Indie Radar: Graveyard Keeper – “Slice of life” meets death

“The most inaccurate medieval cemetery management sim of all time.” – Steam

Title:                              Graveyard Keeper
Developer:                 Lazy Bear Games
Publisher:                  Tiny Build
Release Date:          August 15, 2018
Platforms:                  PC, Xbox One

One of the many great things about the independent scene is that it’s able to cater to a niche market. Take the classic farm simulator style game. When the likes of Harvest Moon fell out of fashion many years ago, Stardew Valley came along to sweep up all of the fans of the genre. There is something inherently pleasant about these “slice of life” simulators, and there’s so many different directions they can move in. Recettear and Moonlighter brought us the “item shop” game, a slice of life mixed with tycoon and RPG mechanics. And now Graveyard Keeper is arriving, looking to change things up once again.

Lazy Bear looked at these cute farm tycoon games and said “You know what this genre needs? Decaying corpses.” Graveyard Keeper brings exactly what you would expect from the name. Set in the standard ‘non-specific medieval times’, you play as the titular Graveyard Keeper. You receive the bodies of the fallen, to be laid to rest. You tend to the bodies, carry out autopsies, and bury the deceased. In doing so you help those who met their end find peace in whatever may lie beyond.

Well, you could, or not, your choice really.

See caring for the dead is good and all, but if you play dirty that could earn you some scratch. Tending to a graveyard ain’t cheap. You’ve got all these costs, and what does the customer care? He’s dead! Maybe you could just send them down the river. Need some cash quick? Well, the butcher needs something to sell, and you have all this meat lying around…

It’s a game that seems to be full of extras. Moral choices add an extra dimension to the tycoon genre. You can also expand your business into witch-burning festivals, also known as the medieval entertainment industry. But despite all the extras, the classic pieces are still here too. Gather stuff, craft stuff, sell stuff and go explore all that the dungeons have to offer.

Graveyard Keeper has all the limbs and bone fragments of a great slice of life tycoon game. Keep your shovel at the ready because you may well *dig* this game when it releases to PC and Xbox One on August 15th.

For more information, check out the game’s website.