Kenshi

Quick Overview
Kenshi is a brutal open-world sandbox RPG where the game does not treat you like a hero. You can be a trader, thief, bounty hunter, slave, warlord, farmer, explorer, or just a starving nobody trying not to get eaten. It mixes RPG progression with squad control, base building, survival, and real-time strategy elements. The Steam page describes it as a free-roaming squad-based RPG focused on open-ended sandbox gameplay instead of a linear story.

What makes Kenshi special is that failure becomes part of the story. Losing a fight, getting captured, crawling away injured, or rebuilding after disaster can be more memorable than winning. It is rough, strange, and unforgiving, but that is exactly why it has such a strong cult following.

Who Should Play This Game?
Play Kenshi if you enjoy games that give you freedom instead of clear instructions. It is perfect for players who like survival RPGs, colony management, squad building, exploration, base construction, and creating their own story without a main quest constantly guiding them.

It is also great for players who enjoy difficult games where progress feels earned. Your characters start weak, but they improve through pain, training, injuries, and survival. However, if you want polished combat, cinematic missions, or a clear story path, Kenshi may feel too harsh and directionless.

Performance on PC
Kenshi is not graphically heavy, but it can still be demanding in its own way because of the huge open world, AI systems, large squads, cities, pathfinding, and loading between areas. The Steam requirements list 6 GB RAM, a dual-core 64-bit processor, DirectX 11, and 14 GB storage as minimum, with 16 GB RAM and a quad-core CPU recommended. Steam also recommends installing it on an SSD for better performance.

On modern PCs, it usually runs fine, but you may still notice loading pauses, stutter, or frame drops in busy towns and large battles. An SSD, enough RAM, and lower view distance or shadows can help a lot. Overall, Kenshi is easy to start but benefits strongly from better hardware because the world simulation can get heavy over long play sessions.