Graveyard Keeper

 Xbox One
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8
  1. Video Chums
    Aug 22, 2018
    40
    Some gamers may appreciate Graveyard Keeper's grindfest of a campaign but those who are looking for something more immediately gratifying will likely become frustrated beyond repair with its convoluted systems and tedious tasks.

Awards & Rankings

70
#70 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2018

User Reviews

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User Score
5.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 21
  3. Negative: 9 out of 21
  1. Xbox_Alive
    Aug 19, 2018
    8
    The game does take quite a bit of getting used to and at times it can be a little overwhelming with how much you have to do. There is a littleThe game does take quite a bit of getting used to and at times it can be a little overwhelming with how much you have to do. There is a little too much grinding included in the game and this can make things become a little tedious.Does Graveyard Keeper do enough to get a recommendation from me: Have you ever wanted to build and manage your very own graveyard? Well now you can with the very fun and in some ways unique Graveyard Keeper. This game is a management sim at heart, but it also features some unique mechanics which have been done really well and are charming to say the least. In terms of content you’ll easily be able to sink tons of hours into it, in fact there’s that much content that at times you can be a little overwhelmed. The content also features quite a bit of grinding as well so things will become tedious a little bit, but thankfully when you get past the grinding what you get is a game that’s full of life and variety. This variety then makes recommending Graveyard Keeper quite easy and if you have any interest in game’s of this ilk then you will thoroughly enjoy your time with this game.… Full Review »
  2. metacarp
    Oct 4, 2018
    3
    On the face of it this is the sort of game I really love. Casual crafting and building, and improving your workspaces with no outsideOn the face of it this is the sort of game I really love. Casual crafting and building, and improving your workspaces with no outside pressures or time limits.

    So to begin with, it's clear this game borrows heavily from Stardew Valley (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). Unfortunately, even the features it shamelessly copies from Stardew Valley have then been made so cumbersome and annoying to use.

    Crafting and Farming is stupidly laborious and involves way too many button interactions simply to plant a seed. This is a basic UI issue, not a character skill issue, so there are no unlocks or improvements which make this easier later in the game.

    The game mostly consists of intense grinding and micromanagement of inventory/chests, with very little pay-off or reward other than unlocking the next task (which is more mindless grinding).

    You can build structures and crafting stations, but never where you actually want. You are given a small set of possible locations, and even then the list of structures in a given area are restricted, for some utterly bizarre reason.

    The whole graveyard aspect seems like a casual after-thought, and isn't a particularly fun or significant part of the game. The whole church sermon angle was a great opportunity to introduce humour into the game.. these could have been funny or interesting or at least dynamic, but instead they are just the same identical cut scene each time, with the same brief dialog.

    If that wasn't enough, the game is riddled with performance problems.
    It lags every 60 seconds or so (briefly at first, but then lags longer the more you play), even while just walking around on the map

    Even the graveyard build mode (supposedly the main focus of the game) lags to about 5fps on an Xbox One, as you try to position a new structure. Its a 2D tile based game on a next gen console. What can it possibly be doing to cause such horrible lag?!

    I think ultimately it comes down to the fact that the devs have just added new features and tested them in isolation, but have clearly never sat down and play tested the game as a player would.

    They also seem unable or unwilling to fix the painfully obvious lag issues, which is a real shame.
    This game has a basic concept which could be fun if it was developed more, but its been released way too prematurely    … Full Review »
  3. nevinator23
    Jan 22, 2019
    4
    I had fun at first and I really liked the aesthetic and idea of this game, but after pouring 15 hours into this game it felt like II had fun at first and I really liked the aesthetic and idea of this game, but after pouring 15 hours into this game it felt like I accomplished nothing. Every character you meet, every station you build, all progression you have is trivialized by making the next steps exponentially more complicated.

    I've met ~20 NPCs and the majority of them have some quest for you to complete. Once you complete a quest you are rewarded with their gratitude (which is almost worthless) and unlock 3 more quests that are more difficult to accomplish than the last one. This mechanic of ever branching tasks is implemented into every part of the game. I was hoping the further I upgraded my technologies the better my efficiency would get, but it only made grinding for resources that much harder.

    Another progress hindering issue is resource management. It's a never ending juggle of what you can carry vs what you have to store in the multiple storage bins scattered throughout your land. You can never carry enough and there isn't a way to increase your carry storage, so a lot of your time is be spent just walking back and forth storing and retrieving items from said storage bins.

    TL;DR - This game is more complicated than managing your real life and is based on grinding just for the sake of more grinding.    … Full Review »
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