Kynseed: my new cosy gaming hyperfixation

My new hyperfixation involves gorgeous pixel art, running a shop and repeatedly ignoring my bedtime.

I’ve been playing Kynseed for 33 hours so far, and I’m still in my first year.

You might remember that I recently wrote about five cosy games I never finished. I love plenty of games without always playing them to the end, so when something holds my attention like this, I’m buzzing. At the moment, Kynseed is the game I keep thinking about when I’m supposed to be doing anything else (especially when i’m meant to be working…)

Kynseed is a beautiful 2D open-world life-sim and RPG developed by PixelCount Studios

There is so much to do that it kind of feels endless; and in a way it is. A story-driven RPG, the idea is to build a life that carries on through generations of your family. One of the more unusual things about Kynseed is that everyone grows older. You age, children grow up, villagers age and eventually die, and you carry on playing through the next generation of your family.

There’s also a folklore character called Mr Fairweather, who sells you magical QoL items in exchange for years of your life. At the end of the year, he collects the years you owe and time skips forward, so those purchases affect how much time you have with your current character. I find that such an interesting and unusual idea, although I’m wondering how attached I’ll get to everyone before it’s time to move on!

Mr Fairweather will give you some great items… but they come with a cost.

Even your pets die (😭 - but you can get a special music box and use it to reset a pet’s age back to 1. I wish I could get one irl!)

Too much to do?

Having ADHD, I usually lose interest in a game even when I’m enjoying it. Sometimes I need a change of activity, and Kynseed has been very accommodating on that front!

I can choose something I feel like doing, then change my mind and do something else. There are so many side quests and community tasks available, but there’s no deadlines on them so you can do them whenever you like. Being able to leave things until I’m ready makes a massive difference to how I feel about the growing list of quests.

Cooking and crafting are extensive!

The crafting and cooking have helped keep me absorbed, too. They have their own mini-games which are quite complex in themselves. I’m still learning them, which gives me something to get my teeth into beyond simply gathering the things I need!

There’s a lot more depth here than I expected, and so far my brain is very happy about it.

I could spend ages just looking at it

The art is absolutely gorgeous! If you’ve been here for a little while, you’ll know that pixel art is my favourite, and I love the vibrant colours throughout every season of this game.

The developers drew heavily from books like Folklore Myths and Legends of Great Britain as well as Celtic history, traditions, and music.

Exploring is more appealing to me when I want to see what the next place looks like, and Kynseed’s artwork coupled with its huge map has been a big part of the pleasure.

Then I bought a shop

This was the point where I became slightly overwhelmed! Until then, I’d been happily finding things to do and following whatever interested me. Buying a shop left me unsure what I was actually meant to do next, and I ended up looking it up.

Thankfully, there’s a wiki!

I actually love having to learn and get my brain working a bit when I’m playing a new game, but sometimes it’s quite frustrating when I’m sat there stuck on what to do next. The shop was my first experience of that in Kynseed, but the Wiki helped no end.

A date at The Dirty Den

I also love the humour in Kynseed. It’s British-made, and some of the jokes have really made me laugh. There’s a date spot called The Dirty Den where you can romance NPCs, which had me wondering how that name translates with players elsewhere in the world.

Villagers and NPCs observe old-world rural customs, superstitions, and local festivals.

For those of us who remember the EastEnders character, it adds something to the prospect of a romantic outing 😂 These little jokes give the game so much personality; I keep wondering what I’m going to come across next.

Getting to know the neighbours

I’m really enjoying earning Reputation points, too. They give me an extra reason to make friends and complete tasks for the villagers, which in other games can be lacking.

Combat has been a bit more challenging. It’s another part of Kynseed that has more depth than I expected, and I’m still getting to grips with it! It’s a tactical, turn-and-stamina-managed system. The fights take place in separate woodland areas, so you can go there specifically when you fancy a challenge and do something else when you don’t.

Combat in Kynseed is a tactical, turn-and-stamina-managed system set in separate dark-fairy-tale woodland areas rather than the open world.

There’s also a monster speed setting in the accessibility options, which is useful if you’d like a bit more thinking time. I have it toggled to the easiest setting.

I should probably go to bed

Kynseed has managed to be both relaxing and completely absorbing! I can choose what appeals to me and change direction whenever I want to, with seemingly no consequences. Unfortunately, that also means there is always another little thing I’d quite like to do before I stop!! Last night, “just one more pig race” took me well past bedtime…

30 hours in and I’m looking forward to playing again and again. I can’t tell you how I’ll feel about everything Kynseed has to offer yet, but I can tell you that it has thoroughly got its hooks into me. This might be my second favourite game ever, after Stardew.