A new game called Honcho, from a tiny independent British developer, is on its way to immerse players in the world of commercial kei trucks.
MinskWorks, from Bristol in the UK, is probably best-known for its 2018 title Jalopy, which centered on a drive around the former Eastern Bloc of Europe in the 1990s in a junker that the player had to maintain during the journey. The car was a fictional “Laika 601” based on the old Trabant, and keeping it running was a core feature of the game — with a story revolving around family separation due to the Berlin Wall.
Honcho, currently in development and available to wishlist on Steam, has a similar vibe but this time it’s set in Japan in the 1980s and the vehicle of choice is a dinky kei truck.
We do love a bit of kei truck action at GTPlanet, as do a lot of our members. Indeed we recently covered how one of our members acquired a Daihatsu Midget II and imported it to the USA. It wasn’t exactly hassle-free, so Honcho gives you the chance to muck about in one in the virtual world.
With the game still in development it’s not totally clear how many different trucks will be available, but we have only seen one so far: the Daizo T360, which seems pretty obviously based on the Honda T360 — even sharing the AK250E engine code. There’s a good chance that, like Jalopy, that’ll be it in terms of car choice.
You’ll buy your kei truck through auction, and then spend your money maintaining, customizing, and upgrading it to your tastes. While we’d not exactly call it a hardcore driving simulator, there’s plenty of road-action as you explore the world and complete missions.
That said, MinskWorks founder Greg Pryjmachuk has been touting spatial audio, a driver stress system, and a vehicle wear system that takes into account road surfaces. We’ve also seen some crash physics, which includes shattering glass.
The central theme of the game is actually the management of a vending machine company, as you play as the character Keiko who is attempting to build up her recently deceased grandfather’s business and battle with the big companies at the top of the industry.
Your kei truck will be at the heart of that, as you drive around a procedurally generated, 1980s’ Japan, completing deliveries and managing your vending machine empire from the back of a two-meter long truck.
It’s likely to be a while until we see Honcho, with the title’s release date still TBA — but you can wishlist it on Steam now if you want to keep abreast of its development.
