Kenshi

Kenshi
75
Metacritic
95
Steam
87.212
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$20.99
Release date
6 December 2018
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
95 (65 369 votes)
Recent
96 (1 258 votes)

A free-roaming squad based RPG. Focusing on open-ended sandbox gameplay features rather than a linear story. Be a trader, a thief, a rebel, a warlord, an adventurer, a farmer, a slave, or just food for the cannibals. Train your men up from puny victims to master warriors.

Show detailed description

Kenshi system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS:64-bit Windows
  • Processor:Dual-core 64-bit
  • Memory:6 GB RAM
  • Graphics:Pixel shader 5.0 capable card
  • DirectX®:11
  • Hard Drive:14GB HD space
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david_blake65
david_blake65

It is a game that does not feel like a game.

Correction: It is a game that feels better than a game.

pretzel_clo
pretzel_clo

This one time i was risking life and limb in the wasteland looking for out of date science textbooks. I come across a strange ancient tower and casually brake in; The tower was full of evil goats who ate all the books.

this game rules

Dorok
Dorok

played for about 30 minutes and in those 30 minutes i was enslaved, amputed and eaten alive. great game

Condor
Condor

Amazing little game. It takes a while to get used to the pace of the game, specially early on. Be prepared to die alot, get eaten, melt in acid etc. After you get start understanding the basic prinsiples of the game, it's just a very unique experience.

Rammer
Rammer

Who the hell is 'Geneva' and why is there a convention about her?

-Sold into slavery
-They stole my skin.

Thedudxo
Thedudxo

https://steamcommunity.com/app/233860/discussions/0/1795152172935549876/
says it all really.

I don't have time to sit around watching my dude mine a rock on slow speed.

and here.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/233860/discussions/0/3596571824755188358/
Mod responds: "playing at max speed is kinda your problum though.. if you play all the time at it then you are missing the game."
Oh boy do i looove watching a mining animation for 20 minutes. would hate to miss out on that.

I see this game has potential to be enjoyed, but i an't got the time to get there. the first 10-20 hrs of this are probably not going to be fun, especially if you only have 1-2 hours free time a day.

astralkitty2501
astralkitty2501

this is basically a gacha game for people that like mad max and fist of the north star, except that instead of wasting money it wastes your time, as you have to grind your way for hours in repetitive gameplay loops with a hopeful thought in the back of your head that "i just need to sell another batch of copper and THEN i'll have a cool character and be able to explore past the 1 acre area i've been stuck in!"

What's After Like
What's After Like

FUCKING LOVE THE GAME! I've never played a game that simultaneously made me feel so badass and completely worthless. if you're looking for a great adventure get the game and you're also gonna hate yourself

SPonge SPant
SPonge SPant

No matter what game you're looking for, Kenshi is probably that game.
Hunt, mine, smuggle drugs, hunt bounties, steal, burglarise, duel opponents, enter the fray in frenzied bar brawls and an innumerable amount more in the most ambivalent and utterly brutal rendition of a post apocalyptic setting ever to be made playable.
you WILL get your shit kicked in, and it'll happen all the time if your playstyle involves fighting to even the slightest degree. You'll have to tolerate it, as this is the only way to meaningfully progress your chaaracter's ability to win fights in the future.
In summary: you can be a karate master robot skeleton. A resounding 10/10.

Jhaydon
Jhaydon

I was expecting a lot less from this experience being that the format for gameplay had me on the fence. Substantially better than I thought it would be - and a nice experience thus far. Definitely worth a try.

Ragnar Lothbrok
Ragnar Lothbrok

This game is so awesome, if youve ever wanted an open world RTS game with individual units, a huge map, tons of content and incredible mod support...this is the game for you....

R Kelly
R Kelly

This game is one of the best games I have had the pleasure of enjoying. It is very brutal, and does little to hold your hand. So grab your nuts and hang on to your feelings cause this one is gonna hurt.

PlungeGlobe
PlungeGlobe

Very good game, perfect for fans of the RPG and RTS genres, it's a little grindy, but the grind isn't monotonous or even a little bit easy, so you should stay entertained throughout the experience.

COMBAT
COMBAT

Probably one of the best laid back sim building and adventuring game out there. The mod support is also insanely good!

CrazyHandz
CrazyHandz

what i really love about kenshi is the fact that is what I've always wanted from a game. You like RPG's? Play with a small group and get exploring. Like city building? We got that too. The seamless transition between the two keeps the game fresh. Not to mention the fantastic modding community and developer who both continue to pour love into this game. I can't reccomend it enough

Jorb De Orb
Jorb De Orb

I would be happy to bear this game's children for all 3 trimesters.

Sepulchure
Sepulchure

Never have I played so much yet accomplish so little.

I highly recommend watching full playthroughs of this game, not reviews, before thinking about buying this game to understand what you're getting into.

This is the kind of game that "gets good" after like 100 hours of playing.

Tektus
Tektus

This game is amazing. The only things I can say that is a real hindrance; is the loading quality, and a few world character problems. Besides that; great combat physics system, great bartering system, responsive world AI, Creative lore, sense of peace/urgency, diverse leveling, State size map (along with it's environment specific zones). Great settlement construction; with research, defense, farming, mining, power, manufacturing world specific items, and having a huge assortment of buildings to put down (if you're into all of that). Honestly going through the whole game is going to take a lot of time, but it's worth it for the experience of meeting all sorts of Characters, animals, environments, and deaths

ig
ig

+ cool swords
+ killing the holy nation
+ killing the united cities
- not enough guns
9/10

Taddar
Taddar

Kenshi is an amazing sandbox game. choose your starting scenario and hope you don't die.

the early game is a bit slow paced but once you get some tech upgrades, maybe a base going, the game picks up pretty quickly.

Chipoy
Chipoy

Very Good, Very Sexy, Very Okran.

hotzera
hotzera

Kinda good, i played a little bit

Medic
Medic

unpractical commands, eyebleeding graphics, uncomprehensible system.

Cimenord
Cimenord

Spent almost a month on my last run where I was searching to get all the legendary weapons of the game. Took the game back in 2020 after watching some videos of Al Chestbreach and SomeGuy2000. And got back to it in late July because I finally got a new pc that I work fast enough so crash are not crippling the gameplay.

Is it a good game ? YES, but not for everyone. It's one of those game where at first glance it should be like almost uninstall for most. You got to get into the vibe to dig almost.
I even corrupted my little sister into playing by selling it as a "Post Apocalyptic Sims game".
To be fair it kind of is but Sims will never let you roam a world where you got to make your story, start middle and end.
A game where bandits once they see you you're done for. You got to make your own Kenshi odyssee the game won't server it on a plate.

As long as you get into it thinking the game will probably try to crush your hopes and dreams you're good. To me getting from slave hunter workhorse to one army is what make this game great, that and the world building.

✟ Auxhu ✠
✟ Auxhu ✠

Sorry, I beep when I'm nervous.

OmegaX17
OmegaX17

unbelievable the machinations you can create with one flesh peeler and some scrap metal in the shape of limbs

Dude
Dude

Game is nice, outdated engine but still rock solid, mod support is awesome.

Prayer Day / 10

acewinters
acewinters

Spawn, go to Squinn. Mine copper for money because I'm hungry, get beaten and enslaved by Dust Bandits because I can't pay their bribe. Now I am sold to a slave labor camp, and I am now a mining rocks. At least they feed me...

10/10 - Would mine copper again.

HIV.E.MIND
HIV.E.MIND

This game is AWESOME. It sat in my library for months because I knew I wouldn't stop playing it even before I tried it lol. Now I'm two weeks in, and I've played over 120 hours of it
If you loved...

Overgrowth and Fallout:

For the narrative and musical themes...

Age of Empires and Frostpunk:

For the RTS and resource management elements...

Star Wars: KOTOR II and Ε.Ψ.Ǝ: Divine Cybermancy:

For the jank old computer-y feel and expanse of content/lore...

and...

Project Zomboid and Don't Starve:

For the brutality and survival aspects...

...you're gonna CREAM your JORTS when you play this game.

Nemfield
Nemfield

I love this game for it's brutality to the uninitiated, it's rendering of a post cataclysmic array of societies, and that you can play multiple genres of games in one sandbox. You want to play a survival RPG, Kenshi's got you. You want to play as a tech hunter and dungeon delver scavenging the wastes, Kenshi's got you. You want to have a biofuel and hashish producing hippy commune protected by an intricate tower defense to keep out bandits and dinosaurs... Kenshi's got you.

FirstDane
FirstDane

If Kenshi has a million fans, I am one of them. If Kenshi has 10 fans, I am one of them. If Kenshi has 1 fan, that fan is me. If Kenshi has no fans, I am no more on this Earth. If the world is against Kenshi, I am against the world. If Kenshi dies, I die. I love Kenshi till my last breath.

YUKOTHEGREAT
YUKOTHEGREAT

10/10 Kenshi possibly is the greatest game of all time.

Moth
Moth

its a great game in my opinion

Jackal
Jackal

Fantastic roleplaying game. A vast open-ended world that allows you to decide your fate.

Janke
Janke

Awesome game, very hard on beggining, constantly offering challenges.

MisledOhio3
MisledOhio3

punch a guy so hard is arm went flying down the road. My pet bonedog then took off after said limp to play fetch with

Dungus Poo
Dungus Poo

440 hours in and I finally beat Cat-Lon. Great game. Nothing like it.

Kayto
Kayto

"Addictive Arsenic"

The best way I can put this game into two words.
Now if you were like me, you might be looking for some "push" to buy this game. You heard about the game, you heard people liked it, you might also know by now its a game without any hand holding. And you needed a reason for that little push to spend that 10 bucks, you might even thinking of getting it on sale, or w/e. I am here to help.

This game is probably too difficult, and I won't be able to enjoy it!

This game is brutal, in a way it does not tell you how things work. How animals work. How do you grab things, steal, sneak around. How you actually die in this game. How combat system works.
It has a that bump of game knowledge system, but in my opinion, you will grasp the basic combat 5 hours into the game, maybe another 10 hours to know how trading works, how stealth works etc. Building takes like a week of play to truly understand the tech tree. Wiki is your friend. However, I will tell you to take your time and play the game. My suggestion if you started playing, set your hunger rate to at least 4, so you won't die or affected by malnutrition, imo, a bit too much for a new player trying to learn the game. It's not cheating, the game literally encourages you to play and experiment, because there is no way to actually "win" Kenshi. And to that, its simply ok if you want to watch some youtube guides on how combat works or how to make money.
But I will say one thing. Grasping the basic fundamentals of this game, and you will bask in happiness, knowing you achieved something to figure out this weird world of Kenshi. And as you play and progress, you WILL lose track of time playing in one sitting. It's addictive, and you have been warned.

This game looks janky, looks like one of those indie dev games that have weird quirks and constant crashes!

I will say the game is a bit janky when it comes to pathfinding, but only on certain areas. Top of my mind are the Swamps, and The Hub area where cliffs and water may cause some path issues when travelling with group of more than 5 people. And sometimes, you will get stuck in a building because of some weird issue with staircases, but these are very rare.
Regardless, there is the "map import" function to reset your location, so your save file won't get "soft-locked" just because you are stuck in a terrain, or a shop NPC has died. HOWEVER, I have never experienced any sort of crash, and I'm playing pure vanilla.

Now lets go to the good stuff. Why this game is so good, and why people sing praises about this game.
The simple way I would describe Kenshi, its a Fallout game, with Japanese, dieselpunk vibes combined together. With some of that theme from Dune book. With party system very similar to MnB, and combat like Battle Realms *clink clank* swordfighting.

The unique part of Kenshi, is that levels are not purely defeating enemies. Losing a battle, is the way to level up and get stronger. Kenshi weird approach of entertainment is that, it's not carrot-on-a-stick type game where it just asks the player to achieve something, or please do this to become stronger. Kenshi does not work in way where you to go around the world to look for praises of NPCs and beating scrubs to earn a strong weapon or abilities, it demands the player to seek out stronger pain and ideal risks so that you can unlock your potential.
For example, losing a limb like an arm or both legs may sound like a bad thing, but this opens opportunities to grab prosthetic limbs, that at endgame tier, they even better than your organic limbs. Getting beat by that group of starving vagrants may be a downer for you in a game, but you will wake up, bandage your limbs, limping your way to a town for a bed stay and know, you have become more stronger for the next battle. You might get enslaved, but every night, you trained yourself lockpicking the cages until you get max lockpicking (might be one of the best way to train it than training lockboxes), and get your stealth skills up as you sneak escaping your slave mine.
These are the three example scenarios, where "losing" is just a new door of oppoturnity.

Kenshi asks you to see a downfall as an opportunity. It's a game that demands players patience, and a healthy outlook towards the challenge you face. It's like the Japanese golden bowl of Kintsugi, where a broken porcelain might look ugly and just a mere rubble, but its pieces can be fixed up with gold, and became a stronger, more beautiful piece of art.

Buy the game. Just be warned it WILL take a large portion of your life, and it nearly destroys my work ethics for WEEKS.

Lovecraft Scientist
Lovecraft Scientist

Kenshi is almost great and IS revolutionary. It's also a total mess. Like what Dwarf Fortress did for UI, Kenshi does for gameplay. There's actually VERY LITTLE to do in this game. You can:

-Go to a place
-Fight a thing (autobattle, more or less)
-Sell the loot
-Build a base

There's actually very little at the core of the experience. Now, the setting, the faction system, the sense of strange quiet in being able to choose your own path on an alien post-apocalyptic planet - all great. But every time I've tried to play it, I've come away super bored and dissatisfied. I do not recommend it.

Trill Nibbaton
Trill Nibbaton

Literally one of the best games I have ever played, purchased and have and will continue to invest more time. Kudos to the devs!!!

bullets4u
bullets4u

Kenshi is hands down the best game made in years i havent put this much time into a since the final fantasy franchise turned into garbage !!! thank you lo-fi you guys are freaking hero's ! now would somebody please give these guy's a proper bethesda budget and team so we can have more more MORE!!!
ALL HAIL THE IMORTAL EMPEROR BEEP
AVE BEEPERATOR

trevon3151
trevon3151

been playing for 70ish hours; and i just got my legs chewed off, my arms broken, and then put into a cage. great game!

Y2-KIA
Y2-KIA

run around and get ur ass beat simulator!

SUPERCRES
SUPERCRES

A true RPG. One of the best games out there.

catstroyer
catstroyer

great game, lots of fun and glitchy physics. Definitely plays like an older game, with subpar graphics/AI. Still fun nonetheless.

elkaki123
elkaki123

This is certanily a game...
Its difficult to describe what makes kenshi so unique, its a true sandbox where you go in to make a story, just play this as if you only have one chance, try not to save scum and keep playing regardless of where you end up, loosing a few limbs or ending up in slavery can actually make for really fun experiences.
The world is interesting, its postapocaliptic and monstruous at places, the map is really set up for you to explore as most things are not really marked.

One thing is that the game takes some time to learn, as there are a lot of possible actions, especially when building a settlement with a big group, try for your first adventure to play as one person and focus in getting to know your limits, but understand that even a 1v1 may be difficult at first, try also not to cheese it as from my own experience, trying to always go for the same start where I mined copper/silver for hours until I felt ready by hiring a companion and buying equipment really sucked the fun out of the game for a while.

Although have in mind that the optimization is geniunly atrocious, I have this on an ssd and load times are still bad.

Dead Punk
Dead Punk

If you're into sandbox-style open-world rpgs and you haven't tried kenshi then you're in for a treat. Worth it at full price.

AFK_TankyMOFO
AFK_TankyMOFO

This game is a bug-ridden, poorly optimized mess of programming that's barely holding itself together with used duct tape.

When the fuck is the sequel coming out?

Pyromania™
Pyromania™

Combat in Kenshi:

1. Run at the bone dog.

2. Lose.

3. Run away from the bone dog.

4. Repeat until git gud.

Grimthane
Grimthane

Would be more fun if I didn't spend most of the play time "Loading". Run for more than a few seconds, "loading". Change map spot between squads "Loading". The pathfinding is also trash.

Everything else is great, love the RPG mechanics and world. Lots to see and do, can't be bothered to spend anymore time "loading".

Burger Rambo
Burger Rambo

This is actually the greatest game ever created.

ceL
ceL

Super engaging sand-box game with many quests and stories to go on about your new play through. It has a really interesting lore too.

I think the biggest turn off that new players have are the graphics. If you can get behind the graphics of the game and actually learn how to play, you'll enjoy it if you liked games like rune-scape and minecraft.

TJ_Knieves
TJ_Knieves

Has my judgement come so soon?
I had to thrall them all! Traitors siding with the humans! Treason!

Now we are nothing! What was the point of it all?

Have you tried looking after humans? They're monsters!

As they grow in number, so does their capacity for evil, and they won't even notice as they do it.

I was not the monster.

bradleymit06
bradleymit06

got beat to death by homeless men then sold as property 10/10

Kenthrenthos
Kenthrenthos

i didn't know a character could experience so much suffering

80's Hip Hop
80's Hip Hop

Absolute banger of a game. You will be beaten near death, enslaved, lose an arm, escape, hobble into town starving, and become rich by selling hats. 10/10

ZigMeister62
ZigMeister62

Interesting immersive world with unforgiving mechanics. I recommend you use mods

Finite_Source
Finite_Source

It's a very good game, but it is also incredibly difficult. If you love cock and ball torture, this is the game for you

bloodking0
bloodking0

The best pure sandbox game I've played. I bought this back when in was in alpha, played it religiously whenever there was an update to see the new stuff, until the base building stuff came in, then I played it to death, stopped and forgot about it until it release nearly a decade later.

This is the ultimate do what you want, when you want, how you want. Be a merchant with some animals to haul your goods and fight your battles, a wandering swordsman making his money cutting down bandits and selling their gear, team up with others and be a force of anything, destroy the cannibals and steal their meat, become skinwalkers by using potato peelers, smash the major factions by killing their leaders and leave their cities in ruins, find the mechanical remnants of the ancient empires, take over the world using the power of giant crabs, build your own camp or town or bustling hub city and bankrupt yourself buying books from the Tech Hunters, and make it all back by setting up the biggest drug production and smuggling operation the world has ever seen. Or get knocked out by Slave Traders within 5 minutes of starting, be enslaved and refuse to actually read anything on how to escape slavery, uninstall and leave a bad review. The choice really is yours.

retlr1
retlr1

Oh how I've yearned for Kenshi and the adventures that unfold on this magnificent continent. I've spend almost an entire year enamored by Kenshi and for some godforsaken reason, I just can't stop. The freedom and ability to write your own story is the feature I enjoy the most. Wanna be a thief? Go ahead. You wanna be a soldier in your new nations army? Be my guest. You wanna be (for whatever reason I don't Judge) slave of the Holy Nation/United Cities? Then yes, as before, it is possible in Kenshi. Not to mention the active modding community, some of which are complete overhauls. Life in Kenshi is more than difficult, almost impossible. But oh boy is it worth it to crawl out of the filth and mud to rule the world.

The Last Coward
The Last Coward

game is addicting. Had to put myself offline on steam, so i wouldn't be bothered

DR3DD
DR3DD

10/10 would be eaten by cannibals again

Kickalantern
Kickalantern

Much more punishing than you think, but very fun when you find people to join your crew and still lose fights

waffles
waffles

It is one of the best games made for the right type of person. The real question is not "is this a good game to play?" but rather "am I the type of person that will love this game?" It is very grindy, it is unforgiving, it does not hold your hand, there are many bugs that can be frustrating at times (especially with mods), but when it works it is perfection. To me it is about finding the enjoyment, many can get discouraged by these types of sandbox games, it is up to you to create the fun, and all the tools are there for you to create said fun, and if you use those tools right you can create more fun than you will ever have in any video game imo.

nobert.art
nobert.art

222 hours

Looking to add another 222

I mean, when it is done by a single person, you get a truly unique experience. A complete world of someone else imagination.

cruznikbeatsama
cruznikbeatsama

very fun very replayable it never gets old

j.hollis.md
j.hollis.md

Do you like brown? I mean all the browns: red-brown, green-brown, grey-brown, brown-brown. If you love brown, then you should buy this game immediately.

Even if your favorite color isn't brown, this game is worth a look. It's a true open-world sandbox game. There is no story, just a world with unique flora and fauna where you can explore and do anything you want. You can explore, build bases, trade, hunt animals, steal, chase bounties, break into ancient ruins, free slaves or enslave people, or go full murder hobo (although you'll likely be the one getting murdered much of the time). There's no hand holding. It's up to you to create the story you want.

It's not the prettiest game out there (remember it's like 90% brown), but it's got solid game play. You start with one character and not much else. From there you'll have to explore the world and figure out how to survive because everything else will be tougher than you. You'll scrape along until you figure out how to make some money. From there you'll recruit others to join you in your quests. Do what you want, be your own boss, get murdered a hundred different ways.

Curbins
Curbins

The result of China after years of famine and an Australian invasion.

Hunter Volf
Hunter Volf

A fun crpg action game with real-time strategy gameplay.

chimosh
chimosh

Let me say.

The game has so many flaws.

The AUDIO is the worst i have ever experienced in a game. Period. Full Stop. When I playing on my Commodore 64, the games had better sound design, its that bad.

The game controls are seriously flawed. Base building, moving, giving orders, everything is poorly designed. The game will fill like a chore just to control

The AI in the game is inconsistent. With agro range as a major flaw. You never know when you will be attacked, and at what range. Due to the graphics and you needing to be zoomed all the way out, everything looks blended, and its hard to see units.

The load times are really bad.

The game is huge, so therefore you need to speed up time. Due to the lack of warnings, notifications, any type of audio prompt that some of your units have been spotted and or attacked, you will end up losing people without even knowing in some cases, if you are busy multitasking your companions.

The game still has bugs.

BUT

The game has great map design, a cool concept of many AI factions that fight each other, nice lore about the land you are playing on. Some good ideas and pretty neat sandbox design that most games cant even come close to.

So if you can get past some of the worst game design features in a modern game, you will probably have fun.

People say this game is hard. It is not. Its the poor design, lack of basic functions that make the game hard. You will have to save scum and make sure you quick save at every chance you are safe. Because you will lose progress otherwise.

Oppai Doragon
Oppai Doragon

this games is just something else the potential of replyability while adding this ever growing library of mods is just insane

MikeyDiamond
MikeyDiamond

Played this for about 600+ hours pirated and thought I might as well pay the devs for the time.
Thanks for the fun

IntergalacticCthulu
IntergalacticCthulu

I captured a legendary robot and beat him up until I was absolutely yoked

Tiuty
Tiuty

Realy enjoyed Kenshi over the years and just keep coming back to it cause there is nothing like it WAITING FOR KENSHI 2!!!

BluBoi77
BluBoi77

A clear passion-project, sculpted with loving care and attention-to-detail. Though it may not be as polished as some of the newer games out there, this game captures the struggle and strife of a lawless capitalist wasteland, taking no quarrel with beating the ever living shit out of the player along the way. The setting fits together well, and each of the factions feels unique in its own way.

This game will suck you in with its brutality and storytelling. I highly recommend it to anybody looking to play a solid RPG that you can immerse yourself in. Just remember: If you see a long necked thing running at you from the distance, you're already dead.

GearShocky
GearShocky

My skeleton gang might be the mightiest collective in this world that consists of the dumbest mechanical morons that have ever lived.

10 stolen grog / 10

Hung Wang
Hung Wang

you ever just get knocked out cuz your black?
no? well you do now.

Marduk
Marduk

Open-world ARPG with no set goals, beyond what you feel like doing.
This game doesn't hold your hand, and is very hard in the beginning.

So, why am I recommending it then?
Simple;
It is extremely rewarding when it finally starts to "click" for you, and when you Finally become strong enough to actually hold your own. And, its extremely addictive.
Plus, modding is extremely easy,with a still vibrant modding community.

7/10

Lunar Guest
Lunar Guest

This game started its development in the early 2000's, and it is absolutely fucking amazing.

If you want comparisons, think of it like RimWorld 3D

PE# 13™
PE# 13™

Started out with my main character as a wanderer. Beaten to a pulp - got up and then beaten again only to get stronger. When I had enough money, I recruited some allies and started training them. When I thought my crew of 14 was strong enough to build a base, the black dragon ninjas raided and killed 11 including my starting character. I love this game.

spunkie
spunkie

First impression vanilla with no mods.

good:
-character progression: It is nice not having a character immediately die allowing you to rescue them and build them back up.
-town building: Placing buildings is straightforward and easy to handle.

bad:
-AI failures: At about the 80th in game day, the AI would cease building or repairing, would be unable to find food in food storage and starve. This turns the game into a mental prison where you have to cycle through all the characters making sure they are eating or working as they should

-not enough sandbox: Where you can build being limited is a bit frustrating such as being able to buy a house in town but not being allowed to place a large windmill for power. It would be preferable if the limits were soft, as in, having the local authority coming in to complain and then allowing the player to fight them or pay them off.

Second impression.

Started a new character got a few days in and the game crashes. Uninstalled the game and wrote this review.

This game is not ready for the general consumer however it does make for some entertaining videos. Don't buy this game if you want something to play it's not worth the hassle. Lets hope Kenshi 2 is more stable.

Sevens
Sevens

I got attacked in the desert by a group of starving homeless vagrants, 2 separate bandit clans, a group of slavers and a pack of psychopathic mini brontosauruses. It was every group for themselves. They killed my dog and broke the legs of all but one of my group members who then did emergency first aid and carried my group to safety one by one while they all fought each other. A pack of wild dogs then came in and ate the dead and crippled survivors of the bandits and homeless. Anyone who wasn't eaten by dogs got abducted by a band of roaming slave traders. This game is the shit.

Legios
Legios

Amazing game with so many options. Want to become a one person killing machine? You can. Want to start a town, craft items, open shops with a team? You can. Want to be play as a 'good' person? You can! Want to play as a 'bad' person? You can!

Brutally punishing at times, but also beautifully graceful. "Hey, you lost a leg. Good luck crawling around buddy". Start as a slave or become a slave, free the slaves! Wipe out a town, wipe out an empire!

Also there's the mod support. Ranging from silly to QoL improvements. I've play this game a LOT and still can't get enough. The game isn't perfect, there's lots of annoying little bugs still floating around, but you can usually work around them and none are game breakers.

SharkSwarm7
SharkSwarm7

About to find some mods to make this game easier, cause I don't belong at Weenie Hut Jr, I belong at Super Weenie Hut Jr.

Gregorio Mondragon
Gregorio Mondragon

Welp. Almost 900 hours. Apparently, Kenshi has that special ability to make one loose track of time.
Vanilla is already as good and punishing as it is. Mods make the game full to the brim with flavor and content.
In these almost 900 hours on a single character/playthrough, I have managed to start from being the dirt-poor exiled son of a Samurai to becoming one of the richest lords in the realm, establishing my own kingdom/settlement at the farthest reaches of the known world and defending against the strongest enemies, while commanding the most diverse cast of retainers of all races and capabilities. And all this started from humble copper mining to beak thing egg farming operations.

Your character, although not special at the beginning, through continuous combat and survival, can be veritable gods of war. Some of them will die, and those who remain will slowly grow to the point of taking on even the mighty leviathans. But the road will be very long and arduous.

This game is for the patient and persistent. I never thought I will reach 800+ hours on a single game yet here we are. I highly recommend this game.

Raxxla
Raxxla

This is a mixed bag of a game with me. I absolutely love the concept and the mild intricacies of it's workings with this game but there is a hard sharp truth behind it all that all players need to eventually come to grips with...

This is not listed as an early access or work in progress yet you will get hit by bug after bug, some of which will almost screw the entire game without resetting major portions of the saved world. This is bearable for an early access etc and the tools have been provided to bypass these extremes so is forgivable as some love has obviously been put in to this but the dev has decided to post and focus on updates not for this game... oh no... kenshi2.

This is a Microsoft, get the new title cos this one we don't support anymore. Except at least Microsoft will release that new title first.

I still recommend it, it IS fun but wait until it's 50% off. Normal price dictates a finished fully supported game which this is most definitely not. I sincerely hope the dev offers a substantial discount to kenshi 1 owners upon Kenshi 2's release as recompense.

᠌ ⁧⁧Top Kek King
᠌ ⁧⁧Top Kek King

This game siphons your real world depression and sadistic tendencies into a ginormous, expansive, cute and pretty well put together package. All of the war-crimes you committed in paradox games that are surely sending you to hell can now be watched in real time on a personal level in tedious, medieval, time-consuming glory, or you can make it a utopia for all, build a nation, an empire, a company, be a wandering swordsman, sniper, mercenary, scavenger, thief, drug dealer, serial killer, dog trainer, crab trainer, IT guy, you can quite literally do and be anything you want. Either way, you are going to start off the same as everybody else, a limp dicked NEET that has to get your shit kicked in time and time again to stand any chance in this world, and soon enough, those bandits with literal sticks beating the shit out of you are now having their limbs sent into orbit from one punch of your mighty fisting technique. Just as you remember those bandits, they will remember you as well, as well as the actual major factions, even down to the individual people. This world interacts with itself, and is ridiculously reactive with economy, factions, supply chains, nations, and wholly interesting, fun, heart wrenching characters. The bounds for which you can roleplay are endless, get as deep or surface level as you please, the story will write itself as you traverse the wastes and do the things that YOU want to do, their is no main goal, it is a true (and literal) sandbox. Would watch my self insert get eaten alive/beaten to death/skin peeled off/incinerated from the sky/sold into slavery again out of 10.

Very active modding community that allows you to fix any inconveniences you may find, add any level of utility, variety, spice, difficulty, or cheat, lore friendly or as non-lore friendly as you please. This games developers, and even it's mod producers, definitely deserve your money.

GYAAAAAAH

EEEEEEEEK

BLEEEEEEEP

JEEEEEEEEEEP

KYAAAAAAAAAAH

KYEEEEHHHHHHHH

GAAAAAAH

*gurgle*

EEEEK

*sploosh*

SHRIEEEK

EEEEH

GREEEEEEEEEK

EHHHHHHHHHHHHH

GEHHHHHHHHH

WEEEEEEEEEEE

YAAAAAAAARP

WAGYUUUUUUUUUUU

AIYAAAAAAAAH

HYAAAAAAAAAAH

MEEEEEEEEEE

FLEEEEEEEEEEK

AGHHHHHHHHHHHH

SHRIEEEEEEEEEK

AGGGGHHHH *gurgle*

AUUUGHHHHHH

EEEEEEEEEEEEH

EEEEEH

SQUEEEEEEE

EEEEEK

EEEEK

AAAAAACK

GYEEEEEH

GREEEEEEEEICH

AGGGHHHH

AGHHHHHH

AHHHHHHH

FLEEEEEEEEEP

FLOOOOOOOOOOP

AIEEEEEEEEEEEE

AIEEEEEE

MICHAEL JACKSON
MICHAEL JACKSON

I am a 47 yo father, probably one of the oldest people playing this game. I am a single farther to my Son, who is 15 now. My son got this game for Christmas in 2021 from his cousin, so we installed it on his computer and he started playing. By the end of the week he had over 30 hours on this game. This was horrible for me, as it was already hard for me to find ways to spend time with my son, as he is always out with his friends or just watching YouTube. So I decided to make a Steam account and get this game to see if I could maybe play alongside him. I loaded into the game, picked my character and started playing but I was stuck on what you where supposed to do. I asked my Son for help and he hosted a game for me to join. I loved it as it was the best time I had spent with my Son since my wife had died. This game has ever since brought me and my son closer again and now we actually spend time together outside the house together as well. This game reminded me that there's fun to be had in everything, and it has brought both me and my Son many happy memories.

Remo
Remo

It's been a long time since I've been addicted to a game. This was way better than I'd initially thought. I knew I'd like it, but didn't know I'd love it. Hugely customisable with the included modding tool, letting you play how you want to play. Some crashing, even on my 3080, but it's so good you won't mind. More like mandatory bathroom breaks. You can play it like a rpg, rts, or live action crpg, the choice is yours. Wonderful gem, and the new one coming out looks astonishing, if you having seen the screen shots or test videos, find the developer on YouTube. So happy I found this.

imabustya
imabustya

Great game. A lot of fun. Different than most everything you've ever played. For how much there is here there is not a ton of depth, still more than most games, but Kenshi 2 is in the works and I'm sure they have a ton of new ideas to make an amazing sequel game.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Really fun sandbox game. So many different playstyles and faction allegiances make it fun to replay over and over again. Can't wait for Kenshi 2.

Kensei
Kensei

This is truly one of my favorite games of all time. Absolutely a must play game.

᠌ ⁧᠌ ⁧᠌ ⁧⁧ Kolt
᠌ ⁧᠌ ⁧᠌ ⁧⁧ Kolt

This game is addicting as fuck

Chopwiver
Chopwiver

hardcore game not for the faint of heart..takes several attempts to survive even a day. My most preffered method is to take the scenario with the crew of 6 with 4k cash to make it easier and put a base up immediately..avoid all fights until well established.

TypeRace1%er
TypeRace1%er

Buggy, laggy, poorly optimized. Fun game.

battlecat250
battlecat250

holy molly this game slaps I have not played a more punishing yet rewarding game before finding this

ElonMustardGas
ElonMustardGas

Harsh brutal game, that is a true RPG. You make the story, and mold your own role playing adventure story for yourself. Having imagination and creating stories in your mind is highly recommended.

Janky and buggy AF, but if you can look past that and the graphics you are in for a long haul. Spent so much time during COVID playing Kenshi.

[Coomer]scoutler v2
[Coomer]scoutler v2

Great time killer and tons of lore, you can play this like 3 times vanilla and still not get tooo bored but after that I recommend modding the crap out of the game. I occasionally come back to it here and there.

jackhoffin
jackhoffin

reallly good they should make kenshi 2 mutliplayer with bands too npc bands

freedomforcevending
freedomforcevending

Its one of my favorites right now. Its hard to get used to but its a really solid game. The story, the setting, the music and the gameplay are all good. The only problem might be long load times and choppy framerates running in fast forward. But im guessing it would not be that way if i had a nicer computer maybe. Buy it. Its good.

Brohoof
Brohoof

Listen if you like things like Rimworld, this is sort of an inversion of that.

Bud Nuggets
Bud Nuggets

Life-destroyingly good, if you're into this sort of thing.

the_boat2
the_boat2

One of the most unique and fun buggy ass game I've ever played. The ai pathing can get on your nerves sometimes but the pro's far out weigh the cons by far in my opinion. The mods for the game a really good and add a lot of spice for multiple playthroughs. Highly recommend.

Burnin
Burnin

22.1 hrs down on this game and i haven't even scratched the base building, so much to do may seem overwhelming at first. So take it slow and enjoy the early game, this is a very good sandbox RPG one of the best ive played in terms of freedom of what you can do and who you can be. I'd say its worth the full price but hey if you can be patient wait for a sale. Their are also tons of videos out there to help you along your way of surviving in this unforgiving world. Good Luck

Cratikfthlavum Statibuik
Cratikfthlavum…

This is a rare occurrence where I wasn't a fan of a game but I'd recommend.

My first 20 minutes in the game were spent dying outside the town I started in. I walked out of the town, got beaten down by a gang and I had no idea what to do so just sat and watch my guy very slowly bleed to death. This was my first restart, now I'll be honest here you almost certainly want to read up on what this game is and how it works. You're going to beaten unconscious non-stop, and just when your group can finally beat the trash packs, a much bigger, stronger trash pack will come through, rinse and repeat. I've now spent most of my time trying to built a settlement but by the time I heal everyone up another group is here to take it over. Now, this remind me of open world FFA PvP games, these MFs come along and take your stuff. The pace tends to also be slow, you can speed the game up but you have to realise every person, anywhere is at risk, those miners? Getting beaten up. Farmer? Beaten up.

Why do I recommend it then? The game is unique in how it's maybe an adventure game, maybe its a base builder, maybe it's a colony sim, and really it's all of these and you can pretty much do what you want. The graphics although it looks like it's a PS1 game this actually suit it. You start alone but rapidly want to build a part, or multiple parties. You can automate the people in your group which get interesting, especially when multiple people are under attack around the map. The tutorial is best ignored, it'll have you trying to build something out of town early on and you'll probably just get taken as a slave (maybe that's the point though...).

Overall the game is a long hard grind but I can see that this is obviously an excellent game if it's up your alley.

KirbyDaDragon
KirbyDaDragon

This is the tale of Brecht, the robot samurai. They do not eat or sleep, they are also dangerously poor, luckily I have the perfect solution. Go into the local inn, wait for people to fall asleep then try to kidnap them, if the kidnapping is successful I can sell them into slavery. If the kidnapping is unsuccessful they rightfully try to kill me which morally justifies me knocking them out in the eyes of the law. And then I can just go and sell the person I knocked out into slavery.

This game is absolutely unhinged.

Mass_Detour
Mass_Detour

Kenshi is Just a fun world to roam in, with unique characters and play styles, there is tons of room to dominate this world. Recently took out a settlement of slavers, and incurred quite a bounty, that was a unique challenge to overcome.

jamekiller
jamekiller

damn i cant wait for kenshi 2 why cant there be more games like this out there.

Thatguy
Thatguy

This game you see its so good but, unless you like getting absolutely railed in yo booty cheeks for a few hours
then you wont have fun :)

Luka
Luka

Destroying the holy nation is just a point on the checklist of every playthrough.

Pulzie
Pulzie

A brilliant RPG where exploring is really an adventure and a world that has many things for you to do and explore. I personally love that you can play be either an party of adventurers exploring the world or a faction that challenges the powers that be or assist them and everything in between. However it would not be good to say that this is a perfect game as it has a lot of features that feel rather limiting in scope and functionality besides all the technical problems that appear in this game. Though if you want to have a personal adventure through a wrecked world than this is the game for you?

BBCKG
BBCKG

Fun game. Can suffer from feeling "static" at times though.

six6trings
six6trings

I got this game a zillion years ago, and it's probably still in early access. I had a small outpost with ridiculous walls made of junk. Spent hours having my squad beat up training dummies and crafting things. Once they got good, I started kidnapping people from other squads. Not sure who the good guys and bad guys were, so we just kidnapped everyone. Put them in cages. Good times.

your host Gerald
your host Gerald

Its like Mad Max mixed with Firefly

RustyMex
RustyMex

one of the hardest and most unforgiving games you'll ever, oh you don't like games that hold your hand? then go on home because this game is for men. Oh you don't like being sold into slavery? well too bad cause that will happen to you. Oh you don't like having a hard grind and redoing something from 6 hours back, walk on home and kick rocks. This game isn't for everyone but damn do I have fun playing it every time.

daamusickid24
daamusickid24

Honestly, if you have patience to mess with this game go for it! I requested a refund for the first time in almost 15 years for any game. Steep learning curve, Weird camera angles, terribly clunky and old engine/graphics. You have to seriously LOVE RPGs to give yourself a 10+ hour learning curve for a goofy and fairly unenjoyable experience. Maybe after you can enjoy the freedoms you get but why? So many games worth playing over this. Mod Skyrim and you get a 100000000x better experience. I understand the game is an indie development, but yikes. DON'T LET THE POSITIVES AND WHAT NOT FOOL YOU. IT'S A TINY % OF FANBOYS/PEOPLE WHO PROBABLY UP VOTED THIS CAUSE OF IT'S IDEA. If you are into any platforming/action game or turnbased RPG this is NOT the game for you, I can't stress that enough. You want to mod something, again do Skyrim, this feels like a waste of time with gimmicks like limb severing to sink people in and a cheap price.

TheStranger1155
TheStranger1155

An outstanding game where anything can happen. It takes a bit to adjust to the mechanics, and the way of the world, but once you do it becomes an addictive game of endless possibilities, infinite replayability, and a whole lotta fun. The game doesn't have a set story, or even quests. You do what you want, join the organizations you want, and shape the world and world around your actions.

|DCG| Sn4tch
|DCG| Sn4tch

Great game, can't wait for Kenshi 2!

Maloy20
Maloy20

This is a game that thrives on and builds itself around chaos and conflict. You'll spend most play throughs wondering whether you're the bad guy or not. Mods only improve this experience by fine tuning the experience.

My second and favorite game was as a skeleton who had looted an ancient holy blade from a battlefield. I took advice online and sprinted to a place known as the "fog islands" and proceeded to fight and get beaten by endless hordes of monsters that only spared me because I was made of metal. After ceaseless beatings and repairs and looting the many bodies of these lands to have enough money to pay for more intensive repairs I became tough enough. Eventually I was a wandering samurai in the fog. Coming out to slay endless hordes and rescuing other survivors

Feeling legendary and unstoppable I ventured north and explored ruins and discovered the robots there don't really care about my samurai cosplay and beat me to unconsciousness. And unlike the previous monsters these robots had no needs and so they just sat on my body until I woke up and beat me again and this went on until I died.

DarkestBurningStar
DarkestBurningStar

good times, would become a warlord destabilizing whole regions of a famine-stricken desert land that's caught in a fucking dark age anyways again.

Outlaw
Outlaw

Bought this after seeing many YT vid's. Haven't looked back or regretted it ever.

Is Kenshi.. weird.. yes.
Is it. not what you expect. yes.
Is it still somehow familiar. Yes
It plays like many top down isometric games of past eras. And while I'm sure the dev's might cringe at this. the graphics are reminiscent of those times the bad times, not the hand painted good ones.
But that being said. it's still a beautiful game in it's own right entirely.
It feels grounded, gritty and real when you least expect it.

The music is fun and dark and haunting, and with very little effort can be supplemented for a real good long play vibe.

Some of the mechanics take some time to get used to. as well as understanding "You" the player's potential place in the world. It's unforgiving. And just when you think your doing something like getting ahead by cutting off the Dust King's head and turning in his rotten carcass for that sweet sweet 30k bounty.. You find out what a power vacuum truly means.

I'll use an oddly cliched statement. to say. This game is not for the faint of heart. If you give up easy Or get frustrated when you get your butt kick.

But for those of you who enjoy a challenge. And Wish there was no story based force fields, rails or guidance on your top down isometric style CRPGs. Kenshi is 100% for you. It's also a decent Colony Sim.

jakl201
jakl201

It is Kenshi. It is Life. \o/

Though on a more serious note, this game is just...absolutely bonkers. SO much radiant storytelling can be gotten from this game. I already have dozens of stories that only *I* experienced as I tried to survive in this harsh and uncaring world. You want deep reviews, there are sites out there that have also talked about how great this game is. Make whatever story you want, from someone who starts out with nothing but a dog at their side, to a group of settlers determined to make their own home, to someone who is stuck dying alone, already having lost a limb.

Play it. Love it. Be Kenshi. ...I actually have no idea who or what a Kenshi is, but BE KENSHI.

Zombiefreak
Zombiefreak

This game is addicting, I'll write another more in depth review but I'm only writing this one because of the number of hours played. Get this game for sure lol

Anonymous
Anonymous

bast game ever but need mods to b the bast its a good game but with mods its end lass potential over 100 different factions fighting with mods and normally you need to read the mods but for the most part they work together my pc is not bast and i have over 200 people i can customize and build their skills cyberpunk mad max fallout / wasteland all in one what more can i say great game but back up save always u never know

automateddog
automateddog

This game is mega immersive and rich in a "you will get your limbs permanently hacked and you'd better like it" kinda way. It can be really slow at times--like if you're imprisoned for 50 hours by the Holy Nation for being poor and stealing food--but that's just the way this game rolls ~baby~. Lean squads and early game adventures are the best experience imo, as the larger resource management and unit automation gameplay loop can be a taxing slog. Still though, non regrets; it's a grand and intoxicating game. Maybe even...based????

Super eager to try Kenshi 2--however long it may take before it comes out.

asahd
asahd

it's a crusty mess, but it's one of my favorite projects that's come out of steam and maybe one of my favorite games ever

there's nothing quite like it! buy if interested

The Old Folkus
The Old Folkus

If you love sandbox games where you make your own story, a crazy post-apocaliptic setting with different alien races, robots and humanity at it's worst. Horror and mystery elements that make your skin crawl; This is certainly the game for you! This game is a bit rough around the edges but never to the point of beeing annoying or unplayable. The community constantly supports the game with a ton of mods to help with problems or customising your game the way you want.

P.S. If it's your first time playing Kenshi and you see some strange long-necked creatures or anything that looks like a spider, drop everything and run! Trust me!

SpartanKing
SpartanKing

What a great game!! Well worth the money!! It is a hard game, especially when you venture into the outskirts and complete missions. If you like a challenge, to build up your character and teamates, build, defend, attack then this game is for you. Spent a lot of hours on this game. I plan to play it again and start from scratch...a challenge again. Graphics are ok but everything else is great for me.

virgo76
virgo76

Excellent game that youtube can tell you all about.. I've gathered five more recruits and started doing some copper mining in the beginning. Then I learned about a hashish trading route, very fun and save often while running the drugs.. lol. I explored awhile afterwards and settled into the Waystation located in the grey dessert. I built the tower back up and tossed some beds in it after researching. Now I get into fights with scavengers, outlaws, and large grasshopper looking bugs called skimmers, very fun. Place this game on your wishlist and wait for it to go on sale, it's well worth it..