When I first got this game I started a new world, wandered around, tried to mine some copper, was mercilessly beat into the ground like a street dog by 30 starving losers, and bled to death. I then closed the game, didn't play it for 3 years, developed full sentience, and opened the game again. 2165 hours.

TLDR
Kenshi has deep, gritty, dark lore, and interesting grind/levelling system that feels like lived experience once you get the gist of how things work. great sandbox (literally) game with tons of viable character builds. also Tinfist and the Anti-Slavers ROCKS. they're the real cool guys out there.

Kenshi is one of those rare games to me that made me try out first for a few hours, fail, frustrated, uninstall, then return back to it, only to dig deeper and deeper and realize how much fun it is the more you spend your time in it. the lore has this quiet, heavy depth to it, and it is not spoon fed through cutscenes. it is scattered through item descriptions, ruins, factions, strange artifacts, and the way people talk about history like it is still bleeding into the present. every new region feels like it has a past, and you can tell there are layers under the sand, and the game trusts you to notice them.

a huge reason i got emotionally invested was the Anti-Slavers. at first im just exploring through cities, thinking if there's any factions that's going to make a real difference; a revolution to overthrow the first few factions you see in-game that's just inherently wrong with them. Anti-Slavers, along with the minor faction Flotsam Ninjas are not just a checkbox faction, they feel like a first real answer to the entire brutal setting considering how many times civilizations in this game has collapsed. Tinfist especially is such a memorable hook to me - a husbando figure if you will. he is larger than life in a way that still fits Kenshi, like a legend that wandered out of the ruins and decided to start punching evil in the face with the "Fist of Justice!!!" Grey also deserves more love imo. basically the Anti-Slavers have this vibe of exhausted hope, but still stubborn, still pushing, and it hits hard in a world that keeps trying to grind everyone down.

and that word grind matters here, because Kenshi makes grinding feel novel instead of boring. the leveling is essentially your character's struggles and survival turning into competence - getting beaten up actually teaches you how to get beaten up next time *properly* and eventually fight back reliably without dying easily, running for your life levels athletics, hauling loot makes you stronger, etc. "what doesnt kill you makes you stronger" type of stuff. it feels natural and a little cruel, which is exactly the tone Kenshi is going for, and your squad’s growth becomes a story you remember because it is earned through disasters you barely survived.

the character build diversity is another reason it stays fresh for hundreds of hours. you can go as lone wanderer, stealth thief, nomad trader, bounty hunter, crossbow skirmisher, heavy armor wall, martial artist, medic support, or a chaotic mixed squad that somehow works. even the same build can feel different depending on which factions you ally with, which enemies you make, and which corner of the map decides to humble you next.

10/10 perfect gem of a game just lacking the PR and full-blast marketing it deserves imo because lots of people need to try this game out. looking forward to support the team more and waiting for the release of Kenshi 2!!

On the fence with Kenshi. Gave it a shot and it wasn't up to the hype for me. Kept playing waiting to to enjoy it more given the reputation but just couldn't get into it. Too many bugs and janky systems that didn't have the depth that I was expecting.

This is coming from someone who greatly enjoys games like Starsector and M+B so I really thought I would have liked this more.

That said, they nailed the post-apocalyptic vibe and art style is great. I'm hoping they can make a less buggy and more fleshed out Kenshi 2.