Skittyskull
I'm Not A Pikachu
Towns Folk
~Skittyskull Reviews~
*Warning Spoilers are present in this review, if you want to play the game and experience everything yourself, don't read.*
*Warning Spoilers are present in this review, if you want to play the game and experience everything yourself, don't read.*
What is Graveyard Keeper?
Graveyard Keeper's title doesn't leave a lot of room for question when it comes to the games core mechanic, running a graveyard. But there are a lot more things you can do such as farm, gather materials, fish, build relationships with the townsfolk nearby by completing task, and trying to restore a portal in order to get back home to your loved one. Along the way you meet many characters such as a talking skull named Gerry and a talking Donkey who is an advocate for fair working conditions and payment (through carrots.)
What I love about Graveyard Keeper
- Difficulty - Although some may argue that the game is too difficult, I personally appreciate the fact that Graveyard Keeper is a game that makes you think. Whether it is advancing through the main story or trying to complete a side task you are required to consider what resources you have and decide on what is needed. For example: In the game you are presented with the task of upgrading your graveyard to a certain score in order to reopen the church and deliver sermons once a week that earns you faith and money. In order to upgrade your graveyard you will need to craft with stone in order to create decorations such as headstones and fences to build around your graves.
There are three different colors that represents task points needed in order to unlock a certain part of your skill tree. Red points represent actions such as building things, crafting weapons/tools, or gathering materials. Green points represent farming, crafting food, or crafting drinks. Blue is the most difficult to earn for many. Blue represents activities involving engagement with the church and faith. This can be earned by crafting gravestones or performing autopsies on bodies in the morgue.
- The characters - I don't really want to talk to much about each specific character because it would make review way longer than it should be but what I can say is that they are really fascinating. I gotta say that the characters make the game comedic in tone and all of them are pretty far from ordinary when it comes to their personalities. I think the game done an excellent job making characters that you can become invested in and memorable.
- Graphics - I think the graphics of this game a really nice and the style is simple but not too simple. It makes for a smooth look.
- Unique Concept - I honestly can't think of other games that are as unique as graveyard keeper. It borrows elements from other farming/resource gathering games such as stardew valley and harvest moon but it takes the genre and makes it into something different and refreshing. I especially love how the game is more dark and mature in nature versus how other games in the genre are typically lighthearted in nature.
- Character Customization/ gender choice: As a female player it is a bit harder for me to really feel connected with the story whenever I'm playing as a character that I can't customize to look like me. Sure it isn't a major problem and hasn't ruined the game for me but character customization would still be really nice to have.
- Farm Animals and Pets - I think it would be really nice to be able to adopt animals or buy farm animals in order to add on to your farm as livestock and each animal would provide resources that you can sell or use to perform task. I'm thinking of harvest moon and how it utilizes animals and it would be really cool to have farm animals on Graveyard keeper. Along with this it would be neat to be able to obtain more exotic pets such as reptiles or even bugs like tarantulas.
- Pet Cemetery - I don't know if they existed in olden times but I think a interesting Idea for DLC would be the addition of a pet cemetery. Also I like to think that if that was to ever happen then the zombie DLC should be updated in order to also rise animals from the dead to do certain task for you such as hunting for animals which brings me to my next point.
- Wild Animals/ Hunting - Now that I think about it, I find it odd that no wild animals are really seen in Graveyard Keeper. So perhaps if there was animals such as deer the player should be able to either hunt them for resources or tame them.
- Marriage Candidates - Perhaps this would be strange and difficult to add sense the story focuses you on trying to get back home to see your love. But if there was a way in which we could be able to choose characters to marry in the game, I think it would be a great addition.
- Tutorial that is more clear and concise - Don't get me wrong there is a tutorial present in Graveyard Keeper but I remember still having some difficulty understanding how to do certain things and having to research for a clearer understanding of how to perform certain task.
- Child Adoption - Being able to adopt an orphan or have a baby with a marriage candidate would be something neat to see in graveyard keeper. And when the child reaches a certain age they could be helpful to you by collecting certain resources for you or helping maintain your garden.
- Sinister Route/Morality System - Okay so this is by far the most far fetched out of all of them but it would be really interesting if you can actually commit sinister crimes such as murder. Sure you already break the law by stealing meat from bodies or dumping them in rivers but whenever you do that there is never any real consequence. For example, perhaps the player goes over board and dumps bodies too constantly into the river and someone notices and calls for authorities to get involved. So on certain days the river in which you dump the bodies will be guarded and if you are caught you will be killed or even arrested. I think there should also be consequences for when you have a high morality. More people go to your church or you receive bodies with more positive ratings at your morgue.
but I guess I could live with it at the end of the day.
