Action · December 6, 2018

Kenshi (2018)

extension1 DLClocal_offer-60% current discountgroup1M–10M ownerstrending_up5.4k peak concurrentrecommend89.7k recommendations
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.

Action releases from 2018

175 Action titles launched in 2018 — top 6 by review volume.

Position in Action

MetricThis titleGenre position
Review volume98.1k Steam reviewsTop 7% in Action
Positive rating95% positiveGenre average: 83% — this title sits in top 14%
Metacritic75/100Genre average 77 — top 65% of Action titles
Concurrent peak5.4k playersTop 3% in Action by live player count
Engagement hours74 h averageTop 5% for session depth among Action

Peer Action titles

Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.

Community Tag Signals

Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.

  • Open World · 1.8k
  • Sandbox · 1.5k
  • RPG · 1.4k
  • Survival · 1.4k
  • Strategy · 889
  • Building · 854
  • Base-Building · 820
  • Singleplayer · 791
  • Post-apocalyptic · 779
  • Crafting · 720
  • City Builder · 637
  • Indie · 554
  • Adventure · 531
  • Simulation · 525
  • Management · 497

Localization Coverage

Interface / Subtitles (9)

  • English volume_up
  • Spanish - Spain volume_up
  • Portuguese - Brazil volume_up
  • Japanese volume_up
  • German volume_up
  • Russian volume_up
  • French volume_up
  • Simplified Chinese volume_up
  • Korean volume_up

Full audio (9)

  • English
  • Spanish - Spain
  • Portuguese - Brazil
  • Japanese
  • German
  • Russian
  • French
  • Simplified Chinese
  • Korean

Reception Metrics

Steam community

95%Overwhelmingly Positive · 98.1k reviews

93.2k positive · 4.9k negative

Metacritic

75/100 critic aggregate

Open Metacritic page

Metacritic user score

8.5/10

Curator recommendations

89.7k

Peak concurrent players

5.4k

Press Quotes

'Kenshi impresses the bejeesus out of me. Given the opportunity, I’m confident I would play it for a year – more, even.' - Rock Paper Shotgun 'Bestest Bests' '84/100 - Work through the presentational ugliness and technical awkwardness, and you’ll find an experience of frightening depth.' - PC Gamer '8/10 - Kenshi has a unique style with anything you accomplish in the game feeling like a true achievement.' - Cultured Vultures

Engagement Profile

All-time avg

74h

substantial (40–100 hours)

Median

13h

Typical completion time

2-week avg

15h

Current engagement

Release & Availability

Release dateDec 6, 2018
DeveloperLo-Fi Games
Base price$11.99 -60%
DLC / Add-ons1 released
PlatformsWindows
Estimated owners1M–10M
External linksOfficial site · Metacritic page · Support

Features & Capabilities

Community

  • Steam Trading Cards
  • Steam Workshop

Other

  • Single-player
  • Includes level editor
  • Family Sharing

Content Notes

Contains plot related discrimination against women and fictional races. Contains heavy combat displaying realistic injuries such as limb severence, blood and death. Contains illegal drug trade and smuggling.

Editions & Packages

  • Buy Kenshi