The Kindred : Game Review

The Kindred, a game developed by Persistent Studios and Nkidu Games Inc, is a voxel sandbox city builder/survival game, similar to games such as Timber and Stone, but its more focused on technology and industry. In The Kindred you help the Kin who are teleported to a new plain to escape the oppressors of their homeland and with them they bring a handful of items  to help them survive the new world. You will have them construct towns, build power networks, plant food, and herd & breed animals. Key thing to keep in mind is that the game is all about keeping the Kin alive and managing your resources.

GAMEPLAY:

There are a  few things that personally, after playing this game for a while, I found that graphically its a nice 3D block developed world with lots of vibrant colors and shades. One moment, you could be there farming away your life and get hit with the background colors that you normally see in a beautiful sunset and the sunrise is just as spectacular.

The music in the game is really soothing and relaxing. Colors, graphics and music aside the game is easy to get into. It became so easy, that it you find yourself having to do many repetitive jobs to get something done. After a few hours of collecting, farming and mining, I found myself getting bored because there was little to no change in the order of things that i had to do. I wished that something would just appear out of nowhere to interrupt me from what I was doing; something that could get me interested in the game again. Overall, the game is good for people that likes building survival type games. I had my fair share of games like Minecraft, which I played so much that it got bored. I think that this game reminds me of It without mobs to kill you.

The Kins are an extension of yourself. Anything that you would possibly want to do in the game has to be done by a Kin. When first starting out, the game can be HARD, especially if you spawn in a world with low resources. Death is a possibility if you don’t focus on gathering food and getting some crops started, but once you get the essentials out of the way you can start focusing on turning your shelter into a village.

Food and nutrition also has a big role to play in the game. All of the edible items in the world have a nutritional value. The nutritional ratings are loosely based on the real world, so eating lettuce isn’t going to increase your energy as much as meat. You can click on all of the plants and animals to find out their rating, also right clicking them get a list of options like hunting the animals for meat or harvesting seeds to plant your own crops.

Crafting:

Machinery and crafting are a big part of setting up your village for survival in The Kindred. Crafting in the game is easy and without hassle, because the recipes and all the ingredients you would need to make them are listed as represented in the menu shown below. From crafting items as simple as picks to more complex ones like power cables or batteries. All one would have to do is go mine or gather the material needed to make the item.

FINAL VERDICT:

The Kindred is still in only early access, so there may be a ton of changes being made to it in the future. The relaxing music as you build away is a good touch. What I would like to see in the future is some kind of danger in the game that would make it more exciting. A predator of some kind that will give a more urgent need for protection. I am looking forward to seeing what this game has  for us in the coming months. If this looks like your cup of tea, you should buy it. At the time if this review game is available on steam at 10% off $13.49 USD The Kindred.