REVIEW – There’s a twist this time. Yes, there are ghosts, but the question isn’t whether we have to survive them. This reversal is precisely what makes the game stand out: Victorian civilians must be terrified, ghost hunters outwitted, and ordinary buildings transformed into supernatural death traps. It soon becomes clear that this time, we are the ones controlling the ghosts!

That is what brings an interesting twist to the concept. This time, humans are the ones threatening us, so protecting them is certainly not our concern.

Beyond the Mirage of Early Access

Ghost Keeper reached version 1.0 a week ago, after Quest Craft’s game had spent six months in Early Access. As the story progresses, we do not merely control a single monster, but gain access to an expanding selection of them. Each has unique abilities capable of affecting rooms, terrifying victims, or even eliminating them.

The entire concept may remind players of 2003’s Ghost Master – which was once included as a cover disc with one of the PC gaming magazines where our editor-in-chief also worked – and Ghost Keeper makes no attempt to deny that inspiration. It has, however, modernised it. The active pause feature, cleaner controls, and well-developed environments all make it easier to carefully plan each scare. The fact that everything does not unfold in uninterrupted real time is particularly welcome, because we are not forced to play in a panic and can instead carefully consider where to position the team.

The different actions can be chained into combinations, making the micromanagement surprisingly effective. The game is not about being frightened; it is about making US frightening. This is how we fight the Brotherhood, an organisation sworn to protect humanity from supernatural dangers. It is responsible for the trained ghost hunters, and rather than simply overwhelming us through superior numbers, its members force us to continually adapt our plans.

This time, we do not leave a trail of corpses behind us, but terrified witnesses capable of spreading panic throughout an entire building. Another strong aspect of Ghost Keeper is that it wastes little time before introducing its central concept, which is heavily influenced by the environment. The layout of rooms, corridors, lighting, and furniture all affect how the scares unfold.

These details are not merely decorative, as they can be turned to our advantage. Positioning consequently becomes another layer of a strategic system that was never entirely simplistic to begin with. That is a positive, because it prevents the game from becoming boring after only a few minutes and requires us to properly learn its rules.

The interface may also take some getting used to, since it occasionally resembles a mobile application, particularly in the upper-left corner. At least it remains easy to understand. That matters too, and it is certainly preferable to navigating five million menu options and becoming hopelessly lost between them.

Not Exactly a Cheap Scare, but Cheap

The game’s standard price is €13, but until July 30, it can be purchased on Steam with a 40% discount for €7.80. It does not offer hundreds of hours of strategy, instead presenting a smaller story, considerably more experimentation, and ultimately an enjoyable experience. It is already refreshing to discover a game where we do not have to save the village, but must instead evacuate it with our supernatural armada.

Version 1.0 offers nine playable ghosts and eight locations, so it cannot really be described as a sandbox. This is not RimWorld. It is not Dungeon Keeper either. Even so, the game feels somewhat short on content.

It does not overwhelm us and provides enough context behind its scares, but there are no dramatic twists or characters that we are likely to remember many years from now. Even the character who gives the game its name feels more like a personality than a fully developed figure.

Audience reception has also been somewhat divided. The game has so far received 58 Steam reviews, 81% of which are positive, but only 14 reviews have been submitted since release, with the positive rating falling to just 57%. That is not necessarily a coincidence.

As mentioned previously, the game feels incomplete because we are not entirely convinced it has truly been finished. We did not encounter any significant problems, but other players have reported mission bugs and issues with the interface. Perhaps we were simply fortunate.

Whispering with Ghosts

Ghost Keeper does not reach the level of Ghost Master. That needs to be stated clearly. It cannot receive an outstanding rating for that reason, but players who enjoy dark humour, environmental puzzles, and tactical strategy may still find it worth trying.

There is no particularly deep base-building system, progression remains superficial, and the game still lacks content. Should the developers continue expanding it over the longer term, it may remain installed on our PCs. Otherwise, it will probably receive one complete playthrough, followed by an uninstall, and we may never return to it – which perhaps says everything that needs to be said.

-V-

Developer: Quest Craft
Publisher: Gaming Factory
Genre: Isometric Scare Simulator
Release Date: July 16, 2026