Keep It Live is a quirky indie title from Team Monumental that turns the unusual job of stream moderation into a fast-paced arcade challenge. Released in 2022, it places players in charge of keeping a livestream from going offline by filtering out disruptive donations and unruly chatters. 

At its core, it works like a high-score simulator. Each “stream” represents a scenario with different personalities, settings, and rules. Players must react quickly to incoming text-to-speech donations or spam, banning inappropriate comments before they derail the stream. Performance is graded with a star system, encouraging mastery through quick reflexes and minimal mistakes.

How does Keep It Live play?

Gameplay is focused on speed and recognition. You monitor the flow of text and decide what to allow or ban, with the difficulty rising as chats get busier and donations become more disruptive. Some scenarios parody familiar internet cultures, while others push you to manage overlapping rulesets. The faster and cleaner your moderation, the higher your rating. The game also includes leaderboards for competitive players.

Presentation leans toward minimalism. Visuals resemble stylized interfaces of real streaming platforms, while the standout feature is the text-to-speech donation system, which adds both tension and comedy. The humor comes through in the absurdity of donations and the exaggerated way rules are enforced. Replayability is supported by community mods  allowing players to create custom “streams”. This expands the limited core content and gives the community a chance to keep the game fresh.

Despite its originality, Keep It Live does feel constrained. There are only ten official streams, which means the built-in scenarios can be exhausted in a short time. The focus on single-player, score-based play also limits its long-term appeal, since there is no campaign or progression beyond rankings. Still, its low price, make it an accessible and entertaining side project, especially for those who enjoy quirky indie experiments.

A humorous but narrow indie experiment

Keep It Live succeeds in delivering a funny, reflex-driven simulation of stream moderation. Its arcade pacing, Workshop support, and satirical presentation provide laughs and replay value, even if the scope is small. For players looking for a unique five-minute-at-a-time distraction, it delivers something memorable, though not something you’ll sink dozens of hours into.