The Lightkeeper Game Review

I love indie games, especially ones that are horror based. Let’s get into this game.

In a time before cell phones...

Starting in 1925, a lightkeeper shows up to a lighthouse wanting to “drown the past”. He is greeted by the previous keepers, and thus our story begins. First off, these graphics are amazing and the sound effects are very well done.

As we get settled, a photo reveals that something terrible happened to the man in 1917 during WWI where he was blamed for an incident that took out multiple men. Walking around the lighthouse, the eerie footsteps in the game makes you realize how alone you are. As we are tending to our duties, a flock of birds alert us to something going on near the lighthouse. The birds are circling three graves, where a dead albatross lays bloody. It is known that following an albatross will lead sailors to shore. We get evidence from notes that the three graves were from former lightkeepers and that the lighthouse is not as quiet as it seems.

We attempt to go to bed, and a door creeks open where we found the notes. While we sleep, we dream of the three graves that we found earlier. They disappear in the dream as the dead albatross flies towards us before we wake up. In doing our morning duties, we find a dead bird whose blood is covering the lamps to the lighthouse. Wiping off the blood, we continue to our chores. After our chores are done, we sit to smoke when a bird attacks us.

Nope. Just nope.

Already, I have a love/hate relationship with this game. It is way too creepy to be a lighthouse simulator, and way too calm for these chore to last long. A similar or same group of birds circle a well, which is covered in blood, just like the lighthouse lamp. We draw up the bucket to find another dead albatross. After finding the dead bird, we see a shadow figure on top of the lighthouse and rush up there to find nothing but a clutch of keys. After leaving the lighthouse, we hear coughing come from behind us, very much creeping out yours truly.

We find out that the clutch of keys open a liquor cabinet, to which the man mentions that he promised he would never drink again. After waking up on the floor with a liquor bottle in hand, the man says he feels hopeless that he can’t keep his own promise. Another dead bird appears again and the man mentions he’s tired of seeing them, but soon after, sees three figures in the rainstorm outside, before they disappear in the lightning.

-1 for trying too hard to be scary.

A cheap jumpscare happens during the storm as a man yells at us. Cheap jumpscares are not necessary in horror games, nor horror movies. The game is already creepy, you already get the sense that something is wrong, no need to blow our ears out with a loud sound.

We find out that the man’s name is Arthur Lucien as he calls the naval station for help and tells them of what is going on. Arthur is dismissed as being paranoid, with the station saying they will send someone after five days. More birds circle a small hut and we (reluctantly) go to investigate. Upon entering the hut, we find more dead birds and notes that indicate that something is wrong with the island, and that the three men did not die normally. Once we exit the hut, we find multiple bodies along the beach that look deformed and almost alien. Drag marks of water and mud line the floors of the lighthouse as the lights go out with a crash of the glass.

And…The door to the lighthouse tower is suddenly locked. Whelp, it was nice knowing you, Arthur.

Notes are everywhere.

Another note is found for us to find the light, mentioning that the demons will let us go if we are without sin (we are definitely not). We are suddenly attacked by a disfigured corpse, to which we wake up and find another bottle in our hands. Arthur throws the bottle, and finds himself down an endless corridor where he is blamed for taking the lives of others. The corridor keeps going as bodies are bleeding from the ceiling. Another note claims Arthur twisted the truth of what happened. We finally find the key to the basement, and (once again, reluctantly) go in to find out what is going on.

We get a flash of what looks like a man using an axe against another man. And guess what we find to break down boards in doorways? An axe. Suddenly, a hanging body appears before Arthur, and we find notes and hear noises of a deep voice. Religious symbols are found as evidence points that the three men who died here tried everything to relieve their fears.

The truth comes out.

We are suddenly transported back to WWI in a room filled with bunkers and an air raid siren goes off outside. It is then revealed that Arthur was in charge of giving coordinates for the enemy position for airstrikes. Arthur made a mistake and called in fire for his own men, civilians, and children near a lighthouse. In not wanting to face his faults, Arthur blamed the attack on the enemy, hiding his guilt. Another cheap jumpscare of a man drinking from a bottle, and liquor bottles are all over the floor. It may be a sign that Arthur turned to drinking after his mistake.

After a supernatural encounter, we have three choices in the end – to escape the island, confront the graves, or give up at the lighthouse. I chose to escape the island. The game skips ahead to 1945 in London where it is announced that Adolf Hitler has died, that “the devil is dead”. Arthur makes his way down the street, now an old man, as the streets are abandoned. He gets flashbacks to his time at the lighthouse, and falls to the ground, dead, as the radio repeats, “The Devil is Dead”.

Conclusion

Now, as I mentioned, the graphics of this game are amazing and well polished. The story was kind of predictable, but it wasn’t bad at all. My only complaint were the jumpscares, which I think the game stood out on it’s own without them.

As of September 2025, you can get this game for $8 on Steam. Is it worth the price? I think so, maybe even more if the game were longer. Perhaps have us do our chores for a few more days before things appear to go south, rather than have things go bad almost immediately.