GK1 → GK2 Feature Diff

GK1 (available)

Graveyard Keeper (2018) shipped a deep tech tree with hundreds of nodes spread across multiple specializations. Players spend 3 colored points (red/green/blue) earned from corpses, exploration, and writing to unlock new recipes, structures, and abilities.

• Fandom
• Steam announcements

GK2 (✅ Confirmed)

GK2 has confirmed it retains a tech-tree-driven progression system. Exact node count and currency mechanics not yet publicly detailed.

• Steam store page

GK1 (available)

In GK1, players raise zombies from corpses and assign them to workstations (sawmill, stone cutter, blast furnace, etc.) to automate production. Zombie efficiency depends on body part quality slotted into the corpse.

• Fandom
• Steam announcements

GK2 (✅ Confirmed)

GK2's Steam description and trailer highlight expanded automation including zombie workers as a core production loop. Specific assignment mechanics not yet detailed publicly.

• Steam store page

GK1 (none)

Graveyard Keeper (2018) is single-player only. No official co-op mode exists.

• Fandom
• Steam GK1 page

GK2 (❓ Unknown)

Not confirmed yet.

GK1 (available)

GK1 features a three-tier quality rating (copper star / silver star / gold star) applied to most crafted items, crops, cooked food, and grave decorations. Quality affects sale price, sermon effectiveness, and body part bonuses for zombies. Improvable crops can be grown with quality fertilizers (Boost I/II, Quality I/II) to reach higher tiers. Grave decorations each contribute fixed Graveyard Rating points; higher-quality gravestones require tech unlocks (e.g. Marble Gravestone). Food quality is set at craft time and cannot be upgraded afterward.

• Fandom — Graveyard Rating
• Steam GK1 page

GK2 (❓ Unknown)

Not confirmed yet.

GK1 (available)

GK1 has a full church and sermon system. The player gains access to the church by becoming a preacher (via Bishop questline). Once per in-game week (on Pride), the player performs a sermon from the church lectern. Faith earned per sermon is determined by Church Rating (each 5 Church Rating = 1 Faith), sermon type, and quality. Faith is a required resource for studying items at the study table, crafting prayers and sermons, and raising zombies. The church can be upgraded to a Big Church and eventually a Cathedral by meeting Graveyard Rating and Church Rating thresholds. Sermon scrolls are crafted in the Alchemy Lab and range from basic prayer to specialized sermons granting buffs.

• Fandom — Church
• Steam GK1 page

GK2 (❓ Unknown)

Not confirmed yet.

GK1 (available)

GK1 features a cooking system with multiple stations: cooking table, oven, and bonfire. Recipes must be unlocked via the Cookery tech tree branch. Basic recipes (Baked mushrooms, Baked apple) unlock early; fish dishes require speaking to the Lighthouse Keeper; more advanced recipes (pies, sweet baking) unlock through further tech nodes. Cooked food grants temporary buff effects during gameplay — for example, Fish nuggets grant the 'Fast reflexes' fishing buff, and Fish soup grants 'Good fisherman'. Food is also sold to NPCs (the Merchant buys gold-quality dishes). The cooking system ties into farming (for ingredients), fishing (for fish), and trading.

• Fandom — Cooking
• Steam GK1 page

GK2 (❓ Unknown)

Not confirmed yet.

GK1 (available)

GK1 has a deep alchemy system centered in the Alchemy Lab (located in the church basement). The lab houses multiple workstations unlocked through the Anatomy and Alchemy tech tree: Alchemy Workbench Tier I (two-ingredient combinations), Tier II (three-ingredient), Hand Mixer, Alchemy Mill, Distillation Cube, Distillation Cube II, Church Workbench, Alchemy Rack, and zombie-operated Zombie Alchemy Decomposer and Zombie Alchemy Workbench. Alchemy is used to craft potions (injections applied to corpses to raise White Skull score), reagents, sermon scrolls, and books. It shares the lab space with the printing press and prayer-crafting workstations.

• Fandom — Alchemy Lab
• Steam GK1 page

GK2 (❓ Unknown)

Not confirmed yet.

GK1 (available)

GK1 includes a full farming system across three areas: the Kitchen Garden (south of the workyard, unlocked through Horadric), the Orchard, and the Vineyard. Players grow crops including carrots, cabbage, wheat, beets, hemp, pumpkins, onions, and lentils in garden beds. Improvable crops (grapes, hops, etc.) support a quality tier system upgraded via fertilizers (Peat, Boost I/II, Quality I/II). A Zombie Farm can automate crop growth once Zombie gardening is researched. A Compost Heap converts crop waste into peat and maggots. Crops feed into cooking, alchemy, and trade (improvable crops can be crated for the Trade Office).

• Fandom — Farming
• Steam GK1 page

GK2 (❓ Unknown)

Not confirmed yet.

GK1 (available)

GK1 features fishing as a dedicated minigame across five locations: Village Pond, Sea, Waterfall, Swamp, and River. The player uses one of three tiered fishing rods (Simple, Good, Excellent — purchased from the Lighthouse Keeper) and selects bait (moths, maggots, butterflies, fish-bait, lures). Casting involves holding E to browse sub-areas and releasing at the desired spot; a bite is signaled by float movement or hand rhythm, requiring a left-click to hook. Reeling requires keeping a weighted yellow bar on the fish icon. There are 16 fish species of varying tiers. Certain fish are only catchable at specific times or with specific bait/rod combinations. Fish are processed into White fish fillet, Red meat, or special materials (e.g. Electric powder from Eel) and used for cooking, alchemy, and selling.

• Fandom — Fishing
• Steam GK1 page

GK2 (❓ Unknown)

Not confirmed yet.

GK1 (available)

GK1 has combat through the Dungeon system — a series of floors populated by enemies (wolves, witches, skeletons, and other creatures). The player uses melee weapons (swords, axes) and fights turn-based-style in real-time. Combat drops mob materials used in crafting and alchemy. The Dungeon is accessed from the graveyard area and progresses floor by floor. Combat is a secondary system in GK1 compared to the management loop, but provides unique materials unavailable through other means.

• Fandom — Dungeon
• Steam GK1 page

GK2 (✅ Confirmed)

The GK2 Steam store page explicitly states: 'Lead your zombie army into battle and fortify the Town against the undead'. Combat is elevated from a side dungeon system in GK1 to a core loop in GK2, with the player commanding undead forces in battle against a zombie apocalypse threat.

• Steam store page

GK1 (available)

GK1 has a large cast of NPCs spread across the village and surrounding areas, including Visitors (Merchant, Bishop, Inquisitor, Astrologer, Ms. Charm, Snake) and Villagers (Adam, Beekeeper, Captain, Cory, Dig, Farmer, Horadric, Lighthouse Keeper, Miller, Miss Chain, Rosa, Shepherd, Tress, Vagner, and others). NPCs each appear on specific in-game days, have questlines, and serve as vendors for seeds, tools, and recipes. NPC interactions unlock systems (farming via Horadric, fishing via Lighthouse Keeper, church via Bishop). DLCs added more NPC voices and backstory (Stranger Sins) and additional characters (Game of Crone, Better Save Soul).

• Fandom — NPCs
• Steam GK1 page

GK2 (✅ Confirmed)

The GK2 Steam store page explicitly states: 'Rebuild The Town and milk its residents for maximum profits'. Town rebuilding with NPC residents is confirmed as a core mechanic, representing an expansion of GK1's village-life system into active town management.

• Steam store page

GK1 (available)

GK1 received three paid DLC expansions after launch: Stranger Sins (NPC backstory and artefact quests, adds Barman NPC), Game of Crone (adds a new questline with Cook, Lady Beatrice, Marquis Teodoro Jr., Master Alaric, Moneylender, Tanner, and Undertaker NPCs), and Better Save Soul (adds Euric and Smiler NPCs). A free Breaking Dead update also added Gunter. The DLCs significantly extended the late-game content and added new characters, items, and quests. Note: Better Save Soul DLC is not available on Nintendo Switch.

• Fandom — Better Save Soul DLC
• Steam DLC page for GK1

GK2 (❓ Unknown)

Not confirmed yet.

GK1 (available)

GK1 supports mods via Steam Workshop and third-party mod loaders (BepInEx). The Steam Workshop has community-made mods including automation helpers, quality-of-life improvements, and content additions. However, official Lazy Bear Games mod tooling is limited — most mods rely on BepInEx (a community-built mod framework for Unity games). Mod installation requires placing files into the game directory; there is no official in-game mod manager. The game does not have native Steam Workshop integration for mod publishing from within the game.

• Fandom — main wiki
• Steam discussions — Workshop support thread

GK2 (❓ Unknown)

Not confirmed yet.