Adventure games are becoming a rare breed these days. Rarely will you see an adventure title be anticipated by the general consensus, but rather by a small particular group of gamers of which it appeals to. Ever since the days of Zork, this particular genre of games just keep on churning out of nowhere, opting to tell its story through pictures and puzzles, having the player fit the pieces together themselves, rather than offer the whole thing on a silver platter. This is what makes these games unique, though it may not have the exciting gameplay and graphics found in most games, these titles excel in their storytelling and setting, easily sucking you in as if you were a part of the world itself. There’s a reason why titles such as Myst, Syberia, or even The Longest Journey are heralded for their engaging stories, while other titles get left in the dust. Unfortunately, Keepsake is just a brief reminder as to why this is.
Keepsake tells the story of Lydia, who has just arrived at the Dragonvale Academy to begin her first day as a student. As she arrives, she begins to notice something is amiss, as the entire school is completely deserted along with her best friend Celeste, who was supposed to meet her, is nowhere to be found as well. Rather than shrug it off and enjoy her unexpected break, Lydia does what most other people would do and decide to explore the hallowed halls of the Academy, only to discover a wolf locked in a cabinet. This is no average wolf however, this is a talking wolf by the name of Zak that just so happens to also be a dragon, if it weren’t for the potion the now missing students made him drink earlier. Later on, Lydia then stumbles upon Celeste’s doll, a keepsake of their friendship before Celeste and her father moved to the Academy, raising questions as to her location and as to why she would leave it behind. To find the answers to all of this, Lydia and Zak must proceed through the desolate building and solve its many puzzles and mysteries, while dragging the player through horrendous voice acting and forced dialogue, coupled with slow as molasses pacing. The most part of the game is spent doing this, and only then does the story kick into full gear, near its end, unfortunately.
"Most of the actors sound as if they were reading cue cards..."
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Using the tried and true formula of adventure games, Keepsake has you walking down various corridors by clicking on hotspots strewn around the place and having you watch as Lydia casually jogs to her destination. Various static camera angles along with a few moving cameras set the scenery, which mainly consists of various backdrops that, while are pretty to look at and have some decent detail to them, are somewhat low-res. By keeping notice of the cursor used to navigate the empty school, it will change shape, indicating what can be done to a particular object, such as talking to someone, or looking and interacting with an object. Using the menu located nice and snug in the lower left corner, various options are laid before you.
Added to the American release of Keepsake is a map of the castle, which can be useful later on in the game so you can chart the quickest route to your next destination. Along with this are various inventory lists, such as previous clips you can watch again to get a refresh, or charts and maps you may have found during your trip to pull up in the middle of a puzzle for that one specific hint, but other than that it’s pretty useless as the game focuses more on puzzles rather than mixing and matching items like in some games.
For those players looking to be challenged, Keepsake offers plenty of puzzles to keep your brain at work, with a mixture of mechanical puzzles such as flipping levers and aligning gears to simple logic puzzles that involve lots of numbers. These puzzles can range from piss easy to downright confusing, but thankfully Keepsake is aware of this and has an integrated hint system for every single puzzle in the game. Using this system, you can ask for three hints, each one going more in-depth and even telling you the first move, but should you find yourself at a loss, you can admit defeat and have the game solve the puzzle for you, allowing you to move on. Between these puzzles and fetch quests are a whole lot of nothing and are instead spent watching Lydia trot around the same empty hallways echoing the same footsteps, sometimes unsure as to even where to go! Keepsake saves the day once again by integrating a built-in step-by-step walkthrough that can easily be activated in the menu. Using this system, the game neatly points you in the right direction by giving you a stern "Go Here" type message, and from there you’ll find yourself jogging all the way back across the Academy to your eventual destination.
"...Keepsake offers plenty of puzzles to keep your brain at work..."
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One of the major negative points of Keepsake is the embarrassing dialogue and voice work, and although this can be a very love or hate thing for people, I’m pretty sure most will agree this is downright bad. Most of the actors sound as if they were reading cue cards the entire time and have no emotion or feeling to what they say as if they were out of character, and the horrendously fake Italian accent doesn’t quite help either. Keepsake obviously thought ahead with this and gives you the option of skipping dialogue, but it just stops them mid-sentence and loads up the next line from their cue card, ending up with you constantly clicking it just to move the chat along. The music to the game is actually decent, albeit limited, offering tunes for whatever the current scene may be, but the only sound effects you’ll be hearing in this game are the steady steps of Lydia’s feet, and maybe something else if you’re lucky.
"The gameplay itself is par for the course..."
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So here’s the thing, with a tagline across the box that says "An Unforgettable Adventure," why does this game just come across as the complete opposite? The gameplay itself is par for the course, it even throws in a few nice additions that more adventure games should include and saves the trouble of looking up an online walkthrough, but unfortunately it’s just completely bogged down by everything else. When all is said and done, you’ll have no feeling for any character whatsoever, except maybe hatred, and you might even feel robbed by the ending. Let’s be honest, there really isn’t much of a reason to pick up Keepsake, but if you’re really itching for an adventure title, this should give you at least something to do on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
