Game Review: Knowledge Keeper

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC

Knowledge Keeper is a puzzle game that is developed and published by Sometimes You. It’s coming soon to all major platforms, and we're going to be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version today. Puzzle games can be very hit or miss, but this small indie release has a lot going for it. Seeing as the puzzles aren't going to solve themselves, let's dive right in and get on with the review already!

Though Knowledge Keeper definitely has something resembling a story, I don't think it's worth outlining here. Basically it involves the titular Knowledge Keepers attempting to reassemble crystals that were shattered long ago. These crystals are needed to stop an incoming evil threat, but it's never really stated what exactly that means. I choose to not mention it more beyond that because I honestly don't think that story was around when the game was created. I don't want to jump in right away with the negatives, but Knowledge Keeper has some of the strangest presentation I've ever seen in a game. There's the opening cutscene that's never referenced again, then you're immediately thrown into the game. There's no title screen, there's not even a tutorial, and there's not even any options to play around with. If you choose to go back to what the game calls the Main Menu, you find four squares representing the four sets of levels, and there's not even any music to accompany this simple screen. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that this game isn't actually complete. Oh, and don't expect a long cutscene to wrap everything up at the end either, as that lore dump at the beginning is pretty much all you'll ever get. Anyhow, while that was a rocky start to a review, it's not any better or worse than players getting into the game for the first time. If anything, I've prepared everyone for the experience ahead.

While the presentation may be lacking, I'm pleased to say that Knowledge Keeper does deliver some pretty solid gameplay. This is a puzzle game that relies on a color-switching mechanic, with your main goal being to grab the crystal at the end. Grabbing said crystal isn't always easy though, as you have to make sure a pathway exists for you to get to it, and that you're currently the correct color that matches it. Your character can either be blue or yellow, and the entire world is made up of enemies and hazards that correspond to those two colors as well. You can switch between colors by going through certain doorways, or by touching floor panels. Changing colors also alternates enemies and hazards, and some have the ability to kill you outright if they are activated. Yes death is a thing that can happen here, but you're just as likely to reset the room yourself when you inevitably box yourself in with the wrong solution. Most levels see you make a roundabout way to a switch while avoiding things like spikes that hit you if you're the wrong color, enemies that will attack as soon as you walk into them, or even bridges that collapse after a certain number of uses. Most early levels often rather simple puzzles, but things really ramp up as more mechanics are introduced. You'll eventually be able to use boxes to block enemy fire or create a path across water, use swords to actually kill enemies, or even teleport to get closer to the goal. I don't think there are any puzzles that have more than one solution to them, but you'll probably get the hang of things early on. While I complained earlier about the lack of a tutorial, I did find it rather refreshing to be thrown into a game with no warnings and be forced to use environmental clues to advance. Though I can't be sure it was done intentionally, it is a unique way to place players into a game.

It probably would take too long to explain all the available mechanics here, but I guess I'll give a few examples of puzzles I can recall. Some rooms will have a color changing floor panel with a box behind a bridge that'll collapse as soon as you step on it. Obviously this means you're meant to use the switch, and then push the box into the water to create a more permanent bridge. Also, now is as good a time as any to say that you can actually pull boxes, even though the game never explains it to you. Anyway, you'll now find that sentries of your color now block the path ahead. Stepping in front of them means they'll shoot a laser at you, so you have to find another box to block their attack. Thankfully their appearance meant that other enemies that previously blocked doors are now gone. You'll find more boxes there to push, and you can finally get past the laser-shooting guard. It turns out the guard was protecting a single-use sword, and that sword is just what you need to break through the wall to the crystal. That's just one example of a puzzle solution, and there are a total of 50 stages in all in the game. That's probably my main issue with Knowledge Keeper actually; it's rather on the short side of things. I beat the entire game in about two hours, and there were only two or three puzzles that really had me stumped. One of them actually turned out to be color-based in a different way that usual, in that you had to wait for clock hands to turn red. This particular puzzle was hard for me to complete due to me literally not being able to see the color change needed, but thankfully I was able to get past it with some help. Other than that, I have to say the game offered a decent challenge, even if it isn't a very long experience. New mechanics are introduced in a way that keeps you on your toes, but it never gets overwhelming. It's not the most difficult puzzle game out there, and the controls can be very floaty to boot, but I didn't regret a single minute I spent on the game.

Visually, Knowledge Keeper looks amazing. It has a retro pixel-based art style that I can't help but love. There's all sorts of tiny details in the levels too, and you can even do things like break pots and move chests that have no effect at all on gameplay, but are a nice touch nonetheless. Enemy and stage hazards are all well-designed too, and I even liked the very random cutscene that opens the game. Unfortunately this level of detail does not extend to the game's soundscape. As far as I can tell, there are only four tracks in the game, one for each of the four areas. They're alright as far as music goes, but they're very repetitive and not at all inspiring. The bigger problem with sound has to be the distinct lack of sound effects. There were many puzzles that sometimes seemed to have a click to them if you got them right, but it didn't always seem to trigger. There are also many things you'd think would have sound effects that just don't, like certain enemies that change your color against your will. It's not the biggest complaint in the world, but it goes back to what I was saying about the game not feeling complete. I guess all this can be expected considering how the game seems to handle presentation in general, but it was disappointing nonetheless.

Since the game is broken up into four areas, and the first one has 20 levels, you'd think the game would have a total of 80 puzzles to complete. You may have noticed that I only mentioned 50 earlier, and that's because the other three areas only have 10 levels each. While I didn't necessarily think the game was lacking in content, this made me a little upset as it almost felt like the developers were being intentionally misleading. I can't understand why else the other areas would have half the levels other than to pretend that you'd be getting almost twice the content than you actually are. Also, there is literally no reason to play this game once you've beaten it. Sure you can return to any level via that Main Menu, but I'm not sure why you'd ever want to do that. There's nothing else to see or unlock, there's no special completion bonuses you can miss, you're just done after you complete puzzle #50. The one saving grace to all of this has to be the game's price. Coming in at just $4.99, I can't really find it in me to be upset by the rather thin content, or even the parts of the game that seem unfinished. It's definitely not the best purchase in the world, but it's light enough on the wallet that you may not notice that you beat it in a handful of hours. While the game does feel unfinished at times, I'm got to admit that it never feels broken or particularly bad.

Even though I had fun here, I don't know if I can give Knowledge Keeper an open recommendation. It has some cool puzzle mechanics, and fans of the genre will likely find enjoyment here, but I find it very hard to suggest this over the dozens of better puzzle games out there. I guess grab it if you're looking for a new cheap puzzle game to play, or maybe if you find the graphics to be as endearing as I did. Just go in with the right expectations and you'll be all set.

Check Out Knowledge Keeper on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/knowledge-keeper-switch/

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Story: N/A
Gameplay: B
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: C
Value: A

Overall: B+

Pros:
+ A fun puzzle game that features several mechanics to keep things interesting.
+ The pixel aesthetic fits the simple gameplay, and everything looks great.
+ Difficulty ramps up at a perfect pace.
+ Very affordable at just $4.99

Cons:
- Even though there is a cutscene at the beginning, there is practically no story to speak of at all.
- Lack of story aside, there aren't any tutorials or even a title screen.
- Though the music isn't bad, it's rather lackluster. There are also very few sound effects to speak of.
- I can't help but wonder if this game is actually just unfinished.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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