Kenshi

Kenshi is a free-roaming, squad-based RPG set in a harsh desert world. It has no linear story or chosen hero: you decide how to live, from trading, farming and adventuring to theft, rebellion and war, while building the strength and wealth to survive. You can travel alone or with a squad, aid or oppose the world’s factions, and pursue your own goals as the world continues to change around you.

The world and its people

The seamless game world covers over 870 square kilometers. Its people and NPCs have names and lives of their own, and any character can be an equal rather than a specially powerful hero. The world does not scale to your progress, and shops do not adjust their stock to your level; at the start, almost everyone is stronger than you, and survival remains a struggle.

Events such as capture by cannibals or enslavement and forced work in the mines are not scripted. They can happen by chance in the changing world, and can be overcome if you gain enough strength. You can support or hinder factions, keep to yourself, free slaves or become one, live in a town or the desert, build a fortress or raze a city. The setting has no magic or fantasy-knock-off clichés.

Build your squad

You can design as many characters as you want and assemble them into a squad. They gain strength and experience, changing both their stats and appearance. Train them from weak victims into skilled warriors, and carry wounded squadmates to safety so you can get them home alive.

The AI lets characters reason and work toward long-term goals. Squads cooperate and carry their wounded, while characters can be assigned to handle micromanagement and run production at your base.

Research and build

Research new technologies and equipment, craft gear, and purchase and upgrade buildings. Buildings can serve as fortified havens, house a business or form the basis of a base where you research technology, improve defences and craft equipment.

Injuries and survival

Injuries and medical conditions affect how your characters fight and travel. A wounded leg can make a character limp or crawl and slow the party; an injured arm can limit them to a one-handed sword or prevent them from using a weapon. Severe injuries can lead to amputations that require robotic limb replacements. Blood loss can make a character pass out, and spilled blood attracts predators. Equipment, encumbrance, blood loss, injuries and starvation all affect character stats.