCon, they had Ninja Con. That was at the peak of when Ninja was his biggest and baddest. He was having stuffy or plushies at Walmart at that moment. There was under that. They dubbed that Ninja Con because that was like, oh, there's a fever pitch and everyone just wants to see Ninja. Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Everybody says I'm. He's way too. It's over for him. He's not.

[Blessing]

Yeah, his numbers are.

[Paris Lily]

You know who I wish was at Twitchcon?

[Greg Miller]

Me.

[Paris Lily]

No. Snowbike Mike. He would be a madman at TwitchCon. It would be amazing. I would just follow him around. I would love it.

[Mike]

Yeah, the best. We'll all get together. We'll all get together. We'll have some.

[Blessing]

I want to talk to agent and like all these cool people.

[Mike]

We met Duke Dennis. You should have been there. We met Duke Dennis. He knows me.

[Greg Miller]

He knows him, everybody.

[Blessing]

You think Kai's going, no, no, no, he's too big. He's too big.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, right. That's somebody who's too big for sure. I want to give a special shout out, everybody. If you watched yesterday's Kind of Funny Games cast, you of course heard from Marty Pixelrod who super chatted and said, speaking of Steam games, I've been making a game for a while and watching you guys on my third screen while I do it. I literally pressed release button an hour ago. Prototype Juan is a mini metroidvania for 4 Buc. If you can click on the Steam powered link there to Kevin to look at it over there. Of course we are happy to support the people who support us like Marty and I want to tell you everybody, this is a small little indie game we think looks cool. 52 copies were sold. All right.

[Mike]

Whoa.

[Greg Miller]

Marty gave me the Update and blue BS DMS. That's a blue sky direct message, Tim. That. Yes. 52 copies sold and jumped from 305 wishlist to 396. So this is all huge stuff. Steam estimates a lot of people buy over the weekend. So if you want to support a kind of funny best friend selling his game for less than a cup of coffee, go get prototype one. I think it's 399 right now.

[Blessing]

With the discount we can get those numbers up.

[Greg Miller]

We can. That's what I'm saying.

[Blessing]

Yes, this game looks.

[Greg Miller]

Yesterday it was a fun throwaway. Now it's a. Now it's a. Now it's a fucking thing.

[Blessing]

Because for audio listeners, this looks like a really cool 2D platformer. You're going between two different art styles. I'm always a fan of.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, what he said here. He said I was also featured on Steam's popular upcoming under $5 at one point. Fourth place there. So that was cool to see everybody get out there. And this here game, the One Prototype. Prototype One. I probably should not screw up the name of the last time.

[Blessing]

The One Prototype.

[Greg Miller]

Well, it's like I couldn't find in my notes today I got Prototype one. Of course, here's some other housekeeping. Remember that this is Kind of Funny Games. Daily, each and every weekday on a variety of platforms. We run you through the video game topics you need to know about. Whether they be reviews, previews or just conversations we need to have. We cover them each and every week weekday live on Twitch TV. Kind of funny games YouTube.com Kind of funny games Apple Spotify every podcast service under the Gun.

[Blessing]

Under the Gun.

[Greg Miller]

The screws just a little loose today. They're a little loose.

[Paris Lily]

Okay.

[Mike]

But like why you're under the gun

[Greg Miller]

to listen to the podcast.

[Mike]

It's Friday. You can be a little loose there.

[Greg Miller]

I appreciate that you saw me inhale that burrito. Trying to make sure I had something. Wow.

[Mike]

Wow.

[Greg Miller]

Get a Kind of Funny subscription if you like what we do here. YouTube.com kindafunnygames patreon.com kindafunny Apple Spotify what the fuck was that?

[Mike]

You heard it too? Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Okay. Wrestling left and right. All over our heads. What is going on here?

[Blessing]

Or under the sun? And around the globe I see where I was going.

[Greg Miller]

Under sun. Yeah, I just got there. We couldn't do this without your support. So please pick up a Kind of Funny membership to get everything ad free and get your daily dose of me or Mike. As you're about to hear while we are live right now, you of course can be part of our keeper review. YouTube super chat with your questions about double Fines latest game. These three gentlemen are prepared to answer and critique housekeeping for you. Happy Za launch week to those who celebrate. Our pokey smiley crew necks are now available in two colorways. Perfect for catching the mon as the weather gets colder. Grab the new Kind of Funny knockoff Pokemon sweatshirts over at kind of funny.com store.

[Blessing]

Allegedly great.

[Greg Miller]

It's just a ball.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Red, red and white. It's fine.

[Blessing]

Pokemon doesn't care. No, not yet.

[Mike]

I really.

[Blessing]

It's review season. I ain't got time.

[Greg Miller]

Too much stuff going on right now. We're an 11 person business all about live talk shows. Today's Kind of Funny Games Daily was Horizon Zero dawn movie coming in 2027. Of course before us there was a game showdown that featured a robbery, a miscarriage of justice, maybe a hate crime. After this show we're doing a sponsor stream for Ark Raiders and everyone's very excited about that. Really super excited actually.

[Mike]

Super excited.

[Greg Miller]

If you're a Kind of funny member. Today's Greg Way is Mike Mike, what did you talk about?

[Mike]

Yeah, I talked about my excitement for fall gaming. I know we're in the thick of review season. We're kind of seeing the light at the end of it all, but for me I am like an excited mode because I have Battlefield 6 right now, I have Arc Raiders end of the month and I got Call of Duty Battlefield or battle Black Ops 7. There it is November 14th. So I am in like the thick of it for myself and I'm really excited about that.

[Greg Miller]

For now we want to thank our Patreon producers Carl Jacobs, Omega Buster and Delaney the Psalm Twining let's start with what is and forever will be topic of the show. Ladies gentlemen and bees. Can you believe it? A new Double Fine game is upon us. Mike Blessing in Paris have played Keeper. We're going to get their opinions on it, but before then I'll read the Steam description from Lee Petty and Double Fine Productions. Keeper is an atmospheric puzzle adventure in which a long forgotten lighthouse is awakened and joined by a spirited seabird. It embarks upon a heartening tale of unlikely companionship and an unexpected journey into realms beyond understanding. Of course. Developed by Double Fine, as we have said, published by Xbox, it currently has a 78 on Metacritic. IGN's Sarah Thwaites came in with a 9 out of 10 and said, A surreal painting come to life. Keeper is a stunning puzzle game that carefully balances its Moorish mechanics with a heartfelt story. GameSpot's Steve Watts gave it a 9 out of 10. Keeper is double Fine at its most confident. A visual feast, a tone poem, an exploration of movement mechanics, a fable about the world and what we owe to it. It's recognizable as an evolution of the studio's earlier works while also feeling fresh and inventive. Double Fine games have always been sent have been dense with artistry, but it's Keeper, a game without words that feels most like it's letting the artistry speak for itself. And then over at Game Informer, I got a 7.5 out of 10. Matt Miller wrote, keeper is strange in many ways and sometimes crosses over into genuine psychedelia. In evaluating it as a game, some things don't work for me. As a piece of art and creative endeavor, it fares far better. Before we even get to scores, I want to go through and say, have you beaten it and how long it took you?

[Paris Lily]

Paris Lilly yes, and it took me eight hours.

[Greg Miller]

What'd you play on?

[Paris Lily]

I played it on PC and I played it on the Xbox series X and I took a little peek on the Rog Xbox Ally X as well.

[Greg Miller]

How did it look over there?

[Paris Lily]

Look good? Looks great. They had warned ahead of time because they still hadn't optimized. So I knew it was going to be perfect. But I just want to see what it looked like.

[Greg Miller]

Mr. Adio.

[Blessing]

Yeah, I played six hours and yes, I completed it.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, Speedrun.

[Blessing]

Oh, well, wait. Just wait for my real time.

[Mike]

I like the game and it took me three hours and seven minutes. So I will say if you are moving forward on your nice hike throughout this Double Fine adventure, it is a three hour game, a one sitting game.

[Blessing]

It's a, it's a three hour mic game. I still don't understand how you did that.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah, that's the thing is I want to hear all about this. So for me, Keeper has in this review onslaught, Keeper has been one of those ones that I knew I probably wouldn't get a chance to review because of where I'm at with Redacted and before that Pokemon and after that redacted. So I don't even know much about Keeper in general. Start Mike and Blessing arguing. Is there a lot of, are there a lot of collectibles? Are there a lot of off the beaten paths real.

[Blessing]

I mean there's a little bit of off the beaten path stuff and a little bit of like, I don't know how you would describe the off beaten path stuff.

[Mike]

Yeah, I mean how I describe this game is it is a nice simple hike, right? It is a journey where you are always moving forward. And while you're moving forward, you will be kind of, you know, you'll be faced with some questions of do you want to take a left path really quick? That might be a stop off where you will solve a very small puzzle, rebuild the statue. That's the collectible. That's the kind of side activity. Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Okay. Okay.

[Mike]

Or you can stay on the main path, move forward. Well, you will encounter puzzles throughout, but they're very basic puzzles. You know, we, we went to the, we went to Double Fine Studios, met with Lee Petty and the team over there and they described as like, we never want you to be Stuck on these puzzles. These puzzles are very basic. You'll always be solving them and moving forward and so you just, you'll find a rhythm and there's moments where you scratch your head and go, where is this? But 90% of the time I never, I never got lost. I always knew where I was going, what I needed to do.

[Blessing]

It's a very, it's a very focused game. I would say 95% of it is main path as far as it trying to guide you through a very particular catered experience.

[Greg Miller]

So then, Paris Lilly, why don't you kick us off, start me with your review.

[Paris Lily]

So I let me start by saying this because the fact that Mike did it in like, what do you said, three hours, three and a half hours or whatever, that, that's crazy to me. But blessing at 6 is probably the standard playthrough for this, right. I felt I stopped a lot and I was looking at stuff, I was like, oh, that's pretty. Ooh, that's pretty right?

[Greg Miller]

Is there a photo mode?

[Paris Lily]

Photo mode with it. So the basic premise of this, your lighthouse, you awaken, this bird comes to you, you sprout legs, you learn to walk and you go on this adventure of discovery through this realm. The puzzles like Mike mentioned are pretty simple for the most part. There's some time dilation in there with, with some of the puzzles, things that you'll solve. It's a beautiful game. I, I think for me it's more art than game and that's okay. Love the music. There's zero dialogue in this and I think a lot of what happens, especially after you get to a certain point in the game, it's kind of left up to your interpretation on how you want to describe the relationship between the bird and the lighthouse and some of the other creatures that you'll encounter throughout the world and the meaning of certain things as you go along. But I thought it's a Double Fine ass game. That's. I don't know any other way to describe it. This is totally something that would come from Double Fine. And I found myself by the time credits rolled, I was like, damn, I really love this game. I love it as a piece of art. Is this something that you need to go back and replay? Probably not. This is probably a one and done, but that's okay. I don't think Double Fine ever sold this as this big adventure that you were going on. It's a short experience. It's something that will leave you thinking once you finish it. You know, trying to interpret some of the things, especially like I said, the relationship between the bird and. And the lighthouse. But overall I loved it. If I had to give it a score.

[Greg Miller]

And you do because you have a gun to your head.

[Paris Lily]

Nine out of ten.

[Greg Miller]

Nine out of ten.

[Paris Lily]

Wow.

[Greg Miller]

Amazing. All right. I like that quite a bit. Blessing at a. Oh, yeah, Junior, the world turns their eyes to you.

[Blessing]

I'll start off with my score.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

I would give this game an 8.5 out of 10.

[Greg Miller]

Great.

[Blessing]

I think it's a very great game. Now I'm going to take my score, throw it out the window and say that I fucking adore this video.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

I think Keeper is fucking phenomenal.

[Mike]

Yes.

[Blessing]

I think a lot of. A lot of what I love about this game, interestingly enough, is kind of comparable to what I love about games like Shadow of Colossus or ICO or like any of those Team Eco games where it is about the experience. But also I'm so in awe of what I'm looking at moment to moment on the screen. And you do such a good job of immersing you into this, into this world. The first thing you see is the lighthouse coming to life. Right. And like the seabird kind of landing on top of it and your adventure going the way this lighthouse moves. I remember back in, I believe it was end of 2016 when the last guardian came out. One of the things people will talk about the last Guardian is like how in awe of just the monster in that Trico that they were from the way that it moved, how lively it felt, all that stuff. I feel that way about the lighthouse in this game. I love the way this thing moves. I love the way that this world is realized. It is vibrant. Every new area feels like you're stepping into a new dimension. And I just love. I love being in this world. I love being in this game. The music is so incredible. The sound design is fucking fantastic. Like art is the way you is the easy way to describe this game. But I'll use the word art to describe any video game. I think there's something about this game that is transcendent beyond that right. Of being something that feels like a worthwhile. I wanna. I wanna have an experience for six hours. And so I love it for all those things I have, like, I have complaints about it. I think from a game design perspective, my main beef with it is that this game is divided into like three acts, maybe like three and a half acts. The second act of this game, not my favorite, I think it slows down dramatically and design wise does some things that I'm not in love with and also like the game. It introduces certain things that I'm not going to spoil here. I think the second half of this episode will get into more of a spoil section. But the way that it progresses as it gets further into it, it's not my favorite. But all in all, I think they do something really special here. I really enjoyed this experience.

[Greg Miller]

Nice, Michael.

[Mike]

I like it, you guys. Yeah. To me, Keeper is a vibe game. It's a vibe. It's a Double Fine vibe here.

[Greg Miller]

And I'll stop you right there.

[Mike]

Tell me.

[Greg Miller]

Because of course, the one, the only Jenny, AKA Send Nuggie, says in her super chat, this looks fun. It would be my first Double Fine game. Dot, dot, dot. What kind of things make it a double Fine ass game? For somebody who doesn't know what's a Double Fine ass game, which is what we said we've been saying here that this is clearly Double Fine.

[Mike]

The art style, Jenny, it feels like you're on psychedelics. It feels like the whole team built this on psychedelics. It's the colors, it's the art, it's the wacky nature, it's the humor, it's the out of the box thinking that you don't see many video games and studios do that makes it so Double Fine. And I think everybody has their own touchstones to Double Fine. It'd be costume quests, whether it be Psychonauts with Barrett, myself and Paris. We love Psychonauts too. I think there's just moments that when you experience your first Double Fine game, you attach yourself to. And really, for me, it comes down to the art. It comes down to the art style that I don't see many other teams really dip their toes into like Double Fine and Tim Schaefer does and getting weird with it. Getting so weird with it.

[Greg Miller]

And I think just from watching it, that's what you see. Right Again, vibes, animation, the visuals, the environments, what you're seeing, what the world is, let alone for it to have no speaking and all this stuff. Like these are choices a lot of in. In this conservative market of video games where people just want to make money, you don't see a lot of people take big swings, chances. This is a small game, but clearly we saw this and we talked for so long about as Xbox and the industry in general tightens their belts, does Double Fine fit with them? Are they actually going to make space for them? It sounds like they did here and made it work, Mike.

[Mike]

Yeah. Double Fine will make you Feel a lot of emotions as well. Jenny will take you from smiling, giggling, laughing to tugging on your heartstrings, trying to really pull out a tear from your eyes. So no.

[Greg Miller]

With no voice.

[Mike]

With no voice. But I'm talking about all their games as well. But yeah, this one's a special one. So for me it is a Vibe game and when I wrote a big one, I think in the first probably act as Blessing says, it very much feels like a Disney theme ride. It feels like I am the cart behind one and I'm looking at your cards and I'm looking at everything happening in front of you and that's how it felt to me the whole entire time on that first act of like I'm watching something take place in front of me that has all the glitz, the glamour, the wow, the just the whimsy that a Disney ride would normally capture for me, which I really, really loved. And so I liked this game. I vibed with this game. The art as we bring up is beautiful. It's stunning. The gameplay I didn't love until Act 2, 3 and beyond Interesting. And so for me, I'm a little bit opposite of Bless was like when we hit act two and beyond, that's when it finally like now I'm in it, right? And so I'm a mix of a 7 to 8 window. I think for me on the art side of things, the double fine ass, double fine game, it is an 8. It is a great piece of art, it is a great emotional experience. But when it comes down to playing the game, I think it is just a good experience. It's just a seven to me. And so I'm looking forward to diving deeper. But I'm impressed with Keeper. I. I did not think that this team would be doing that. Coming off of Psychonauts 2 having a no dialogue, Vibey ass, let's take a hike video game that could be played for three to eight hours. I did not see this one coming, to be honest.

[Blessing]

You giving an 8 or a 7?

[Mike]

I'm going to go with a solid 7. 5. Good. With a capital G. Capital capital G. I like that. Capital G. Good from Mike.

[Greg Miller]

So let's swing the pendulum back and go back to you, Blessing. Talk to me again. Someone who's seen these trailers, heard the presentations, whatever. What is the gameplay? We keep tossing up puzzles. It's this, that, the other. But then we're talking about it being Vibes. We're talking about three hours, six hours more like yeah, what. What are we doing in Keeper and How can there be these discrepancies and how long it takes?

[Blessing]

I mean, it really is. As far as the discre. I honestly don't know. I honestly don't know how. Yeah, Mike beats it in three, Paris beats it in eight. But I will say the moment to moment, I was describing it to Tim earlier as like, you know, it might be a him kind of game because it reminds me of the artful Escape where a lot of it is going from point A to point B with light puzzles in between. They're not tough puzzles by. By any means, but they're, I think, there to give you something to do to keep you moving to the next moment. But a lot of the game is you Wes this tower just walking forward. You have your light that you can use to press R2 to kind of shine the light a bit brighter. You have a dash on a. And so some of the obstacles might be, oh, there's a fence in front of you. Press a dash through it kind of thing. But then a lot of the puzzles are going to be all right. Use your light to shine on this thing so you can, like, open up the door or so you can activate a switch that'll then, you know, make a lever go this way so that you can open up the way to go forward. Right. A lot of it is environmental puzzles that are kind of carrying you forward in the game, but so much of it really is just this forward momentum of you walking and going through these different environments. And the game does a really cool thing too, that I like, where moment to moment, environment to environment, you might get new mechanics that'll be very particular to a certain area. Earlier in the gameplay, Kevin was showing there's an area where, like, you're covered in. I would almost describe it as like pink. Pink cotton candy.

[Mike]

That's what I call it. Cotton candy. Yeah.

[Blessing]

Yeah, it looks exactly like cotton candy. And that essentially allows you to float in the air and jump and stuff that. And that is very much just for that area. The game has a lot of stuff like that where it is. All right, we're giving you this mechanic for this specific moment in the game. And then we move on to the next thing with an entirely new idea

[Greg Miller]

around puzzles like Astro Body. Remember we always talked about that with Astrobot, right. Where it was like, they're giving us the. This puncher.

[Paris Lily]

Very light on the plat, like that cloud area. This very light platforming.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Paris Lily]

Area. But it changes it up.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, I meant the ability of. I'm sorry, them adding in things for like, one level and then never coming back to it kind of thing. A mechanic rather than feeling.

[Blessing]

There's a bit more of, like, I think a gradient to it where Astro. You know, you finish a level, go on to the next level. It's entirely different thing.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

Here I feel like there's a bit more of a progression to. All right now we're kind of ending this and we're merging into this thing, and now you're into this new thing right here.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Okay.

[Paris Lily]

But see, one thing I wonder about the blessings talking about again, the discrepancy between time. Like I said, I was stopping a lot, kind of taking in what was going on. Like, the light. Even when you don't focus it and you just shine it on certain things, you're almost like healing the world. Like, flowers are blooming, things like that. So I was doing a lot. Honestly, I was doing a lot of it going, is this gonna unlock some secret that I'll see you? But no, I didn't. But also you would. You're kind of getting the history of this realm too, with, like, in certain. And I'm trying to not spoil anything, but certain things you. You would see and go, huh, that's the skeleton of this. Of this creature. Like, what's the history behind this? Right. So with not having any dialogue, it's really the environment itself that's trying to tell you the story along the way, you know, in certain parts of it. So that's where I think you will see this discrepancy where if someone just wants to just mainline it right on through. Yeah, you're going to be closer to what Mike did. But if someone really slows down and is really trying to take in everything that's happening in the environment at that time. Yeah, I can definitely see it taking you maybe even more than eight hours, you know, to be able to get this from start to finish.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Mike]

We didn't really describe, like, there's a scourge here on this island.

[Greg Miller]

I was going to say, what. Right.

[Mike]

We haven't really described that. Like, you know, the bird comes to this lighthouse and seek of safety because we shine the light on a scourge that's chasing it and kind of gives it this, like, safety net of a, hey, I'm a home base. You can be on this thing right here. And then we go on this journey of, like, hey, this island has something going on with it, with this scourge. And maybe the lighthouse can help us do it. And as we go, we progress through small towns and cities where we see other life forms and they're like. They kind of given the vibe of like, hey, help us. And we help them along the way. And then, of course, we're trying to save this little island from the scourge. At the end of the day, you

[Greg Miller]

know, you're talking about the scourge, you're talking about saving. You're talking about, you know, evil incorporate. You know, it's creeping in and hoping there. Banderas and a while ago had Super Chat and said, I'm getting Stray vibes from this. How does it compare? Is there a similarity there in terms of, hey, where this cat and this robot paired up trying to do this stuff? And it's a world where you just want to get back to your family and get back to the sunshine and get back to being free.

[Blessing]

I think there's. Yeah, there's for sure elements of that. I think thematically there. There. There's crossover there. And even mechanically. Right. Like, you again, you being in this quiet world. I know Stray had elements of dialogue going on.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah. You had the robots. Yeah.

[Blessing]

You had the robots that would kind of talk to each other and stuff. But I think there's a similar level of being in a world that's unlike the world that we're from, you know what I mean? And kind of like seeing something completely new. I like how Keeper, I think, dives even more into that of, like, I'm. As I'm playing this game, I'm like, legitimately. I'm like, oh, there's nothing I've ever seen that's like this, and I love that. Wow.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

Just like an artist.

[Greg Miller]

So excited.

[Blessing]

Just from an artistic direction. Yeah. Like, as I'm going into new environments or as I'm doing new things, I'm just like, man, the level of creativity on display from Double Fine, I think, knows no bounds here. Like, they really. They're. I think they're really at the peak of their, at the very least, visual and aesthetic powers as they're giving you these cool sounds, these cool visuals, these, like, beautiful music. Like, you know, one of the things they said, they told us when we went to Double Fine was, like, the audio director of the game, essentially, we had to invent new, new instruments.

[Mike]

Yes. This is the first game in Double Finds history to go full Dolby Atmos on this.

[Greg Miller]

Okay.

[Mike]

Yeah. So if you are blessed to have the special headphones or the awesome sound system. Me and blessed. When we're in Double Fine, we went to the audio director studio, and it was like, hey, let me Put this on full blast. And it was wild. It was awesome. Right? And so.

[Blessing]

And I think it shows.

[Mike]

Have that. It definitely shows.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

I have a question here, and I think Mike or Paris might be the best to tackle it. Verm Decks. Well, they. They keep saying. They keep talking about Psychonauts. They keep talking about Psychonauts. Barrett's not here, otherwise he'd cool a man through the wall and do it. Verm Decks. Super chats and says. As someone who didn't vibe with Psychonauts, do you think I could enjoy this game? Thanks for all the great content. Love you all. Paris is.

[Paris Lily]

I think so. I think so. I think you can enjoy it. I think Psychonauts 2 really gets even more psychedelic in some of those levels than. Than this does. But

[Mike]

it.

[Paris Lily]

This isn't like in the same world as Psychonauts or something, right? This isn't this big, heavy platformer. There isn't boss battles that have that difficulty that you would have had in Psychonauts 2. It's more like what. What Mike had already alluded to. You know, part of this game, you're literally just on this Disney ride. And then there's other parts of it where you get into the. More of the actual emotional parts of the. The unspoken storytelling that's happening as well. So I think they're different games. Again, it's a very short experience, so it's not something that you need to invest a lot of time in. But I'm happy this game exists because. And it's just. It's art. It's just something beautiful that I'm. I'm happy that I experienced.

[Greg Miller]

I feel like this is a dumb question because it's the way you're all talking about it, I would imagine. But we haven't specifically hit on it. We're talking about sound effects and all this stuff and the Dolby yada, yada, yada. We're talking about there being no voice. I assume the soundtrack's badass.

[Blessing]

Soundtrack's great.

[Paris Lily]

Okay.

[Blessing]

Yeah. Soundtrack, I love it. Oh, really?

[Mike]

Yeah. I'm mixed. I have mixed feelings on it. There are some moments where it really hit for me. I am coming off of Baby Steps, which had very weird music that was like, environment was like built out of the environment. And Keeper definitely has those kind of vibes where there's moments where I'm like, I don't like what I'm hearing right now. And then there's moments where like, I love what I'm hearing.

[Blessing]

Yeah, I really liked it for how varied it was you know, you could tell that they really put, put a lot into trying to create sounds and create like melodies that felt super unique to this world. So much of it feels alien to me and I think that really works for what Keeper is. But yeah, it's also. But I guess to the flip side, I wouldn't listen to it outside of the context of the game. Like it very much is a curating this music for this experience that you're having, which I think works out really well.

[Greg Miller]

Michael, you bring up baby steps. I have a funny connection for you here. Toast super chat and says. I heard another reviewer say that it was very much a walking simulator. Would you agree with that?

[Mike]

The first 90 minutes are very much a walking simulator. You are on a hike as the lighthouse. You are pressing forward on the controller. It will give you a dash where you'll dash through different twigs and logs to open up a certain area. It very much feels like I am just walking, solving basic puzzles. I think Synax 2 and 3 in particular, the gameplay kind of changes up where it gets off of a walking sim and there's a little more fun to be had on a game side of thing, a gamer game type of thing. But the first 90 minutes, in my opinion, that first act is, hey, this is a adventure, a walking. Look at this beautiful painting and look at this world.

[Blessing]

I disagree. I. But I also think maybe I'm confused about what a walking simulator is because

[Greg Miller]

usually it's just used as an insult, so.

[Mike]

Oh yeah, yeah, don't use as an

[Blessing]

insult because I, I view walking simulator as a gone home or as a everybody's gone to the rapture or a game like that. Whereas for me I look at this game as a puzzle game. Throughout the entire game, the thing that you're doing consistently is solving puzzles and trying to figure out how to like get past the OP score or whatever. You know, I think if you're going to call this a walking sim, then like, is any game where you're walking a walking sim in that case, like, I don't know if I would use that to describe that.

[Greg Miller]

Paris, where do you enter the walking sim conversation?

[Paris Lily]

I, I get what Mike is saying because I do feel it's pretty linear just taking you on this straight path where you'll stop at a certain point, solve a pretty light puzzle and then you just continue walking along that path. I mean you'll, you'll have some side things like, like you already mentioned Mike, where you will assemble the statues and that's like the collectible, you know, that you're getting there. But yeah, I, I don't think you're too off on, on what you mean. But I also don't take it as a negative either. I just think this is their approach to how they're trying to tell the story in the game. And then, you know, obviously we don't want to spoil anything, but then it flips up, you know, once you get the act two and then they change it up, you're like, oh, okay, you know, and you go from there.

[Greg Miller]

Did anybody cry?

[Blessing]

No, Almost.

[Greg Miller]

Almost, Almost.

[Blessing]

No, I wish I did.

[Mike]

Not for me, but there's a couple moments where I'm like, oh. And like I felt it. You know what I mean? I'm like, yeah, yeah, go do that. And I didn't cry though.

[Greg Miller]

All right.

[Paris Lily]

I think you would, Greg. Because I think what got me is we're parents, got kids.

[Greg Miller]

I knew there'd be a dead baby lighthouse. I knew I'd see it eventually washed up on the shore. Could have been.

[Mike]

What?

[Greg Miller]

Could have been, you know.

[Blessing]

Dead baby lighthouse is an insane sentence.

[Greg Miller]

This game doesn't that saying to begin with. Gondor's condor. Mike, this, you might be the best one for this. I know it's not multiplayer, but is this something you'd want to play with others?

[Mike]

No, this isn't like a short hike that will be coming out later on, which is the, you know, 10 person. We're all on the big hike, remember and we're all like solving puzzles together. No, I don't want any other lighthouses in this. It's a me experience.

[Greg Miller]

And possibly would you want someone on the couch with you? Would you want to be streaming this? Like what about a, a person just involved that way?

[Mike]

If it was a significant other, a family member, one of my children, of course, shout out to Susie and little Mike. I would take good care of them and we'd have a really fun adventure because it is a Disney ass ride. It's a Pixar film in front of you. It's beautiful. And I would do that entertaining wise. When I played this, I did not feel the vibe of like being witty and trying to entertain while doing this. This was a vibe. I wanted the vibe. Yeah, turn off the lights, get the sound just right on your headphones or speakers and just have fun.

[Blessing]

If, if I was a teacher, this would be the kind of game, you know, like you have those days where the teacher, they're either lazy or they have a hangover, but they don't say that and they, they roll in the vcr.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, yeah.

[Blessing]

You get so excited and they're like, just watch this thing. Right? If I was a teacher, I could see it being like. I could see. I could see myself, like, letting kids experience this as a art kind of lesson. Right.

[Mike]

Of.

[Blessing]

Hey, this is a. Auditory, visual experience that you're getting right here. Like, what. How do you read what's going on in this game?

[Mike]

What kind of feelings are you feeling?

[Blessing]

What kind of feelings do you feeling? Yeah, let me sit over here and try to recover from my hangover, Mr. Lily.

[Paris Lily]

Ironically enough, Greg, just. Just thinking about it as they're saying this, I would. I would love for Ben to play this.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, yeah.

[Paris Lily]

Oh, I would love to get his reaction from the movie.

[Mike]

Can it.

[Greg Miller]

Is it scary? Like, I, you know, usually if I'm introducing an animated movie, it's. Or I shouldn't say that. If it's a bigger boy movie, a bigger boy, whatever game, I usually know what I'm getting into rather than blindly

[Mike]

going, going, how does he feel about, like, tentacles or spiders?

[Greg Miller]

No problem. No problem.

[Mike]

Yeah, you'd be all right.

[Paris Lily]

Yeah, I think you'd be all right.

[Mike]

Nothing like, no jump scares, nothing crazy. It's just. Yeah. A lot of tentacles, slimy things moving around.

[Blessing]

Okay.

[Mike]

I wish, you know, you bring up art and like, art teachers is right. It's like, yeah, when we grew up, it was like, hey, paint that banana. Right?

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Mike]

When we walked into Double Find, they had the wall of art right there. It's like, someone should have showed that to me when I was a child. Might have helped me out a little bit. I got bored painting bananas. Art was done, you know? Wow. Give me back the pen.

[Greg Miller]

Mike could have been one of the great artists of our time just painting bananas.

[Blessing]

Where are you playing in P.E.

[Mike]

oh, man, when we used to play hockey, this poor lady, Mrs. Danskin, okay, this poor old lady, she had shin marks all over her shins from people whacking her with the hockey sticks because she'd be out there blowing the whistle, kids would be chucking at it. Oh, poor lady is the best. Gotta love P.E.

[Greg Miller]

our first P.E. teacher was Sister Judy. And she had a puppet. Like, literally, like, you know, it's like that thing where Mr. Garrison in south park, like, somebody must have told him about Sister Judy.

[Blessing]

Very different upbringing.

[Mike]

We did.

[Blessing]

We did.

[Greg Miller]

Mr. Dilio was then the realty. He was. The gym did not give a shit. You know, he did not want to be a part of it. But I'm glad you're a part of this. Everybody. Both this review and of course this conversation and this crazy community we call Kinda Funny. Remember? Of course, Kinda Funny's been kicking for 10 years now, and if we got another 10 years in it, it's only because of your support. If you love what we do over here, go pick up a Kinda funny membership on patreon.com kindafunny YouTube.com kindafunny Games Apple or Spotify of course. $10 gets you all of our programming ad free and it gets you your daily dose of me alongside a side of good karma for supporting a small independent business. But right now you're not using your benefits. So here's a word from our sponsors.

[Mike]

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[Mike]

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[Blessing]

Try for yourself.

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[Paris Lily]

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[Paris Lily]

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[Blessing]

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[Paris Lily]

For a new plant to grow, the seed has to die.

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[Blessing]

Close your eyes. Exhale.

[Mike]

Feel your body relax.

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[Mike]

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[Blessing]

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[Greg Miller]

So, as the review section of our Keeper review ends up, Anything you want to express to the audience? Paris, Lily,

[Paris Lily]

I will repeat what Mike said That this game is definitely a vibe. It is something that you want to experience. I think it is just visually just one of the. Maybe unique is the wrong word, but it's just visually pleased. Such a visually pleasing game to see just some of the different biomes and realms that you'll go into while you're playing this. I think the sound, the music and it is fantastic. And to not have any dialogue in. In a game and still be able to tell a story, that could hit me emotionally. It's fantastic. Absolutely recommended. And it's only 30 bucks, so I think it's priced right. I think we need more shorter experiences with games. Not everything needs to be 20 or 30 hours. And also just. I'll say this too, as far as just Xbox as a whole, we've. We've obviously been very critical of them over the past weeks and months, but years, I'm. I'm. Yeah, I'm glad that they give studios like Ninja Theory, like Obsidian, like Compulsion games, and then obviously here with Double Fine, they give them the creative freedom to do stuff like this because we need these kind of games. And this is, again, like I said, absolutely something that I think everyone should at least play once because I really enjoyed my time.

[Mike]

Bless.

[Blessing]

Yeah. I wanted to throw out two little small things, too, that are little critiques of mine. I think the camera. Camera is a little bit of a struggle because the right analog stick is mapped to rotating your light on the lighthouse. Okay. And so you kind of have to trust the game that it knows where

[Greg Miller]

you want to look.

[Blessing]

Yeah. Which can sometimes. Sometimes I'm actually pretty impressed by it. But then other times I'm like, oh, man, it's a little bit tough, but there is that. And I also think that some of the. Yeah. Puzzles that require you to kind of command the bird to, like, be at a certain thing or get a lever or do whatever. Sometimes that can be a little bit finicky to actually, you know, show up with, like, the cue to let you know you can press that button to make that happen. Sometimes it doesn't show up. So those are a few of my other critiques. But all in all, I think this is a game that I would recommend to anybody. If you're looking for something to bring you back to that journey feeling or something to bring you back to that. I just want to experience something that makes you feel something sort of feeling. Right. A game that asks you to surrender to it a little bit. This game did that of me, and I really, really appreciated it for that to the Point where I look at this game, at least for me, and I look at the. To bring it back to Xbox, right. The Xbox first party slate of the year. And I think this is one of the shining highlights, if not maybe the shining highlight for me of the year so far. Him.

[Greg Miller]

Okay. Hell yeah. Mike.

[Mike]

Yeah, Greg. I would recommend Keeper. I would actually highly recommend Keeper. If you're looking to vibe. If you're looking for just a night on the couch with some beautiful art, a double fine ass double fine game where you and a partner can just crank up the volume and get lost in a journey in an adventure that not many games nowadays really have. Right. This is something special and we don't get much of it. And it's always nice to support when you get something special like this. And so, yeah, you can beat this in a night. You can have some fun with it. It's very basic and easy to get through. Nothing will ever, you know, make you want to pound your head against the wall. I would just say give yourself like blessing said, surrender yourself to this game and go enjoy yourself. You'll have a good time.

[Greg Miller]

Gentlemen. I can't wait. I won't lie. Like I had seen it and I was like, oh, that I. I don't know. I like double fine. Double fine for me is always hit or miss. Costume quest, of course. Let's go. Brutal legend, never my bag. And so I was like, I don't know what kind of double fine this will be. If it's good, I'll get to it eventually. This is climbing the ranks rapidly the more you talk about it. So I got to go crank this out after I'm done with redacted and then redacted after that. But then I think there's a break in there to get into and do it. Ladies, gentlemen, and MB's, guess what. The show isn't over. I'm going to leave. I would imagine a few of you will leave. But Blessing, this morning you hit me up and you said, hey, we're doing this gamescast but I think we should do the second half as a spoiler cast because you got things you need to say about this game. Yeah. So if you're like me and haven't beaten this, walk away. Bookmark this favorite it. Save it in your bookmarks. I don't know what else you do with things come market. Yeah. Just remember that this episode of the Games cast will have a spoiler cast mini one, I assume.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

For this here Keeper. And you can go play Keeper at your leisure. Whether it Takes you three hours, whether it takes you eight hours. And then come back and listen to this because apparently you're gonna have feelings. I didn't know that.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Greg Miller]

Remember, if you're gonna mute or you're leaving after this, we're doing an arc raider stream sponsored. I can't wait to see more of that too.

[Mike]

That'll be sick.

[Greg Miller]

Have a good time, everybody.

[Blessing]

I'm gonna wait for Greg to actually leave the room before he really talk about it. And so he's walking. He's walking. Oh, he's speeding up a little bit, but he's not speeding up that he's speeding up.

[Mike]

He's moving. He's a fast guy.

[Blessing]

So I wanted to talk about this with spoilers because I feel like this is one of those games where to truly review it, we kind of have to be able to talk about it unrestricted.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

Because this game does really interesting things and where it goes. And so you start off in that first act, you're the lighthouse. And then spoilers, everybody. At the end of the first act, you fall down a pit and the lighthouse dies.

[Mike]

Lighthouse breaks apart.

[Blessing]

Which is which when I. I want to know what you guys thoughts were when you got to that part, because I couldn't believe it can.

[Paris Lily]

It can. Can I go first on that, please, Paris? Oh, shit.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

What?

[Paris Lily]

I was like, are we gonna rebuild the lighthouses now? I control the bird.

[Mike]

That.

[Paris Lily]

That's literally what I thought. I was like, oh, we're going to control the bird now and we have to go reconstruct the lighthouse. But no, you're fricking boat.

[Mike]

That's exactly what I said.

[Paris Lily]

This is crazy.

[Mike]

Surely the bird will pick up the pieces. And I was like, I don't know if it's picking up the cement pieces of the lighthouse.

[Blessing]

Yeah. And so I wanted to bring this up too, because me and Mike had a very interesting back and forth right before the show where we were talking about the game. I told Mike, I was like, yeah, dude, I love the lighthouse stuff. I didn't really like the boat section that much. And then you came at me with

[Mike]

the reverse of saying, loved the boat section.

[Paris Lily]

Man.

[Mike]

I'm surprised because, yeah, for me, maybe it's me coming off of baby steps. Maybe there just wasn't enough because I really felt like I was just pressing forward and I was just moving forward with that lighthouse section where the boat gave me a little more freedom. I thought it was cute. Kind of dashing around through the algae and all the different sections where I was like, oh, like Here we go. And then all of a sudden, we become the wheel. I was like, oh, look at them. They're doing stuff now, you know, so. So, yeah, I had a little different feeling than you. Yeah.

[Blessing]

Paris, how'd you feel about the transitions between the different things?

[Paris Lily]

Yeah, I. I enjoyed it. That was such a great surprise. I'm glad we had no inkling that we all. I just thought, hey, you're gonna be the lighthouse the entire time. But instead, no. And I know we're in spoilers, but then the fact that we get the other bird as well.

[Mike]

Oh, yeah, the baby bird was cute.

[Paris Lily]

Baby bird.

[Mike]

We kind of got spoiled with that, Paris, because we went to double fine and they gave us pins, and it was a pin of twig. The bird with the baby bird. And I was like, there's a baby bird, so it's gonna be a baby bird.

[Paris Lily]

I guess I was curious with. With the nest and then the egg, I'm like, is the. Here's what I thought. I thought, we'll get to the end of the game and the egg's gonna hatch. And then I'm like, oh, no, wait, we're getting. We're getting this baby bird now. I thought that was cool. But I like the boat section. I like that part where you're. You had to go to the little islands, and there was, like, the little puzzles you had to do to get the dude so he would dock.

[Mike]

Yeah. You get the octopus. The crab man. Yeah. Oh, that.

[Blessing]

Yeah. For me, it was the thing where I. I think the. The shift from being the lighthouse and doing the more straightforward puzzles and doing, like, the time dilation stuff, all that stuff was so cool to me. And I loved how the lighthouse moves. I like how it looks. I think it's such a striking visual, and I really, really adored that. The boat stuff, I liked. I liked how the boat looked. But then for me, it was being in this open area, and it does the thing that I don't always love with puzzle games where it is. All right, now. Now go to the different areas and collect the things. And it's a little bit mazy, and it's a little bit like I'm getting turned around in a way that I'm not enjoying. And I also. I think I just didn't like controlling the boat as much. Like something about that middle section just felt a bit disjointed to me to where when you get out of that and then get into the wheel section, I was like, oh, this is fucking. This is amazing. But also, it Feels like a different game, which I like. But then also, I was like, man, I wonder. I guess it didn't all come together for me in the way that I expected as a work of art.

[Mike]

So much to follow up on because. Yeah. In the boat section, it became a little paint by numbers of. Hey, there's one tentacle to take out. Okay, now there's two. Go to left or right, however you want to do it. Guess what? Now there's three, and you're gonna go in a circle. And so it's like, all right, we're doing this a lot here, but I want to go back to the time dilation. Yeah. With the bird, that was cool. All of a sudden, I was faced with the first one of, like, all right, now the bird is an egg. Okay, well, what's that gonna do? Now the bird is a ghost, and I didn't know to send it through the gate.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Mike]

And then you finally have that moment of, like, oh, you send that through the gate. Then you turn him back on into a real bird. He cranks the handle. Oh, you want him to sit on that? Make him an egg. So he's heavy, Pushes it down.

[Blessing]

Love that stuff was awesome.

[Mike]

That was fun.

[Blessing]

Should we talk about the wheel?

[Mike]

I mean, really quick. The cotton candy was a blast.

[Blessing]

Cotton candy?

[Mike]

I wish it was a little. I guess it was short and sweet. It was perfect of, like, love jumping. Loved feeling the levitating on that. The vibe of it and the floatiness. That was awesome. I had a couple of problems. Tell me, Paris.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Paris Lily]

Oh, no, no. I didn't mean to interrupt you. I was gonna say. Now, I do have to admit, when. When you first come into that area and you realize you got to get all the way up to the top, I was like, oh, how are we gonna do this? Right. But then it's not that bad at all. But. Yeah. I love this section. I didn't mean to interrupt you.

[Mike]

No, no. Yeah. And then breaking apart the little catalysts to bring them down.

[Blessing]

Oh, yeah, bring them down. That's cool.

[Mike]

For me, I had some problems. The lever. Sometimes you kind of brought up, like, the wonkiness of the controls occasionally.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Mike]

The lever. Sometimes I would mess. I would have problems.

[Blessing]

Oh, when you had to rotate.

[Mike]

Yeah, because it's like it wants you to rotate a certain way or when you were first moving side to side and you're, like, pulling at it. But really the big one for me was whenever you would grab something and they wanted you to yank it out, and you're, like, moving it side to side. You're like, where's the yank spot here? Like, I don't know what's going on.

[Blessing]

Oh yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about.

[Mike]

It was odd.

[Paris Lily]

I saw it. I saw a tweet and obviously I don't know how true this is, but I saw a tweet that I guess someone that also reviewed it was saying they fixed that. I guess there's a day one patch that has kind of resolve some of that to make it easier.

[Mike]

That's.

[Paris Lily]

So it may not. So it may not be that bad for people that are playing it now.

[Mike]

It wasn't perfect. Yeah.

[Paris Lily]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

It reminded me of. It reminded me of playing an adventure game a little bit where. But the thing, the similar thing for me is when you're walking a certain direction and then the camera would change, but then like the game kind of doesn't know what direction you're going. Like it keeps going straight. I'm like, oh, now I gotta. It reminded me of playing Heavy Rain a little bit, but I'm like, okay, let me stop and then readjust where I'm. Where I'm going. I had that a few times and I didn't, I didn't love that. That.

[Mike]

But the wheel, let's get to the. The wheel.

[Blessing]

Wheels. Cool.

[Mike]

That was my favorite. I was like, I now I'll bring you back. Xbox game Pass. Had a great one called XO1. Okay. Very similar to like a Haste, you know, the, the sonic ass vibes of like I'm this super fast thing. I got to catch the momentum. I wanted to text you so bad. Bless. I'm like, this game has become sonic. This shit's crazy.

[Blessing]

It reminded me of playing like in like an older N64 or like late 90s, like computer game that has like, like it was just missing like, I don't know, like rock music and like, like post apocalyptic or alien vibes or some.

[Mike]

That this part and the Pegasus part we'll get to in a minute. That part. Those had some great music, some great songs I really enjoyed.

[Blessing]

Yeah. Paris, what do you think about the. The wheel part?

[Paris Lily]

Oh, I love the wheel. I thought, I thought it was great. And I think what you're already alluding to this is where I think the music really starts to kick in.

[Mike]

Yeah. The weird suck in parts where you'd find the green hole and you go through and you're like, all right, I went through the hole on the left. That brought me back to the beginning. So I'll go to this hole and then trying to connect the flowers with the power up. That was fun. Or banging into like the heartbeats and yanking them and then they would power that up.

[Blessing]

What they nailed for me is just the feeling of almost like you're playing Tony Hawk, you know what I mean? Like, they would have you in those, like, gaps in the ground where you go in and it's essentially the big bowls. Yeah. Where it feels like a half pipe. And so you would go in and then like launch yourself and then go like, like, I think it. When you're able to nail just how a thing feels to control where you, where you're not even worrying about the objective. I'm just like, let me see how high I can get real quick, you know, like that for me, that's a telltale sign of. You created something that feels good. So I really enjoyed that. Pegasus part was also fun.

[Mike]

I thought we were gonna get a little bit more out of the Pegasus. It clearly was like, this is the end. But I wanted, I guess I just wanted to. Wanted to fly a little bit more, want a little more movement with the Pegasus because it was like, like, holy, this thing's a goddamn Pegasus. This is nuts. You know what I mean? Yeah, it really, it's just one of those birds because the birds had four legs and stuff like that. But I'm gonna call it a Pegasus for fun. But that was pretty wild to become one and like get to go on that small journey with that. And then the moment where they fly off and like the lighthouse gives it the wink, like, go on without me. I was like, just fly with them forever.

[Blessing]

Cool. Is there anything else spoiler wise, we want to cover here?

[Mike]

I mean, yeah, of course the ending was pretty powerful. The ending was also like I, I described to you, but it's like no one would believe me if I walked up to him and told him what happened in this game where I was like, you're a lighthouse. Then you, you break apart, you become a boat. Then get this, the lighthouse breaks apart one more time. You're this spinning wheel of death and light and it's awesome. Then you become a Pegasus. Then you get to the top of the mountain and you help this mountain with its glaucoma and you fill in its eyeball and you become the eyeball. No one would believe me if I said that.

[Blessing]

It's one of those things where I'm like, yeah, I don't know how to describe this. I don't know how to break this down even thematically of like, what are they Saying here.

[Paris Lily]

But with all that said, Mike, if you said. And double fine made it. Yeah, I believe that.

[Blessing]

Yes, yes, exactly.

[Greg Miller]

You know.

[Mike]

Yeah. That you would definitely. You'd be like, okay, yeah, get it now. Mike is right. Yeah. I don't. I guess the fun part is like, at the end of the day, what were we supposed to feel or think about?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Right.

[Mike]

It's like we helped this beautiful little bird find its baby. We saved the island. Right. And all the inhabitants from this scourge. We became the ultimate lighthouse to protect this island forever.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Mike]

From darkness, I guess.

[Paris Lily]

I mean, this is what I took for. This is what I took from it. And this is like where I was saying before. I think with there not being any dialogue, it's kind of left up to your interpretation on how you want to view this. So this is why I was saying as far as Greg goes, like, I almost felt like I could got emotional on that. I think Greg could as well. Because as a dad, the lighthouse is the dad. Right. The bird is your significant. Other than I was a bit. But the point is, you were. You're the protector. I was like, that's my job as a dad, to protect my family. And that's what I felt like at the end. I accomplished that job. And then when I bring that back into real life and I think about my family, kids. Kids and all that, it's like, I get it. I get what you're trying to say, but maybe someone else. You playing Mike, you got a completely different thing. I don't know. But that's what I took from all of that was this was me doing my job as a dad, protecting my. My family and my home.

[Blessing]

That's really good. Yeah.

[Mike]

Let them go on their own journey while I'm here now. Right.

[Blessing]

You're working.

[Mike]

This is home. You come back and see me whenever you want. But it's your journey now.

[Blessing]

Yeah, I think that's a really good takeaway from it.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

And I think there's also a sense of community there when you're talking about, like, as you go to the place where there's the time dilation and you're like in that community figuring things out.

[Greg Miller]

Right.

[Blessing]

Or then you go to the place where you're the boat and there's like the things that you're interacting there. Like, for me, there's like, there's the dad and like, I guess, caretaker aspect of it, but there's also, I guess for me, I was viewing it as like being a caretaker for the environment as well. Like, I kind of viewed it like almost like an environmentalist frame of like you're talking about the scourge or the blight or whatever that's coming in. Right. Like, hey, we got to protect the world around us from what's going on here.

[Mike]

Right.

[Blessing]

And it's the it takes a village sort of thing. And so when you see the mother bird, like, you know, have this baby bird that's with it, it is like the thing of we got to protect this for the next generation. Which is why it is on you as the lighthouse to like really see this through and really put your all in into protecting this world around you.

[Mike]

It's crazy to feel that, like, feel about real life.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Mike]

It's like, damn, that shit's crazy, man.

[Greg Miller]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Yeah. I mean, all in all, it was a really good time for me. Right. Like I. I enjoyed the journey. I liked when they added, I guess just the more gameplay. I just didn't like pressing forward and solving the puzzles as the lighthouse. I liked the boat. I felt like I got a little more. Maybe it was just speed. Maybe it was the momentum.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Mike]

There was just something about I'm just moving forward in that that I didn't love at first. It like I said, it felt like a Disney ride where I'm just watching this lighthouse from the cart behind it and they're experiencing everything and I'm just kind of watching the beauty of it all.

[Paris Lily]

Think of it this way, Mike. When you first start off as the. The lighthouse, when you initially are like you're learning to crawl, like you're. You're stumbling around, right? Then you kind of get your footing. So almost think of it, you start crawling, then you walk.

[Mike]

Yes.

[Paris Lily]

Boat now. Now you're running. And then you get the Pegasus. You could freaking fly, baby.

[Mike]

I mean, my problem, I'm LeBron James. That's exactly right. Yeah.

[Blessing]

Tommy. Talking through it is make me appreciate it a little bit more because yeah, I think my thingplay wise, not to repeat myself but like I. Yeah, I really enjoyed the lighthouse stuff. Right. And then for me it's like that felt like it could be just its own game in a way to where like the wheel stuff was also awesome, but like totally. It just felt so different that I'm like, you know, does this take away from like everything you're doing from the lighthouse? Obviously that's fun too. And I didn't really enjoy the bull stuff as much. But I think what I'm thinking when I think through it, I guess thematically from the guise of all right as the lighthouse or as the keeper, you know what I mean? Like, you are doing everything. Kind of fulfill this responsibility that you have to the planet or to the community around you. And so through whatever it is, you fall down, you break apart. But you pull yourself together.

[Mike]

You gotta rebuild.

[Blessing]

You gotta rebuild to, like, provide for your community.

[Mike]

Right.

[Blessing]

Oh, man. Okay. That happens again. Even though I'm just the light, I'm still going to, like, pull through for

[Mike]

this day, my job, and then I'm going to be better than ever. I'm the mountain now. I'm the peak of it all.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Mike]

And I can do it even better. I like that.

[Blessing]

Yeah. Like, I think there's something there that brings it together.

[Mike]

Are you surprised they made this? I guess my ne. My final, like, final question. Just want to conversate with you guys is like, did we think they were going to. Did you think they would make this? Right? There was. Everyone yells, make banjo double fine. They're like, we make double fine ass double fine games. And it's like, I respect that. I love that. Right? And then I think of Psychonauts too. And that, to me, third per, you know, little 3D action platformer, mascot type vibe. Right. This was not that.

[Blessing]

No.

[Mike]

This felt totally different. And I was surprised that they made this. I mean, as Paris said, I love that Xbox gives them the freedom, but I didn't think this would be the game that they would make here.

[Blessing]

Paris, what do you think? Yeah.

[Paris Lily]

And. And I'm. And you. I know you guys went to studios because I'm blanking on his last name, Lee, basically, to say thank you. I think I read he came up with this idea during the pandemic. Right?

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Paris Lily]

That sense of loneliness and all that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I absolutely did not think this would be the game that Double Fine was making. But when I realized what it was, you know, after the. The showcase, I go, yeah, let's do this. Let's do something different. I. I want to see what this is. It immediately shot up my anticipated list. And honestly, it delivered. It really did. I like these kind of games. Not everything needs to be the cookie cutter standard thing. Do something different. And that's what they did.

[Blessing]

Yeah. And I do like that. You know, I don't. I never played all the way through Psychonauts 2, but this doesn't feel like a. Like this is our big, gigantic next title. Or even if. I don't even know if they would describe themselves as making gigantic titles, I guess. Psychonauts2, when I look at how long to beat that's like a 15 hour game. So to play this and have it be more of a six to eight hour, like shorter experience, you know, I think there are, I think for me this feels like the let's take a breather kind of game. And let's make something that is more I guess about the art, something that's more about the like, I guess something different, you know what I mean? Like a palate cleanser between our next big project sort of thing. And I really appreciate it for that.

[Mike]

I always find it fascinating when we go and talk with developers of like these game jams or the office coming together and having so many different ideas. Yeah. And someone going, oh I like that. Like let's do that. And then the question of like, well, is a six to eight hour, you know, lighthouse game gonna cut it in this day and age and them being like being able to say no. Like let's make that right. This can be our one off and we can keep making the large Psychonautics games are the weird game that we make.

[Blessing]

My thing is that like let's do this. These games deserve to exist.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Blessing]

You know what I mean? Like yes. 100 like capitalism. Like a game like keeper. Oh, dude needs to be able to.

[Mike]

This shouldn't exist.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Like in today's day and age when we look at EA being bought right now, Microsoft, Sony, this should not exist.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Like for $30, this. I don't know if this sells well. $30 is kind of wild game pass and under the trillion dollar umbrella and hopefully Phil is like make the cool. You want to make Tim Schaefer because it deserves to be made 1000%.

[Blessing]

I totally understand to the idea of like man, I love double finding make a banjo kazooie. But I also am of the same mind of like would I like do I want Double Fine to make a banjo or make this. I feel like if Double Fine made a banjo, it'd be a weird ass banjo kazooie game.

[Paris Lily]

It's gonna be a weird banjo.

[Blessing]

Yeah. Like I think if they locked in they could, they have the talent to where they could make a traditional banjo 3 and it would be great or whatever. But that's not who they are. I feel like that would be turning away from who they are. I want them to make the analogy

[Paris Lily]

I use on, on what you're saying Blessing is it was like remember a few years back there was all the talk about Quentin Tarantino making a, a Star Trek movie. As much as I love Tarantino movies, him making a start it's not going to be Star Trek. So it's like, well, why are we doing it in the first place? So, no, Double Fine should do what they do and this is the result that. That you get. So, yeah. Very happy for that.

[Mike]

Yeah. I would love to know the inner workings of this because it does. Like, to me, on the outside, it feels like, yeah, this can be made because you're underneath the trillion dollar umbrella. You're protected by Microsoft. You can do this, right? And it's like you look like Paris just went down.

[Blessing]

Right.

[Mike]

Talk about south of Midnight right now from Compulsion Games. Like, all these games that's like, man, they're letting them just make. Yeah.

[Blessing]

Pentiment a few years ago.

[Mike]

Right? Like, good for them. Like, it's cool that we can have. Cool.

[Blessing]

I just hope, like this. I just hope this maintains. I get so worried.

[Mike]

What is it like in 5 years, 10 years?

[Blessing]

What is it like in 2 years?

[Mike]

They change this? Yeah, yeah.

[Blessing]

Like, is there or is there like a world where Double Fine just goes independent? Because, my God, Microsoft's like, yo, you know, we gotta make more. We gotta find more money makers with our studios. Like, I have no idea where their heads are at versus, you know what Double the identity of Double Fine is? It's the same fear that I have with media molecules sometimes on the PlayStation side where I'm like, man, y' all make weird games. Y' all made dreams and dreams are special. I fucking love dreams. But is that getting the job done on, like, on paper for PlayStation? When it comes to the financials, in the same way that I look at Double Fine, I'm like, does Microsoft view this or does Microsoft. And Phil. Like, is Phil Spencer trying to shield y'?

[Paris Lily]

All?

[Blessing]

Like, do y' all have a shield that's like, no, let them cook. Because that's who they are. I hope that's the case. But you never know.

[Mike]

Making rad shit.

[Blessing]

It's all making dope shit.

[Mike]

They make dope shit. Keep making dope shit. Double Fine, we love it.

[Blessing]

Any last thoughts for a spoiler spoiler cast conversation?

[Mike]

No. I liked all the cool creatures. I loved the art style. It's just a. It's a vibe. It's a vibe game. It's hard to describe.

[Paris Lily]

I do have one. I got one. And this was in Act 1 where you go to that town and you start doing the time time stuff, you know, to, you know, fix their problem. You know, that big statue in the middle and you have to fix it.

[Blessing]

Yeah.

[Paris Lily]

But when you do it at the End. They're literally throwing you a parade as you leave out of that area. I just thought that was so cool.

[Mike]

That's good.

[Paris Lily]

I just love that.

[Mike]

Did you guys do a lot of the side stuff? I know I described it as like. Like, I did about two statues to like, hey, take the left path. And you would walk up and like, rebuild the statue with the three little heads. I did like. You do a lot of those?

[Blessing]

I did maybe four or five of those. But also, they didn't feel that standout to me. Yeah. Like, they didn't feel like I. I feel like they're just there to give you something to chase, like some kind of extra thing. But, yeah, I wasn't. I never did it purposely. I always just. I think I've just had. I've had it built into my, like, gamer brain.

[Mike]

Of.

[Blessing]

Of if I see two paths, take the other one first.

[Mike]

It's always sort of like, well, there's a couple paths. I'm like, which way am I supposed to. I have no idea. What's the main path?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Mike]

And so I'd go right and it's like, well, that was the main path. I missed out on. Whatever's the left hand side or I chose left. I'm on the side thing now. I have to backtrack and go over there. So it very much felt like I just kind of guessed and I would either be there, I wouldn't.

[Blessing]

Yeah. All right, well, Paris, thank you so much for joining us on this episode. Mike.

[Mike]

Oh, thank you for having me to see you. Thank you Bless for letting us spoil this. I. I do love of the post conversations of like, hey, take this security blanket off. Let's just get wild with it because I do need this during reviews of like, let's talk about everything. Right? Because, like, we have to talk about that wheel.

[Blessing]

We had to talk about the wheel, bro. Yeah.

[Mike]

And the Pegasus. It became a Pegasus blitz. That game was great.

[Blessing]

I love this game. I know I gave it an 8.5. This is one of those 8.5s where I'm like, but I love this 8.5 to me, you know, of course, this has been kind of funny. Gamescast. Each and every week we get together and talk about the biggest reviews, previews and topics in video games, live on YouTube, Twitch, and all podcast services around the globe. If you love what we do, support us with the kind of funny membership on Patreon or YouTube to get all of our shows ad free, watch us accord them live and get a daily exclusive show you can catch today's. KFCD on YouTube or podcast services. You can catch today's game showdown on YouTube and on the Gamescast feed. And know that until next time, it's been our pleasure to serve you.