Graveyard Keeper

While it can be tough to get into, Graveyard Keeper is an engrossing, if sometimes gruesome, game. Playing it, there was some part of me that knew roaming around hacking up trees and so forth was basically work, but it never really felt like it – which is especially odd since I turned my nose up at No Man’s Sky’s resource gathering. But ultimately, Graveyard Keeper is so charming, in a twisted Tim Burton, dark fantasy sort of way, that you rarely resent the busywork. It’s certainly a rare game that can make you rub your hands at the prospect of purchasing a crematorium.

Graveyard Keeper is an engaging and rewarding farming sim weighed down by pacing and performance issues. The GBA-style visuals compliment its contained open world, and influences from old-school Zelda games that shine through just as much as that of Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley.

A game trying to be deeper than its inspirations, but ends up digging a little too deep.