Kenshi
2018
Audio: Japanese, Spanish, French, English, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese, German, Russian · Subtitles: English, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Chinese, Korean, Russian, French
- real time strategy (rts)
- role-playing (rpg)
- strategy
- adventure
- indie
- action
- fantasy
- science fiction
- survival
- stealth
The story
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.
What it’s like
Harsh, sun-bleached desert under a flat white sky, with dust hanging in the air and sprawling isometric views of dusty trade towns, hovering robots and giant insectoid shapes on the horizon. The art is rough and functional rather than polished, and the sound is mostly wind, clattering crafting benches, distant gunfire and a sparse, dusty ambient score that swells during fights. The vibe is grimy, grinding and quietly tense, the kind of slow survival sandbox you settle into for long stretches, whether that's a late-night session alone, a long-haul flight, or a stretch of hours spent building a base from scratch. Pacing is deliberate and self-directed: days of small, unglamorous progress, like hauling goods, training a single fighter from scrawny recruit to hardened veteran, or saving a bleeding squadmate across a barren map. Intensity is high: frequent bloody, brutal combat with limbs lost and blood spray, plus slavery, cannibalism and drug use, all handled without restraint. It suits players who want an open-ended, emergent sandbox with real consequences and a steady grind, not a gentle or story-led experience.
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