Kenshi

About

A free-roaming squad based RPG focusing on open-ended sandbox gameplay features rather than a linear [link deleted] a trader, a thief, a rebel, a warlord, an adventurer, a farmer, a slave, or just food for the cannibals. Research new equipment and craft new gear.

Read more
9
Based on
47324 reviews
Country Compatibility:
Languages:
Developer:
Lo-Fi Games
Engine:
OGRE
Release date:
06 December 2018
Recent Steam reviews:
Very Positive (1188)
All Steam reviews:
Overwhelmingly Positive (47324)

Game features

Similar offers

Description

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.

Research new equipment and craft new gear. Purchase and upgrade your own buildings to use as safe fortified havens when things go bad, or use them to start up a business. Aid or oppose the various factions in the world while striving for the strength and wealth necessary to simply survive in the harsh desert. Train your men up from puny victims to master warriors. Carry your wounded squad mates to safety and get them all home alive.

FEATURES

Freeform gameplay in a seamless game world in the largest single-player RPG world since Daggerfall, stretching over 870 square kilometers. The game will never seek to limit you or restrict your personal play style.

Custom design as many characters as you want and build up a whole squad to fight for you. Characters will grow and become stronger with experience, not just in their stats but their appearance too.

Build a base where you can research new technologies, upgrade your defences and craft new gear.

Original take on the RTS-RPG hybrid genre. No "hero" characters with artificially stronger stats than everybody else- Every character and NPC you meet is potentially an equal, and has a name, a life.

You are not the chosen one. You're not great and powerful. You don't have more 'hitpoints' than everyone else. You are not the centre of the universe, and you are not special. Unless you work for it.

Purchase and upgrade your own buildings to use as safe fortified havens when things go bad, or use them to start up a business.

Variation and possibilities of gameplay. Be good, be evil, be a businessman, be a thief, live in a town, live in the desert, travel alone, travel in hordes, build a fortress, raze a city. Devote yourself to freeing slaves, or maybe end up a slave yourself.

Dynamic, ever changing world. Support or hinder whoever you wish, or keep to yourself, the world won't stop moving. This is not just a "game", you are living and surviving in a simulated world.

Get captured by cannibals and eaten alive, or sold off by slavers and forced to work in the mines. These are not scripted events, just a regular part of this chaotic world that ruins your life by chance. Anything can happen, yet anything can be overcome if you have the strength.

Absolutely no Level-scaling. The world does not level up along with you, and the shops don't change their inventory to only items matching your level. At the start of the game almost everyone will be stronger than you, and survival will always be a struggle. The game won't hold your hand or help you when you're down.

Realistic medical system that affects gameplay. A character with a wounded leg will limp or crawl and slow the party down, wounded arms means you must use your sword one-handed or not at all. Severe injuries will result in amputees needing robotic limb replacements. Blood loss means you can pass out, and the blood will attract predators. A character’s stats are affected by equipment, encumbrance, blood loss, injuries and starvation.

Intelligent AI that allows for characters to reason and work towards long-term goals and desires. Squads work together and carry their wounded to safety. Characters can be setup to take care of micromanagement for you and run production in your base.

Aid or oppose the various factions in the world while striving for the strength and wealth necessary to simply survive in the harsh environment.

Independently developed with no design influences, or alterations dictated by men in grey suits who have never played a game before in their lives.

Original game world. There are no fantasy-knock-off clichés. No magic.

Recommended 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

recommended*

OS *:
Windows 7 64-bit
Processor:
Quad-core 64-bit
Memory:
16 GB RAM
DirectX®:
11
Hard Drive:
14GB HD space

User reviews

LividArmadillo
Recommended | 03 Jun 2026
9.1h played

This is my favorite game that i cannot play. I know i have only put 9 hours into this game but about 8 of those hours were in one sitting and until 6 am. it is so addicting and hard to put down. 100% would recommend if

Helpful: 0
thayer44
Recommended | 02 Jun 2026
395h played

Kenshi is crazy compelling. The progression is from nothing to godlike. Until you meet the next challenge and then you're humbled again. Base building and automation add another level to the sandbox. If only someone

Helpful: 0
The Resourceful Rat
Recommended | 02 Jun 2026
177h played

After having played through about as much of the game as I could have, and defeating the toughest challenges the game has to offer, I can say for certain this is 10/10 game. ♥♥♥♥ the UC. ♥♥♥♥ the Holy Nation. ♥♥♥♥ the

Helpful: 0
Wolfchak Vanbalt
Not recommended | 02 Jun 2026
16.2h played

I got Kenshi cause I was very much intrigued by the idea of making my own custom character and being able to do whatever I wanted in order to survive. I however was actually massively restricted and found myself unable

Helpful: 1
dunnerstick69
Not recommended | 03 Jun 2026
31.9h played

I have tried to get into this game numerous times and frankly it's just annoying. It's annoying because I want to like this game - there's no other game like it, but more often than not it's just a grueling slug fest.

Helpful: 0
pocketpure
Recommended | 03 Jun 2026
36.4h played

Crazy game. Huge respect to the developer. It's hard to put into words why it's fun. Apart from the effort they've put into the huge handcrafted world and the charming combat system, it's just.. nah idk, this game

Helpful: 0