Why didn't any of you people ever tell me about Kenshi?

[zinfamous]

That's my first attempt at a proper shorty title. Did it work?

No, I didn't search. I bet there's already a shorty thread about it, somewhere, but none of you people paid attention!

Kenshi | An Open Ended, Squad Based RPG - Lo-Fi Games Dev Blog

Lo-Fi Games Dev Blog

lofigames.com

Anyway...this game is awesome. I freaking love it. Anyone else ever get addicted to this kind of mindless exploration, building, crafting, AI-griefing type of thing?

I still haven't picked up Rimworld, which has long been on my list, and I think it's the same type of game, but I really like the 3d world and atmosphere, and attitude of Kenshi...oh yeah, and it can be had for half the price, usually.

 

[aigomorla]

lmao...

i got mug'd by a bunch of bandits... turned into a slave, and had to fight my way from the bottom.
Then i built a base, beat up bandits, threw them in cages, and turned them later on into companions... yes... its comedy.
Then i built my character and turned her really ugly because as you put points in str, they bulk up in the most hideous ways.

The game is fun, its also a interesting base builder as well.

You need to pick up Rimworld.... Kenshin is fun and entertaining, while Rimworld is EPIC.

 

[zinfamous]

yes, I'm lazy and cheap, which is probably why I still don't have Rimworld, but I dunno, on top of the realities of your experience, and the fact that you can make everyone look ridiculous, and they will randomly become ridiculous in meaningful ways through the game engine...that is endearing to me about Kenshi.

I think I'm going to spend Epic time on this, then take a break from this type of game for a while...then maybe Rimworld in whatever version it is.

Kenshi looks like a legit 100+ hour experience just to get into the beginning of the end game. On a first play through, anyway.

 

[Craig234]

I did say how to get Rimworld for $25 in the Epic sale (which I did), but it's $28 for Humble monthly subscribers also.

 

[nakedfrog]

It does sound interesting. Will I remember it in 1-2 years when my backlog is thinned out? Maybe. Putting a comment in the thread because then I'll be more likely to be able to find it when I'm thinking "what was that damned game zinfamous was deriding us for a failure to notify him about, that cheeky bastard?"

 

[Stg-Flame]

Rimworld is well worth the money. It took quite a bit of time to get into because everything felt so intricate, but once you get the hang of things, you really don't have to micromanage all that much.

Also, Rimworld is on sale. It's not much but considering the developer has been pretty against sales for the vast majority of Rimworld's existence, I would definitely grab it now while you can save a little money. Also, it's well worth the full asking price, so don't feel like it's going to be some sort of bland base builder because it's far from it.

 

[aigomorla]

Rimworld also has a lot of mods to make things a lot more interesting.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I picked it up years ago and it went like this:

first play I immediately got chased by bandits, ran until I was out of water or food bandits killed me. Game ran pretty crappy so I put it away but I knew this is mytype game
Years later played again, met a dude in the desert who friended me, we found some kind of well or machine that seemed important. We killed some stuff, went to town then left town and we’re killed by bandits
Both plays sound boring but it was pretty cool stuff while playing. Risk of death is always there, game feels like everything means something.
I should load it up again and I should pick up Rim World too.

 

[JTsyo]

Looks like a hardcore version of Mount and Blade.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Looks like a hardcore version of Mount and Blade.

Sort of but less first person

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Got Kenshi in my wishlist, but it might be more because of what I hope the game will be rather than what it really is. As much as I love the concept of this new wave of "make your own story survival sims" i feel my tastes (driven largely by not only a lack of free time but also an acute sense of how much I value spending my time in different ways) have really strongly gone toward narrative driven gameplay.

I get the impression that Kenshi definitely lacks any sort of actual narrative, but whats the time investment for an average run? Are we talking about hundreds of hours of endless gameplay or is there a point where you've experienced some closure after 10/15/20 hours and you start another run?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Got Kenshi in my wishlist, but it might be more because of what I hope the game will be rather than what it really is. As much as I love the concept of this new wave of "make your own story survival sims" i feel my tastes (driven largely by not only a lack of free time but also an acute sense of how much I value spending my time in different ways) have really strongly gone toward narrative driven gameplay.

I get the impression that Kenshi definitely lacks any sort of actual narrative, but whats the time investment for an average run? Are we talking about hundreds of hours of endless gameplay or is there a point where you've experienced some closure after 10/15/20 hours and you start another run?

While I haven’t played it much it doesn’t have a story, it doesn’t have an end.

 

[aigomorla]

it doesn’t have an end.

This is basically it... it goes on forever, has no story, no point really besides trying to expand your empire.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

While I haven’t played it much it doesn’t have a story, it doesn’t have an end.

-That's a bummer. I wish one of these types of games would incorporate a "story" into a sort of longer, drawn out tutorial (a la the RTS games of old) before either opening up into an endless gameplay or as a byline/campaign to the endless gameplay.

 

[Stg-Flame]

-That's a bummer. I wish one of these types of games would incorporate a "story" into a sort of longer, drawn out tutorial (a la the RTS games of old) before either opening up into an endless gameplay or as a byline/campaign to the endless gameplay.

Rimworld has an ending to each story. You're tasked with rebuilding a starship to leave the planet you've crash-landed on, but you can choose to ignore that if you want. Once you leave the planet, the scenario ends and you can start a new one but the game really shines in that you get to choose where you crash land. The terrain type has the biggest impact on gameplay along with which story-teller you choose (which can be changed at any time), but the goal is all the same - leave the planet.

I'll likely grab Kenshi before this sale ends but I doubt I'll even play it this year. Hopefully they'll get some decent mod support like Rimworld has so spice things up or even add QoL improvements.

 

[zinfamous]

Got Kenshi in my wishlist, but it might be more because of what I hope the game will be rather than what it really is. As much as I love the concept of this new wave of "make your own story survival sims" i feel my tastes (driven largely by not only a lack of free time but also an acute sense of how much I value spending my time in different ways) have really strongly gone toward narrative driven gameplay.

I get the impression that Kenshi definitely lacks any sort of actual narrative, but whats the time investment for an average run? Are we talking about hundreds of hours of endless gameplay or is there a point where you've experienced some closure after 10/15/20 hours and you start another run?

anywhere between 10 minutes if you are quickly captured and taken off into bondage, fail your attempt to escape slavery, and are murdered and/or eaten by desert insects, or 100s of hours if you are able to make it, gather up a posse and create your empire, then wreak holy vengeance against those Holy Empire assholes.

But yeah, it seems that to successfully get to that point, there is just a lot of unavoidable grinding going on, but it is a huge world with a lot of real detail in the various stories, you just have to pick it up as you go and you probably never will get all of it on any one playthrough.
So, it is on you to stumble on to factions that you can ally with, will actually give you goals and quasi-missions. Basically, take out this empire, and do it this way. we will aid you, too. Once you do that, the world changes because we take over their capitals....which actually does mean something unlike in Skyrim, because each faction has their own tolerances, and one in particular, will utterly gank your shit if you just don't behave right near them, or carry the proper stuff, etc. The world is just there, established, and it's on you to make it what you will. So, you can definitely find those stories and follow them, or just run out and make an empire and murder everyone without learning anything. Or just trade hashish or whatever.


I do agree though...aging towards the narrative-driven games that don't represent a huge timesink that requires many hours of pain to get to any sort of success. However...I am finding that spending time in this world, in particular, to be somewhat therapeutic...or nightmarish, too. The skin-wearing robots that think they are humans. Nightmare fuel.

 

[zinfamous]

Rimworld has an ending to each story. You're tasked with rebuilding a starship to leave the planet you've crash-landed on, but you can choose to ignore that if you want. Once you leave the planet, the scenario ends and you can start a new one but the game really shines in that you get to choose where you crash land. The terrain type has the biggest impact on gameplay along with which story-teller you choose (which can be changed at any time), but the goal is all the same - leave the planet.

I'll likely grab Kenshi before this sale ends but I doubt I'll even play it this year. Hopefully they'll get some decent mod support like Rimworld has so spice things up or even add QoL improvements.

they do have quite a few mods, but probably nothing like Rimworld. Also, game is still pretty damn buggy. Apparently Kenshi 2 is in development, but I know nothing about its release schedule. It is being developed on Unreal 4 or 5, so should look, and hopefully function a lot cleaner than this one.

I'm wondering how much of this I will really play before going off to something else, thinking I should just wait for Kenshi 2...I have trouble sticking to things these days, and this is the type of game that I haven't been able to play in a long time, even though they used to grab me completely.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Enjoyed Kenshi quite a bit, did find it somewhat easy once I figured out stupendously easy methods for making money. Built a good sized base that could crank out XX quantities of masterwork whatevers, as well as a wrecking crew like 20 deep. Took down some of the 'big baddies' as well. Gobs of fun, and really cool environments.

 

[BurnItDwn]

yea Kenshi is amazing.
Also, still no rimworld, damn, pick it up already.