Game Keeper: Somebody Messed Up My Shop! Beginner Guide
You start the night in a two-floor video game store with every case on the floor: 4,290 of them, in 650 series, belonging on 96 racks. The HUD in the top-left corner counts both (it starts at 0 / 4290 cases and 0 / 650 series), and the shift only ends when both are full. Here is how to make the first hour count.
Controls you will use all night
The Steam page lists keyboard and mouse as required. These are the inputs shown in the official screenshots and described by the developers in their devlog:
| Action | Input | Where this comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Pick up the case under your crosshair | E (prompt appears on the highlighted case) | Official screenshot |
| Cycle through the cases in your hand | Mouse wheel | Devlog: cases stack on the right of the screen and you shuffle them with the scroll wheel |
| Place a case on a shelf slot | Aim at an empty slot (it highlights under the crosshair) and place | Devlog and screenshot of a highlighted rack |
| Throw a case | Available, per the devlog | Devlog |
| Abilities | Number keys 1-5 on the ability bar | Official screenshots show five ability icons above the keys 1 to 5 |
| Crouch | Added late in development to reach cases under the stairs | Devlog |
Key bindings can change at launch; check the in-game settings if any of these do not respond.
How to read a case
Hover a case and the HUD shows a line like Isolated Aliens [Stealth] - Disk 4:
- Isolated Aliens is the series (a parody of Alien: Isolation; see the parody list).
- [Stealth] is the genre, and therefore the rack. Each rack carries a neon sign with one of the 32 genre icons; the two boards by the front window are the legend. Full list: genres list.
- Disk 4 is its place inside the series. Series come in different lengths (the developers mention sets of 3, 5 and 9), and the number is printed large on the box.
The art is a parody, so do not trust your memory of the real game. Trust the bracket.
A first-hour routine that wastes less walking
- Pick one genre sign and stay near it. Sweep the floor around that rack, grab everything that matches, and fill it before you move on. Walking back and forth with one case is the slowest way to play.
- Carry full hands. Your stack is small at the start (the HUD shows 2 / 6 in one official screenshot). Never walk to a rack with a single case if more of the same genre are lying near you.
- Finish series, not single disks. A series that is missing one disk keeps that slot open until you find it. If you spot a lone Disk 9, note where its rack is before you leave it on the floor.
- Spend gems as soon as you can. The skill tree is the whole point of the progression: early movement and carrying upgrades pay back the time immediately.
- Check behind counters, under stairs and on the upper floor. The developers added crouching specifically because cases can end up under the stairs.
Things that help more than they look
- Plush collectibles. Plush toys are hidden around the shop and give boosts, including extra hand slots, according to the developers. Pick them up whenever you see one.
- Jeff. The cat on the counter is more than decoration: once unlocked in the skill tree, his slot machine (Jeff’s Gamble World) can pay out buffs, skill points or a randomly sorted shelf. See the slot machine guide.
- The radio. There is an in-game radio with five tracks you can switch between, if the default music wears thin.
- Saving. The store page lists Save Anytime; the developers built a save system so a crash or power cut does not reset your shelves.
When does the shift end?
When every case is shelved, the doors unlock and you run out of the store. The end screen tells you how long your shift took, which matters for the one speedrun achievement.
Thanks. Jeff approves, probably.