The Keep (2014)

Overall, The Keep is fine; not the best in its league, but mechanically sound, if a tad sloppy in places. There is a great game in here, but its mediocre story and the occasional poor design decisions make it best left for true crawler enthusiasts.

The Keep aims to be a nostalgic romp through classically designed dungeon for people who grew up on Wizardry, and have a hankering for those good old days.

The Keep is an overhauled port from the era of the Nintendo DS, and is only held back by this history. The era of swiping with a stylus is over, and a few small control adaptations for the Nintendo Switch would have gone a long way in fixing things – but don’t let that deter you, The Keep is worth playing if you can look past its issues. The melee system swiping mechanic is downright annoying and totally unneeded, but the magic casting and spell building more than make up for it. It might even make you use your noggin’ from time to time as you figure out how to best set up your magic spells. The Keep sits solidly on the high end of the “OK” spectrum, and could easily be “GOOD” if only it could shake away from its dated control scheme.

Even in the strong competition of a new wave of independent dungeon crawlers, The Keep stands out. It offers classic, old-school gameplay and can easily satisfy players looking for this kind of experience.