Kenshi - open-ended sandbox RPG set in a desert world

[SausageInYourFace]

Okay, so we have established that this game is creative and vast and open and huge and ambitious, and done by only one dude. So this unfortunately leads inevitably to the next question: is it also horrible clunky unpolished buggy mess?

 

[Emmanuel2]

Okay, so we have established that this game is creative and vast and open and huge and ambitious, and done by only one dude. So this unfortunately leads inevitably to the next question: is it also horrible clunky unpolished buggy mess?

From the 50 hours I've played so far - the UI is not at all cumbersome, I have yet to experience bugs, load times are highly dependent on rig but it's pretty ok so far for me and never bothered me. Optimization is pretty fine too and to be honest, I was surprised at how smooth playing the game was albeit there are a few AI quirks but that's in any game with pathfinding.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

It's not a buggy mess though. Clunky a bit, wouldn't call it unpolished though.

 

[Drax]

Seems interesting.

 

[Mebrilia the Viera Queen]

Never had huge bugs in the game the only issue it haves sometimes is some wtf moment in the pathfinding but considering the scale of the game is acceptable.

 

[B0rt]

Gonna break a long stretch of lurk (Im bad at posting) to encourage anyone reading to give the game a spin. IDK what kind of shape this game was in two years ago but it sure ain't vaporware now.

If you like wRPGs then there is a lot to like here. All the fun of running from town to town in an old Ultima (maybe a bit more like Magic Candle, actually) combined with a somewhat livelier gameworld that allows you to make your own settlements and ultimately participate in world events as a nation of your own devising, should you choose to go that route. Or just travel around in a your merchant train, or as a lone swordsman hunting bounties, whatever. The various game-start-scenarios provide good challenges too, such as "you are lost in the wilderness, slavers are bearing down on you, and you've just lost an arm" or "you start as a family of four impoverished idiots that nobody likes."

The presentation is stronger than I'd expect from most indies. There's some unusual choices for the color palette, but that does give it a distinct look... honestly not sure how such a small crew could have done much better, no complaints here. I like how it all plays on a seamless world map, interiors and all. The combat gets a bit goofy but overall it's brutal and fun. The aesthetic gimmick is better than expected, too; less like an anime, feels more like one of those 70's/early 80's live action samurai films. Think samurai Spaghetti Western spiced with Mad Max/Gamma World.

For those playing: if you're looking at mods, be sure to check out Reactive World Beta -- it enables the player (and occasionally some other NPCs) to bring about more lasting change to the world's political landscape, ala Mountain Blade or a couple of the Pirates! titles. With mods you can properly unlock & research The Peeler, too. Be careful showing off those new cyberlimbs in Holy Nation territory, though, those guys can be real jerks.

 

[Saduj]

Bought this game when early access first started years ago on the off chance that it would deliver a tenth of what it was aiming for. Couldn't do much more at the time other than recruit guys, fight bandits, buy/sell swords and armor (no other weapons available) and explore the map, which was all desert. Last time I had the game running was around the time where you could build up one or two of your characters' attributes. Went a couple of years without booting up the game and when I cam back to it, my save game was unplayable and the updater wasn't working. I'm guessing that there was a major change to the updater that I missed by a year or so.

Anyway, it is amazing to hear how far the game has come. Sounds like they hit almost all their original goals and some additional ones that came up later. Gonna have to buy this one again soon.

Questions for anyone who has played recently: How well does the faction management work? From what I remember, they were advertising that you would be able to recruit allies and then assign them duties like running a store for you or guarding your property. Sounds like farming is a big part of the game now too. How many different jobs can you assign your followers? If you take decent precautions to set up a base properly, does it become self sufficient or is it under constant threat of being overrun without your intervention? Can you overrun an area and convert the survivors to your faction or do you have to recruit individuals?

 

[Mebrilia the Viera Queen]

The faction system is reactive:
Attacking members of a faction and being spotted to do so will lead the faction to be hostile to you and if you continue they will become ennemy.
In order to produce a faction change you have to be spotted committing a crime.
If you have selltements nearby faction will visit you and depending on the relation you have with them they could come to trade or birbe you,
Jobs can be assigned in manner to be automatic yes you can make settlements that can become self sufficent however is a great idea to leave a group of fighters on it in manner they can deal with eventual attacks.

 

[Zanzoken]

I played about 10 hours of Kenshi over the weekend and I am loving the hell out of it so far. Seems like there are a ton of possibilities. I started off buying a house in Squin and trying some crafting, but without stone and iron production you can't get too far.

I think I am going to reroll and just travel for a while. I want to get a feel for the different areas of the world, the factions, and the raiders / monsters that inhabit each region. Find some more (free) followers and scout out a good place to eventually build an outpost.

Unfortunately it appears I am the weakest creature in the entire world and have no idea how to improve at combat, but running like hell seems to work pretty well in most cases.

 

[Zombra]

I think I am going to reroll and just travel for a while. I want to get a feel for the different areas of the world, the factions, and the raiders / monsters that inhabit each region. Find some more (free) followers and scout out a good place to eventually build an outpost.

Why reroll? Your character can just abandon his house and start exploring, you've already built up a few skills.

 

[Life of the Party]

reminds me of The Book of the New Sun

Installed.

 

[Zanzoken]

Why reroll? Your character can just abandon his house and start exploring, you've already built up a few skills.

That's true. I was playing really conservatively though and didn't get too far. And the perfectionist in me likes a clean slate. *shrug*

 

[Emmanuel2]

Unfortunately it appears I am the weakest creature in the entire world and have no idea how to improve at combat, but running like hell seems to work pretty well in most cases.

Never be afraid to get beaten up, solo or otherwise, unless they're slavers. If you're on a solo playthrough, you could get quite far with a few "training partners" but experience with the world will be much more fun albeit slower.

Below the hub, there's a shiek outpost. They have an MKIII combat dummy which will let you train your Combat Attack up to a max of 15. This is only applicable to weapon users, martial artists need to punch things that are alive.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

have no idea how to improve at combat,

Tag along with a bunch of travellers/wandering fighter crew. When they get into a fight with bandits, join in. When you're overwhelmed in that fight, switch to block only mode, it'll keep you alive and divert the attention of your attackers towards the fellows who're actually harming them. Rinse and repeat.

 

[Swampy_Merkin]

Tried this game and bounced off it hard within the 1st 10 minutes. The fucking stories keep me wanting to come back though. This is literally the best or worst game ever made.

 

[Zanzoken]

Never be afraid to get beaten up, solo or otherwise, unless they're slavers. If you're on a solo playthrough, you could get quite far with a few "training partners" but experience with the world will be much more fun albeit slower.

Below the hub, there's a shiek outpost. They have an MKIII combat dummy which will let you train your Combat Attack up to a max of 15. This is only applicable to weapon users, martial artists need to punch things that are alive.

Cheers for the advice. Seems like Squin is definitely a good place to start. I also realized that if you fill your inventory with iron ore and carry someone on your back, you can level Strength pretty fast just by walking up and down the street. The effectiveness drops slightly with each new level but it only took about 3 or 4 days in-game to reach level 20 on both chars.

 

[ColCol]

Jesus I bought this game in 2012 in a bundle. I almost feel guilty activating it now......

 

[Zombra]

Jesus I bought this game in 2012 in a bundle. I almost feel guilty activating it now......

Don't be, it hasn't even released yet. I've put off playing it more until 1.0 at least.

 

[agentorange]

Is there any direction, end goal in this game, like a rogue-like, or is it more like an survival, crafting style game?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Is there any direction, end goal in this game, like a rogue-like, or is it more like an survival, crafting style game?

There's no story or end game. Rather than a survival game, it's closer to mount and blade.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Will be dead in six months.

 

[Life of the Party]

With my dream team of a burned-out prostitute, an insane old man, and a dishonored klingon shek shield maiden - the only people I can find who are so worthless they volunteer to join up for free

What's the writing like? I understand it's not story-driven but do those backgrounds play any kind of role in anything? Do your companions have an actual personality? Do they react to the things you do? Can you have a conversation with them?

And what would be the opposite of a burned-out prostitute and an insane old man? Can you recruit a demigod?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

You don't recruit companions, you recruit more crew. Basically you pay to hire a bloke, customise him within the confines of his race, and that's it.
Unless the game's changed much since my last base, you either hire absolute zeroes for peanuts, or engineers and somewhat skilled fighters for a not insignificant cost.

 

[Zombra]

What's the writing like? I understand it's not story-driven but do those backgrounds play any kind of role in anything? Do your companions have an actual personality? Do they react to the things you do? Can you have a conversation with them?

As others have said, it's minimal. There are no triggers where people say "Look! An old man just walked in!" and no quests to get the Klingon's honor back. They are just people with stats like everyone else and some of them have little backgrounds they tell you about when you recruit them. That's it. It's great.

 

[Zanzoken]

The game is a great example of how less can sometimes be more and "show don't tell".

For instance I walked into a bar last night looking for new recruits and witness a fight between a drifter and a gang of mercs. The drifter shot his mouth off so the mercs just decided to beat the fuck out of him, breaking his right leg and leaving him bleeding out. The town guard responds by tossing the drifter's unconscious body out in the street. End of story.

If this was an Obsidian game there would be some long boring monologue from your emo-fag companions about how life is so cruel, the poor are downtrodden, blah blah blah. And yet in Kenshi you learn in that one 30 second event that life is cheap in this world and people won't hesitate to fuck you up.

It was good timing on my part too because the drifter had a katana and I'd been looking for one for my main character.