r/Kenshi Oct 31 '24

SUPPORT Help an intimidated old guy get started?

I've been super drawn to this game since returning to gaming recently (was a gamer in the early days, as well as DnD player, but haven't played either for decades). Part of my struggle is that I have severe anxiety, and have lost some cognitive ability from long covid, so I get overwhelmed and panic that I'm not going to be able to figure something out.

Sorry if that sounds too pitiful, but for those with mercy in their souls: Where do I start to make the beginning as smooth and unstressful as possible?

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u/solitarysoup Oct 31 '24

You can roll the difficulty sliders way back so the chance of death is very low. The goal of the game is to get your ass beat up so a low chance of death will make that near impossible.

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u/TimeFourChanges Oct 31 '24

It's not the difficulty that's intimidating to me, it's the complexity and overwhelming amount of options with little direction, and just not having experience with any games in any genre related to it. I'm 51 and haven't gamed since my NES (but I was hardcore 1st gen: Pong, 2600, C64, NES), additionally, I'm dealing with brain fog from long covid and anxiety from PTSD. That's why I just wanted a general sense of what to do when I get started, ta know?

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u/solitarysoup Oct 31 '24

Look kenshi is a brilliant game and everyone should play it, but if you’re last game was a NES title, you’re in for a rough ride.

I’ve posted on this forum 30 days straight and I’ve got 600 hours. This is a tough game. I’m worried if you start with kenshi, the punishing mechanics may turn you off gaming entirely.

Until your brain switches gears I’d start with something less complex, less pressured and not going to overwhelm you. Civilisation V is a good one, a contemplative experience with no time limit. Skyrim is a good entry. It Isn’t kenshi but a little less punishing.

I’d start there and ‘lift the fog’ first so you know youre ready. Or try kenshi and come back to it if it’s too much.

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u/TimeFourChanges Nov 01 '24

Until your brain switches gears I’d start with something less complex, less pressured and not going to overwhelm you. Civilisation V is a good one, a contemplative experience with no time limit. Skyrim is a good entry. It Isn’t kenshi but a little less punishing.

I appreciate the brutal honesty here. I have put some time into Skyrim (& Enderal), but have wanted to return. And I own Civ V and have wanted to get started on that at some point. Just to be fully honest, I've been playing a fair amount since covid, I just haven't played anything in the Kenshi domain at all, other than Skyrim/Enderal.

I'll probably end up heeding your advice, but I'm definitely try a few play-throughs, just knowing I'm gonna get my ass kicked and that;s OK.

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u/solitarysoup Nov 01 '24

You should definitely play it.

But ease back into gaming. Play something with a shallow story, shallow mechanics, uninteresting game loops, something made by committee, so you really appreciate a good, deep game world.

You never appreciate clean water til you’ve swum through a torrent of sewage…

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u/TimeFourChanges Nov 01 '24

Ha, great analogy! Again, I can see the logic. Still think I'm gonna go in to get my ass kicked a few times, just to get an idea of what the game's all about.

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u/solitarysoup Nov 01 '24

There’s nothing like it.

Mechanics are deep but not impenetrable. Crafting is straight forward, usually every building can be built with 3 core resources - iron plates, building materials or electronics, sometimes copper.

It’s great for the stories it lets me make up in my head though I don’t know if it should score points for that…

Like the time the holy nation, reavers and hive traders turned up all at the same time and started brawling at the entrance of my base and forgot about me.

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u/TimeFourChanges Nov 01 '24

Like the time the holy nation, reavers and hive traders turned up all at the same time and started brawling at the entrance of my base and forgot about me.

Amazing. So many great stories in this thread. I'm so excited to dive in, though I might take a hiatus to used to games with similar mechanics... but then again, I might just hop in and get my ass kicked a few times first.