Core Keeper (2024)

An incredibly beautiful action game with truly outstanding pixel art, strong worldbuilding, and well-designed abilities and mechanics. The base-building aspect stands out in particular. There are many possibilities to explore and refine.

I tried to create an especially attractive base and even looked up tips from streamers and various YouTube creators to see what others were building. It is remarkable what some players manage to design. I put in considerable effort, but I never reached the same level. At one point, I considered investing additional time beyond simply playing, focusing purely on aesthetics and design. In the end, I realized I just do not have the talent for that level of creativity.

That does not mean it is not achievable. For players who enjoy and excel at this kind of design, it is an exceptionally beautiful and surprisingly deep pixel-art game that provided me with enjoyment for a long time.

Core Keeper is a strong survival game that can easily chew through the hours, providing a great balance between adventure and homesteading. There's a sense that no idea was left out, whether that be a constant pet companion or minecart rail lines, and while these may not get fully fleshed out, this is a rare occasion where quantity manages to make up for depth. The pet levels up and sometimes enemies drop treats that give it a nice experience boost, and that's all it needs to do.

Minecart goes on tracks, riding it beats walking and maybe it doesn't need a complicated system of switches and sidings to get the job done. The underground world of Core Keeper stretches on for functionally forever, filled with chasms, monsters, resources beyond measure and even an underground sea. There's a huge amount of ways to play with it all and sometimes that's more than enough.

If you own this game and have fond memories of its time in Early Access, then you might want to make a "classic world" with all the current fixes and additions before 1.0 hits soon:

Early Access Worlds Will Become ‘Classic’ Worlds

As mentioned above, we know Early Access worlds hold a lot of meaning and fond memories for our community, which is why we want to keep these available to play at 1.0. To that end, Early Access worlds will be re-named ‘Classic’ worlds and you will still be able to enter them and enjoy the Early Access sandbox experience, however it should be noted that these worlds will be considered “unsupported” from 1.0 onwards. In practical terms, this means that 1.0 worlds will be the main focus of development after full launch.

For many of you, this is not your first experience with Early Access, and the opportunity to participate in and influence the development of a game offsets the risk of running into bugs or the possibility that your Early Access worlds might not be evergreen. Equally, we know the idea that your worlds will no longer be supported may come as a disappointment to some. Your continued support throughout Core Keeper’s development has been instrumental in getting the game where it is today and we hope the 1.0 version of the game and subsequent support will be just as magical to experience.