Graveyard Keeper | VGC Score 79

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 299 sampled Steam reviews (230 positive / 69 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

Story & writing21% mention it
Grind & repetition17% mention it
Controls & UI6% mention it
Progression & loot6% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

Grind & repetition48% mention it
Story & writing28% mention it
Progression & loot13% mention it

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

51%

47 reviews

5-15h

61%

49 reviews

15-40h

76%

58 reviews

40-100h

89%

98 reviews

100h+

96%

47 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

Component	Positive	Quality (0-100)	Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)	–	65	16
Creator reviews (1 tracked)	–	97	0
All-time Steam reviews	85%	79	1000
Metacritic user ratings	–	74	28
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)	87%	80	105
Calibration prior (typical game)	–	72	50

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 272 total reviews in window · weighted 142.6 up / 21.8 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (45)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

65
Pure Nintendo
trust 80Aug 8, 2019
“Graveyard Keeper's limitations and shortcomings come real close to outweighing the fun that can be had from playing a new game. When I got the game and read the premise, it sounded quirky and fun. As I played, it seemed more awkward and vexing.”
read full review ↗
60
Nintendo Life
trust 76Jul 4, 2019
“There's no doubt that Graveyard Keeper is a fun game every now and again; there are bright nuggets of gold sporadically hidden within it. It's the video game equivalent of Now, That's What I Call Music: you get it for a few good hits and deal with the fluff in-between. However, if you're looking for a strong competitor to Stardew Valley or Rune Factory, this doesn't quite hit the mark.”
read full review ↗
70
GRYOnline.pl
trust 75Sep 25, 2018
“The overall quality of Graveyard Keeper is satisfactory. Of the 50 hours of gameplay, 40 were really cool; all this morbid fun was really interesting, even if the game could use some polish and a better balance.”
read full review ↗
70
Nindie Spotlight
trust 70Jun 27, 2019
“Ever since the release and massive success of Stardew Valley I’ve been waiting to see what games it would inspire...”
read full review ↗
60
PC Invasion
trust 69Aug 17, 2018
“Graveyard Keeper is an undeniably unique game. It just stretches itself too thin. Even the titular role, the actual keeping of a graveyard, often feels secondary to the constant pursuit of new upgrades. Its central, twisted conceit goes a long way to making the grindy experience tolerable, though. Even at its worst, Graveyard Keeper sure to find an audience, as its macabre atmosphere and off-color activities aren’t things you see in games too often.”
read full review ↗
70
NintendoWorldReport
trust 69Jun 28, 2019
“It's systems are robust and plentiful, but frankly many are downright confusing. The developers decided to do the player no favors, leaving much of the complexities a mystery without searching online. That is enough to scare some away, but if it isn't a dealbreaker, there's more than enough here to keep you busy for hours on end.”
read full review ↗
65
Gamerheadquarters
trust 67Aug 27, 2018
“Graveyard Keeper has a high quality to it with a ton to do, the starting segment is however quite boring to work through.”
read full review ↗
20
FingerGuns
trust 66Jul 3, 2019
“Despite their being a morbidly entertaining personality to this game which shows all the hallmarks and potential of a well designed treat, it's too broken to play in its current state. I've enjoyed what I have been able to play of Graveyard Keeper but until it's patched, this game is a tough one to recommend to anyone who isn't a PS4 error screen enthusiast.”
read full review ↗
75
Eurogamer
trust 66Aug 22, 2018
“Arcane busywork leaves little room for genuine pleasure in this fascinating and frustrating genre oddity.”
read full review ↗
50
SECTOR.sk
trust 66Oct 11, 2018
“Unusual graveyard with so many possibilities, but so complicated system and boring gameplay... Monotonous too soon.”
read full review ↗
70
GameGrin
trust 65Sep 14, 2018
“A solid and fun little farming type sim, but one that has a few issues. Although it’s a bit rough around the edges, it’s still worth a look.”
read full review ↗
60
FNintendo
trust 65Jul 12, 2019
“Graveyard Keeper is a cemetery management simulation game and naturally, this is enough for it to stand out on its own. Adding to that a very interesting visual environment and a complex gameplay and a segment of the market will find reasons to be happy about. Those who are not fans of management simulations, as well as those looking for simpler experiences, won't appreciate it in the same way, as Graveyard Keeper can get too cumbersome, long and repetitive and could improve some aspects about its controls.”
read full review ↗

…and 33 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

Version 1.405
Apr 18, 2022
Version 1.404
Nov 18, 2021
Version 1.403
Nov 10, 2021
Version 1.402
Oct 29, 2021
Version 1.401
Oct 28, 2021
Version 1.4
Oct 27, 2021
Version 1.310
Nov 24, 2020
Version 1.309
Nov 18, 2020
Version 1.308
Nov 16, 2020
Version 1.307
Nov 12, 2020
Version 1.306
Nov 11, 2020
Version 1.305
Nov 5, 2020
Version 1.304
Nov 2, 2020
Version 1.303
Oct 29, 2020
Version 1.302
Oct 28, 2020
Version 1.301
Oct 28, 2020
Version 1.3
Oct 27, 2020
Version 1.206
Dec 3, 2019
Version 1.205
Nov 6, 2019
Version 1.204
Nov 5, 2019
Version 1.203
Nov 1, 2019
Version 1.202
Oct 31, 2019
Version 1.201
Oct 29, 2019
Version 1.200
Oct 28, 2019
Version 1.124 -- Donkey stuck fix
May 29, 2019
Version 1.123 -- Some rebalancing
May 8, 2019
Graveyard Keeper is just $14.99 during Midweek Madness
Jan 15, 2019
Ver. 1.122
Dec 12, 2018
Ver. 1.121
Dec 6, 2018
Ver. 1.120 - Alchemy rework and more
Dec 5, 2018significant · resets scoring window
Ver. 1.115
Nov 29, 2018
Ver. 1.113 / 1.114
Nov 28, 2018
Ver. 1.112
Nov 27, 2018
Ver. 1.111
Nov 26, 2018
Ver. 1.110
Nov 17, 2018
Ver. 1.109
Nov 13, 2018
Ver. 1.108
Nov 9, 2018
Ver. 1.107
Nov 7, 2018
Ver. 1.106
Nov 6, 2018
Ver. 1.105
Nov 1, 2018

…and 20 earlier patch announcements.