Graveyard Keeper 2 Review Roundup

Graveyard Keeper 2 shipped September 22, 2026 and the launch reviews are in. The verdict is broadly positive — a sequel that fixes the original’s rough edges and doubles down on automation. Here is the roundup. Last verified September 24, 2026.

The Verdict So Far

• Generally positive across the first wave of launch reviews
• Reviewers describe a direct sequel that assumes GK1 familiarity but re-explains the basics
• The common thread: GK2 is GK1’s systems with the technical and UX debt paid off

What Reviewers Praise

• Prima Games: “a medieval System Shock worth mining for” — rewards trial and error, experimentation and building toward automation
• TheBigBois: a noticeably better technical base than the original — instant loading, steady frame rates, and a disciplined launch
• StopGame (30 hours played): praises the town-rebuild motivation and the madness meter
• The demo reception was strong too: 4.05 on the PlayStation Store with 68% five-star ratings, and a 26,863-player peak on Steam

The Shared Criticisms

• Steep learning curve — the game explains little and some quests are vague, which is exactly what drives players to wiki guides like this one
• Tedious manual crafting and fetch quests before zombie automation kicks in
• Combat is tower-defense style (zombie squads, barricades, archer towers) and reviewers call it “seasoning rather than a main dish”
• Occasional bugs — zombies freezing and stopping work — plus open questions about late-game performance with large underground factories
• Prima found the soundtrack and voice acting lackluster (voice can be muted or switched to mumbling, as in the original)

Steam Score, Sales & Player Count

• Steam user score: 87% positive (Very Positive) from 1,679 reviews as of September 24, 2026 — some outlets quoted 89–91% on smaller early counts
• Peak concurrent players: 50,119 on launch day (September 22) — beating the first game’s all-time peak of ~46,305, and 6th on Steam’s global top sellers
• Pre-orders exceeded $3M (~190K units) before release, on top of the demo’s 26,863-player peak
• Metacritic: 73 from 8 PC critic reviews (console scores pending); OpenCritic: 78 Top Critic Average with 69% of critics recommending

Launch Facts Referenced by Reviews

• Price: $24.99, launch discount -20% → $19.99 — see release date
• Full voice acting with an optional “mumbling” mode, a new companion skull named Larry, and a gem-based tech tree
• Demo saves carry over, so early reviewers started from their demo progress — see demo

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