Kenshi
Kenshi screenshot 1Kenshi screenshot 2
ActionIndieRPGSimulationStrategyOpen WorldSandboxSurvivalStrategy RPGImmersive Sim

3,398 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 4,697

Peak in the last 7 days: 5,623

Kenshi Steam store

Game 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. Train your men up from puny victims to master warriors.

Basic info

DeveloperLo-Fi Games
PublisherLo-Fi Games
PlatformsWindows
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateDec 6, 2018
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OS64-bit Windows
ProcessorDual-core 64-bit
Memory6 GB
GraphicsPixel shader 5.0 capable card
Storage14 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 424 reviews from the past 1 year

89.5/ 100
Top 20%

Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (96%)

Metacritic: 75 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 20, 2026)

A bleak open sandbox where you start with nothing, Kenshi scores 89.5, top 20% of the games we analyzed.

👍 Strengths

165 reviews describe it as deeply addictive, and some report hundreds or even thousands of hours. 101 praise its freedom to play any role, from trader to gang leader, and to shape their own story. 47 admire the world, a desolate wasteland with strange biomes, a grim atmosphere and a history of its own. Content Volume ranks 40th of 1351, Gameplay ranks 131st of 1396, and Story & World ranks 168th of 1096.

👎 Where it falls short

40 reviews find the difficulty brutal, describing being beaten, captured or killed again and again in the early hours. 36 say the onboarding is thin, with almost no tutorial, and some lean on outside guides to get started. 24 report bugs and crashes, pointing to an old engine, broken pathfinding and squad members stuck in walls. Visuals & Sound ranks 1237th of 1249, and Tech & Support ranks 951st of 1399.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“addictive gameplay with nothing else like it” · 165 reviews
“absolute freedom to be anything, world is your canvas” · 101 reviews
“beautifully crafted biomes, grim setting, cohesive unique experience” · 47 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 77% of reviews · Top 10% of the games we've analyzed

Freedom +4.29 · Room to explore, build, and play your own way
Positive “absolute freedom to be anything, world is your canvas” · 101 reviews
Negative “world is empty, mostly desert, nothing happens between locations” · 6 reviews

Progression 25% · Difficulty 42% · Onboarding 23% · Strategy 34% · Controls & feel 7%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 44% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.83 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “beautifully crafted biomes, grim setting, cohesive unique experience” · 47 reviews

Story 7% · Characters 8%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 35% of reviews · Top 5% of the games we've analyzed

Volume +4.13 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Positive “to infinity and beyond the sandbox, 10/10 would get beaten up again” · 7 reviews
Negative “chronophage, very time-consuming, easy to lose track of hours” · 3 reviews

Variety 10% · Replayability 15%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 19% of reviews · Bottom 5% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals -1.62 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Negative “looks like it was made in 2004” · 22 reviews
Positive “combat animations surprisingly satisfying and world genuinely interesting” · 3 reviews

Audio 2%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 6% of reviews mention this.

Community +2.44 · Who you play with — how many, and how friendly

Playing together 2% · Servers & Connection 0%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 4% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.05 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “naked character has unfair disadvantage against equipped opponents in PvP” · 3 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Pricing 2% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 18% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Stability -0.22 · Crashes, freezes, save loss, and game-breaking bugs
Negative “buggy with technical issues” · 24 reviews

Performance 10% · Developer support 3%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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