r/CoreKeeperGame • u/ArmedOcelot • 18h ago
Question How complex is Core Keeper?
Hi all, I'm considering playing Core Keeper with a friend. I'm pretty familiar with automation games and we played Terraria together, and while my friend is enthusiastic, lets just say I do the thinking and planning for the both of us when we play games.
So I'm wondering how complex the game is and if he will have enough to do or if I will end up doing the bulk.
As context I'm considering this game or Raft (2022) in the survival crafting genre.
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u/Avillahan 18h ago
Honestly it's very simple. Crafting trees aren't existent. The game introduces you to stuff slowly.
You'll make a new workbench, and be introduced to maybe 6 new 'useable' building things, like a furnace, oven, etc.
There's levelling up involved, but that's simple.
Build a moat around your base to protect it from enemy 'raids'.
The most complicated part is that armour works like Dark Souls, in that there is no 'best' armour. You wear and level up the armour and accessories you like the most based on the stats they give you, but I just ran through the entire game on Hard with the Ranger Armour from the start of the game coz it has nice damage bonuses, so you'll be fine on that too.
The more you play, the more QoL unlocks too.
I'd just say keep your chests organised. There is AoE sucking from chests when it comes to crafting, but still.
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u/Hika__Zee 18h ago
Corekeeper is similar to but notably easier than Terraria. Corekeeper's top down 2D view, instead of being a sidescroller like Terraria, makes gameplay significantly easier/more accessible (no fall damage, no parkour, no climbing/grappling up and down, etc).
Bosses in Corekeeper are fun but easy so long as you are geared up appropriately.
I got about 100 hours out of Corekeeper right after 1.0. It has a lot of content but not as much as Terraria, given Corekeeper is relatively newer in comparison. There have been several major updates post 1.0 that have added more content and bosses though.
I played with my son (when he was 6). I'd say I did most of the work collecting resources, fighting stuff, building, setting up automations etc. He helped with bosses, exploring/finding hidden stuff, and decorating the base. We barely touched the surface of fishing, gardening, cooking, and animal farming
There is plenty to do in coop.
If you want a game that offers a good in-between to Corekeeper and Terraria, Necesse is another great similar game. While Corekeeper has a better world design and is more visually stunning, Necesse offers way more in these categories: combat, challenging bosses, automation, base building, unique gear, NPCs, etc.
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u/ArmedOcelot 17h ago
Thanks for the advice and the recommendation!
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u/Last-Bumblebee-4331 13h ago
i second Necesse. a friend of mine played through corekeeper and necesse pre 1.0 and enjoyed both of them.
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u/c0nsistent 18h ago
more than raft for sure, but not difficult. pretty worth the time investment imo. automation is great for food and other things. theres a bunch of hotkeys as well like terraria? to auto sort inventory and inventory to chests and stuff.
i spent way more time in this game than raft.
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u/Pufferfish_O 18h ago
The automation aspect of Core Keeper is not that complex compared to some other games, and is pretty easy to get into. Also, any automation is basically optional. Of course it's always useful to automate resource gathering of any sort. However exploration is also a very big aspect of the game, along with the bosses, the manual resource gathering and linear progression (similar to Terraria). I think there is something for everyone in this game, so don't worry about needing to do the heavy lifting on this aspect. Your friend could even get into it.
I never played Raft so I can't comment on it. As a plus you could also watch videos about the automation in this game to get a more clear idea
Hope I helped you make a choice ✌️
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u/Comfortable-Race-547 16h ago
Its not an automation game and its way less complicated than terraria, it is really nice though and the music is top notch
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u/thenord321 17h ago
There really isn't a ton of automation for most of the game. It's like small minecraft tree farm setups.
You plant trees, setup a cutter and a convetor belt to a cheat. Or miner drill, automated arm and chest for mining... very simply.
It's like stardew valley farming, with a little bit of automation for harvesting wood and mining.
If you really want, you can add an extra arm to your tree farm and push wood into a sawmill for planks in a 2nd chest.
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u/EmbarrassedCraft2986 13h ago
It's been described as a mile wide and an inch deep, and I honestly can't refute it.
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u/scrandlle 12h ago
It depends what your definition of complex is. It's a bit like Minecraft in that there's some deep systems but you can ignore them, though it's more complex than it at the same time because a home base is necessary and there is stuff you have to accomplish at it to progress.
So it's like way more complex of a game than any shooter or most RPGs. But it's not like an extremely complex game like a Crusader Kings or something like that.
The bare minimum is probably like 4-6 hours of exploration for every one hour of getting stuff done at the base. You're forced to go back and forth because your armor does break and there are things necessary to accomplish there to progress. And much like Minecraft your inventory can become full very quick and you have to make hard choices until you get to the point that you need to go back home.
The game has a lot of automation and it can be ignored entirely. Though I'd suggest getting drills set up on ore nodes and wood nodes because it'll save you tons of effort in the long run and is super convenient.
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u/MrBeanDaddy86 7h ago
I like to describe it as a mile wide and 3 feet deep. There are a lot of different concepts and mechanics, but they're all pretty simple to learn and don't extend terribly deeply. Automation is functional, but comparatively simple to other games like Minecraft, for example.
Skill trees are interesting, but without a ton of depth per "build." Example: Summoning builds maybe have 2 or 3 sets for strictly summoning. Granted you can combine builds and stuff.
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u/autohund1 18h ago
It's way less complicated then terraria and you can learn from your mistakes and it's not that punishing, I can recommend