honcho kei truck game — Honcho│© MinskWorks

Somewhere deep in the heart of 1980s Japan, amidst a cacophony of jingling vending machines and the hum of tiny truck engines, a young woman named Keiko is about to shake up an industry ruled by corporate titans. And she’s doing it with a battered, yet charming, kei truck. Welcome to Honcho, the upcoming indie game that asks the question: what if your entire empire fit in the back of a two-meter-long micro-truck?

Jalopy, but Make it Japanese

If Jalopy taught us anything, it’s that there’s something oddly compelling about limping along in an aging vehicle, fixing it with duct tape and prayers, while a quiet world unfolds around you. Developer MinskWorks is back, this time swapping Eastern Bloc desolation for Showa-era Japan, where the peaceful Japanese countryside stands against a backdrop of corporate greed.

Honcho puts you in the shoes of Keiko, an enterprising young woman suddenly thrust into the role of vending machine mogul after her grandfather's untimely demise. But there’s more at play here than just restocking cold cans of Boss Coffee. Keiko’s grandfather had secrets—secrets that powerful Keiretsu conglomerates would rather stay buried. And so begins a tale of underdog ambition, vehicular maintenance, and the cutthroat world of vending machine tycoonism.

A Kei Truck of Legend

The star of Honcho isn’t Keiko. It’s the Daizo T—an unassuming kei truck, barely large enough to fit a grown adult in the cab, but destined for greatness. Purchased at auction, your Daizo T starts as a rusted relic, but with enough care (and yen), you’ll transform it into a legendary workhorse, hauling goods, installing vending machines, and proving that size isn’t everything.

Customization is king. Slap on a new paint job, reinforce the suspension for those winding mountain roads, or just make sure your headlights don’t flicker at the worst possible moment. Every upgrade, every tweak, every desperate roadside repair matters.

Honcho│© MinskWorks

An Indie Underdog With Big Ambitions

MinskWorks isn’t some faceless AAA behemoth. This is indie game development in its purest form—passionate, scrappy, and fueled by a love of the weirdly specific. With no microtransactions, no predatory monetization schemes, and a Patreon model that offers content for free to all, Honcho is shaping up to be a rare gem in a sea of cash grabs.

While there’s no release date yet, the game is already deep into development, and if the success of Jalopy is anything to go by, we might be looking at one of 2025’s most unexpected hits. The racing game genre is crowded with high-octane contenders, but Honcho isn’t trying to be the next Forza. It’s here to carve out its own niche, one vending machine at a time.

So, if you’ve ever dreamed of navigating the streets of Showa-era Japan in a glorified lawnmower with a truck bed, delivering beverages to an empire-in-waiting—well, your oddly specific fantasy is about to become a reality. Honcho is coming, and it’s ready to show the world that small trucks can carry big ambitions.

Text by Gill Princen

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