Kenshi

Some games feel like they take forever to come out and Kenshi is one of those games. I remember the first time I heard about this game; I was very excited as I love RPG’s. However, it was one of those games that felt like it took forever to actually come out and by the time it did, many people had sadly lost interest. This is a real shame as this is a damn fine RPG and one with a setting which makes it pretty unique.

The New World

It was the setting of the game that made me really want to dive into the game. The game is set in Japan, but the Japan we are playing in is a post-apocalyptic world version of Japan. What is interesting about this is that in Kenshi, Japan has reverted back to a kind of feudal style and it looks awesome. It reminds me of old kung fu movies and stuff like that and I actually wish that the story went into a bit more detail about this history of this new version of Japan if I am being honest with you.

It Is The Personality That Counts

I would say that this is a very decent looking game. I would not go as far as to say it is one of the best-looking RPGs, I have every played however this post-apocalyptic feudal Japan is very interesting. There is a fantastic amount of variety to the land ranging from these really badass looking castles to more modest villages and swamps. I think that they did a great job of making the game look like it is taking place in an actual living world.

The only downside to the looks is the animations can be kind of stiff. They are not the worst I have seen, but some of the walking animations can be a little off. The soundtrack of the game is great and has many fitting tunes and some pretty hard-hitting sound effects as well.

Who Will You Be?

Ok, so the thing with Kenshi is that there is no one over-arching story that you are playing through. Instead, the idea is that you create your own character and then you decide how you want the game to unfold. Will you be a leader of multiple squads and just taking as much as you can like a vicious warlord? Or will you try and stand up for good and protect those that need protecting. Many people describe this game as an “open” RPG and I think that is the best way to look at it. Most of the story aspects of the game will happen organically, you take a quest for example and a story will open up. I do like this and get what they were going for, but I do wish that there was a tad more story about this actual world.

Not Your Typical RPG

The gameplay on offer here is very interesting. I am sure when you see screenshots and when you read about how it is a post-apocalyptic setting and the fact it is an RPG has you probably thinking of all kinds of magical and mystical stuff. Well, that is not the case here at all, instead, you have an RPG that is much more grounded in reality in terms of the combat. Speaking of which, you do not have as much control of the actual combat as I would have liked.

The main aspect of the game is staying alive and protecting those who have joined you. I ended up with a lot of people and I had them spread out all over. Providing shelter, getting new items, and so on s a massive part of what the gameplay is all about. This is a game that does have a rather steep learning curve and it does take a while to get into, but I feel it is more than worth it.

Pros:

• I really enjoyed the setting of the game
• You always get pulled into some kind of quest or dispute
• I loved the style of this world
• The way you can have tons of people in your party is cool
• You have a large world to spend hours and hours exploring

Cons:

• I wish there was more of a single narrative tying everything together
• The game does start very slow

Kenshi is one of the most “open” RPGs that I have played in quite some time. This is one of those games that I had kept a close eye on for a while as it felt like this was being made forever. It is one of those games that not a ton of people talk about, but those that do tend to have a lot of love for the game.

This Is Not The Japan You Think You Know!

One of the first things I have to really praise the game for is its style This is a game that is set in a post-apocalyptic world. Now granted this has been done a million times before, but what makes Kenshi so different is that this has a very feudal Japan kind of style to it and as someone who loves kung-fu movies and Japanese culture in general I thought this was cool.

In general, the game looks great and I found there to be more than enough variety to the areas I was going. You can go to these regal looking castles, swamps, villages and more so you are always experiencing something new.

The Furious Six

Any good RPG needs to have a decent party system, but this one takes things to a whole new level! The game at first allows you to create a team of six characters. You can add more and more characters to your squad and have them in all different areas of the map, you can have squads all over the place. Of course, keeping control of all these is quite daunting so I decided that just having a few was the best way for me to keep control of what I was doing. The characters are rather standard in that they have basic skills so there is no magic or stuff like that. Instead things such as combat and stealth will be the skills you are working to improve.

So Much Going On

There is a great deal going on in Kenshi. The combat happens automatically, although you can tweak a few things here and there. Much of what you are going to be doing is ensuring the survival of your character by finding shelter, getting items, food, gear, and more. There are many quests that you can go on, but there is no large overbearing story and most of the story elements I encountered were usually when I was just trying to do something else and I would end up on some kind of quest or adventure.

Pros:

• The world is huge!
• I love the post-apocalyptic feudal Japan style the game has
• Plenty of new characters to try and recruit
• You are always getting sucked into some kind of story
• I liked how there was always something to be working towards

Cons:

• This game has a very steep learning curve
• I do feel it could have used a bit more narrative.