Graveyard Keeper 2 Launches to ‘Very Positive’ Reviews, and Its Developer Is Denying AI Art Accusations
Graveyard Keeper 2 launched on September 22 across PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2, and the cemetery management sequel is off to a strong start with players, even as its developer spent launch week fielding accusations that its promotional artwork was AI-generated. Developer Lazy Bear Games and publisher tinyBuild built the follow-up to 2018’s Graveyard Keeper as a standalone experience, so newcomers don’t need any history with the original to jump in.
A Bigger, Bloodier Cemetery Sim
The sequel keeps the original’s mix of dark humor and resource management but expands well beyond the graveyard gates. Players now split their time between the familiar Graveyard Keeper role and a new one as Grand Inquisitor, rebuilding a ruined town while fending off waves of the undead. A new combat system has players constructing barricades, organizing captured zombies into fighting squads, and retaking sections of town from hostile undead forces on set days, and the sequel adds fully voiced cutscenes, a first for the franchise after the original’s largely text-based dialogue. Automation gets an upgrade too, with underground conveyor belts and zombie laborers handling the grunt work of moving harvested resources around.
Graveyard Keeper 2 expands well past the cemetery, with a new zombie combat system and a rebuilt town to manage.
Players Called the Key Art AI-Generated, and the Studio Pushed Back
Not everything about launch week went smoothly. Some players scrutinized Graveyard Keeper 2’s promotional key art on Reddit, arguing it showed hallmarks of generative AI and a departure from the original’s hand-drawn charm. Suspicion grew after community members pointed to Lazy Bear Games co-founder and CTO Slava Cherkasov’s own social media history of posting AI-generated images, including some inspired by the Graveyard Keeper series itself.
Cherkasov, who responded to the accusations on Reddit under the username soulburner_spb, denied that AI played any role in the game’s actual artwork. “You may not believe me, but we’re not using the AI in Graveyard Keeper 2,” he wrote, adding that the studio’s roughly eight artists handle its artwork and that his own AI experimentation amounts to unrelated personal side projects.
A Strong Debut Despite the Controversy
None of it seems to have dented the sequel’s reception so far. Graveyard Keeper 2 has settled into “Very Positive” territory on Steam, with about 90 percent of its first 875 user reviews recommending the game. The original Graveyard Keeper built a loyal following after its 2018 launch, and its sequel looks positioned to expand on that, with console players now able to join in for the first time alongside the PC crowd.
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Picture Source: tinyBuild
