The world of Keeper looms from the screen like a dream coloured by psilocybin. Here is a gnarled landmass of bubblegum blues, powder pinks and strange, luminous beasts, where evolution seems to occur at light speed. This world's considerable beauty is amplified by how it is rendered: like a 1980s fantasy movie filled with charmingly handmade practical effects. Keeper is the latest title from Double Fine, maker of trippy platformer Psychonauts 2, Kickstarter sensation Broken Age and many other idiosyncratic titles.
The game was from a new IP called Borderlands, and promised, as the cover's tagline said, to combine concepts from action/RPGs like Diablo with the post-apocalyptic setting from series like Mad Max within the wrapper of a first-person shooter. The game looked promising thanks to its tight gameplay, genre-melding concepts, and promise of millions of guns. Still, there was just one problem: Borderlands and Gearbox had a massive identity crisis to address as deadlines rapidly approached.
