Kenshi is a game where you start off feeling small, incapable, and alone. From the get go, you are basically a nobody; just another face in the crowd, another cog in the machine, another meatbag for the grinder - but it's not what you are, but what you would rather be, and how you get there that makes this game enjoyable. The journey to the ultimate destination of your own choosing is where the fun lies. Will you be a lone trader, looking to accrue the greatest mountain of wealth the post apocalyptic world has ever seen? Or a wandering swordsman who hides their true strength to dispatch armies with relative ease? Perhaps a general at the head of your own personal body guard? Or the mayor of a little tiny village just beyond the next dune? Regardless of what your goal is, it is exactly that - yours.

When I started playing Kenshi, the one thing that first struck me was the graphics. Relatively blocky, and a bit funny to look at in some cases, i.e.: buildings clipping in a sand dune, or walls built at unreasonable angles. But, I don't play a game for graphics; to me that's just a secondary benefit. What I'm after is the gameplay, and what I was in store for really put a smile on my face.

My character started out in a small town on top of a mountain range. I could see another down off in the distance, and figured that I'd walk there after exploring this little fortress in the sky. Did I mention that the towns are more like fortresses? I didn't? Well, imagine a town surrounded by walls taller that the highest in-game building, with a group of 20 or so very heavily armed and skilled guards for it's protection. That's what constitutes a town in Kenshi. 'Relative' safety, but I'll get to that in a minute.

Heading towards the other town, I noticed that a group of bandits had started charging up the hill at me. I thought, "A group of bandits? Looks like fun, let's try out the combat!" and to my astonishment, I was obliterated. Beaten to within an inch of death, bleeding out in the beating sun, unconscious. My stomach had taken massive damage, and one of my arms was pretty much useless. I had been surrounded, beaten up, and left for dead. And my assailants? Took off to raid the town. Luckily, the city guard switfly dispatched them, but I was left on the hill. So, fast forward about half an in-game day, and I limp back to town (of course, I looted those bandits that attacked me and left them for dead; take that!). After patching myself up sufficiently, I take to luring bandits to town to enjoy the fighting with the guards and levelling myself up.

Now, speaking of levelling up, skills are sorted into multiple sections: dexterity, strength, the various weapon skills, just to name a few. You gain proficiency by performing the tasks. You get stronger by carrying heavy objects around, not by killing a few rats like some other games, but not like there's anything wrong with them. You develop your character through hard work and dedication. Want to become better at running? Take off your heavy equipment and do a few laps. Don't know how to swing your weapon? Engage a training dummy or another person for all that matters. Even your ability to widthstand pain can be increased. How? By losing. That's right, you are rewarded for losing. Those bandits didn't kill you when they had the chance? Sucks to be them, because now not only are you angry, but you're also more accustomed to the pain. The next time you see them, they may well be on the losing side of the fighting. Kenshi rewards you for survival and practice, much like the saying: whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

So back to my little tale to attempt to capture the game a bit more - After fighting a couple of fights with the city guard as backup, I tried luring a group of bandits back to the town only to my surprise - the guards at the gate weren't there. Either they left on a patrol, or were fighting another battle elsewhere, I had no time to check. The bandits were hot on my tail, and the only chance I had of survival was to either lead them away from town, or take refuge and hope to escape while they killed all the civilians. And in that moment, I saw a few brave men - shop guards - rush from the protection of their walls, and stop the bandits in their tracks. A bandit or two slipped by, and I gave chase. Unfortunately while I spent a good while fighting one, the other slayed an innocent civilian, and I was happy to see that the population count in the town had actually dropped. Protecting the towns actually has an incentive - no population = no trading. The bandits dispatched, the guards returned, and I resigned to head off towards that other town in the distance.

Now, as I could see the town, it didn't seem far. Plus, I had enough gold to recruit a new person to my little gang of righteous corpse theives. With some new equipment, a little bit of extra knowledge of how the world works and a new companion, I set out for the town. I travelled for at least two in game days. Two. I saw the sun rise, and set, then rise and set again. Such is the scale of Kenshi - the world is an open sandbox (quite literally at this point - no grass, just sand and rocks), and things that look far off in the distance are far off. And as I mentioned before, zooming out - I became a speck in the desert. The only that that kept my position known was the damn name tag floating above my head.

Kenshi may not be a game for everybody, but if you enjoy a bit of realism, and quite a bit of freedom, it may be worth it. It's still early access, which means that there are quite a lot of glitches, issues, bugs and crashes (I haven't encountered anything severe however), you may want to pass the game until it's more stable and developed decendant comes about. What appeals to me the most is actually two things: one, you are rewarded for winning, and are rewarded for trying. So long as you aren't dead, the game isn't over. It makes for one heck of a story if you keep little notes about what happens to your character when you play. The second thing is the scale and immersion of the game. Beyond the glitches sometimes breaking the immersion, I actually felt like a lone survivor in a desolate world, where people preyed upon the weak, and civilization may take days to reach on foot. Since I just recently bought the game, I can't say much about the developer, except that from reading what their vision is, it really is a grand one and has a lot of potential. Kenshi has lots of potential, but it also has lots of work left to be done. So pass it if you're looking for a more fleshed out game, but definitely get it if anything in this review has a major appeal to you. As for me, I'll be wandering the desert with my small group of companions trying to make a living in a world where death can come from even a small group of ill-trained, ill-equipped people. Afterall, you may know how to fight, but if a knife cuts you, you'll still bleed.

My First Two Days in Kenshi:

Whelp, this sucks. I'm in the middle of nowhere with a broken arm, a stick and no clothes. I don't remember much except that my name's Numura, I'm in a bad predicament and that predicament is due to some ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ named Teuchi. Well, what's a girl to do in this situation?

I really, really want to find some sort of civiliation, hell even a simple shelter, but there's nothing for miles...

Oh are those people off in the distance? Maybe they can he- oh. Oh ♥♥♥♥. They don't look friendly. Time to run around blindly like a headless chicken trying to avoid three groups of bandits.

Oh hell, one of them spotted me! Run!

Hey, who're those guys fighting down there? Whatever, maybe I can lose my persuers in the chaos of the fight.

...aaand the bandits are all dead. Let me just look through their stuff.... oh hey, a shirt! And pants! And *shoes*! Yes!

Wait, those other guys aren't attacking me? Huh, Holy Nation, hm? Seem like nice people. I'll follow you guys around for now.

Wow, you guys mean business, just up and murdering any bandit you find! Can we be friends? Oh, you only care about bounties? Well fine, Mr. Stick Up Your ♥♥♥, I didn't want to talk and hang out and tell jokes anyways! Jerk.

Oh hey, there's another group of people over there. And they're not bandits! Awesome. Hey, Holy warriors dudes, it's been fun but I really want to find a bed and maybe a shop, and these guys are trader so... bye!

Aaaaaand trading post ahoy! Time for sleeping and buying and- whatddya mean I don't have enough money for that armored hat?! Damned traders...

I'm going to state my opinion straight out so you understand where my reviews coming from before reading it... I already love this game. I find it challenging, immersive and immensely satisfying. I can't wait for more content even though I think what's currently there makes it a worthwhile experience for the price tag, any game that can have me put 45 hours in without even realizing it is going to be worth twenty-ish dollars in my book. Also, this game is absolutely not for everyone. That can not be stressed enough, if you don't like struggling in the beginning of a game you probably won't make it very far, it can be tough as nails if you aren't careful and even if you are you'll probably end up suffering through a few coma's in the early section while you're trying to make your character not useless. There, now that that's out of the way let's talk about the actual game.

The gameplay is kind of a mix between a diablo-style dungeon crawler and an RTS. Every character has their own stats that can be levelled up through using them, every character can be as strong if not stronger than your starting character. In fact the only real difference between them and your starting character is that you didn't start with them. The movement and combat are fairly basic, there's not much in the form of tactics yet. Other than ganging up on specific units and some limited flanking ability you can't control much more than who attacks who. The path finding can sometimes trip up in the more hectic battles (more on that later) but it is early access and that stuff is being ironed out.
The RTS elements shine through a bit more in the base building aspects, you build preset layouts for houses and fill them with various different things like work benches, beds or storage for materials. So far there's farming and resource mining as well as some crafting for weapons, armour and clothing. This will be a lot more balanced when things like hunger get implemented, right now there's not much to point to a farm other than making money and there isn't much to spend the money on other than materials and blueprints for items. You can also build defensive walls with gates and mounted crossbows for defense (and you'll need them, believe me) but these things can trip up the pathfinding again (still more on that later). Considering how unbalanced the economy currently is it still took me a while to get a base I was satisfied with and I enjoyed building it. It's only getting better as well.

The world is both great and not so great all at once. I found myself heavily immersed in the world, I love the style and the sense that you're picking through the bones of an advanced civilization that's been long ruined, the atmosphere is just fantastic. The aesthetic is my kind of thing with obvious asian influences and you can really feel isolated and threatened in the early goings until you have a decent squad, then you feel like you're a match for the world and that's a really satisfying moment. However... as much as I love the feeling of the world, sometimes it can feel really empty. Yes, it's a wasteland and it's meant to feel that way, but if that's not your kind of thing it will really turn you off. I feel like the addition of small bandit camps to go along with the roaving bands and some oasis-like areas where more plants grow would really do a lot to help that. There's also some work happening on adding creatures to the world and I think that will do wonders for this particular problem. My bar for a well done isolated setting is set really high to be fair, once you play S.T.A.L.K.E.R: shadows of chernobyl it's hard to settle for anything less. The fact I'm even willing to compare the two is very telling about just how great the atmosphere is here.

Now, on to the bugs (disclaimer: I haven't played for a while so some of these may have been fixed since my last session, I'll explain in a bit). You get to hear about the pathfinding which is my main issue. It's kind of broken. It's serviceable for the most part, they can manage to traverse long distances and only rarely do they get stuck, however they still get stuck and that's pretty annoying. I use the "bodyguard" command to make sure my squad moves at the same speed (an option to just make them do that would be nice) but the pathfinding for that is far worse than the regular stuff, they match speed and stay at the same relative position to the character they're guarding and don't realize if they're about to walk into a wall, this is where they most often get stuck because for some strange reason edges like to grab hold of characters and they get stuck in the ground. Also, I've never had them defend anything while under the bodyguard command. Frequent quick-saves make this a mild irritation at worst and if you ever get really stuck and haven't saved for a while there's an option in the menu to pick up and drop all your characters on the center of your camera to unstick them, but it's still a bug and it needs to be mentioned. The other issues with it are also minor, in a big fight sometimes units can get confused about what they should do and end up standing around with their finger in their nose while their buddy is fighting three bad guys at once but they eventually get it together. The last issue I have is that closing the gates breaks the pathfinding when your units are outside, if you close the gate no matter how far away they are or where you tell them to move they will turn around about half the time and walk back to the gate to maually open it. It can be really frustrating but the only time you need the gate closed is when bandits are attacking and they give you advance warning so it can be pretty easily circumvented.
Aside from the pathfinding there's an odd (yet hilarious) bug with picking up and putting down characters, if you do it on the ground they pop up into the sky and get sent flying. They only stop if they hit a mountain or you use taht un-sticking method I previously mentioned. Again, it's just a minor annoyance and it doesn't happen if you put them in a bed or jail cell which is where you should be taking them anyway, but if you get attacked you can't put down whoever you're carrying and you run the risk of getting knocked out yourself.
This is less a bug and more of a flaw with the system itself, and it's also the main reason I haven't played in a while. There's a serious memory issue, the game runs on a 32-bit engine and it doesn't have a high enough memory limit for extended play. I'm not sure if everyone has this problem but I can only play for about ten minutes at a time now, it's progressively gotten worse the bigger my base got and the more people I had control of. It used to take a number of hours to crash on me. This could be my fault, I haven't exhausted every troubleshooting option yet, but all the same it's an issue that needs to be addressed. There's also talk of transferring to a 64-bit system which would probably eliminate the issue, but as of my last play session it wasn't implemented and I can only talk about my experience.

TL;DR, this game is an extremely rewarding and challenging experience if you're willing to stick through it and are a fan of post-apocalyptic worlds or deserts in general. If not, there's very little in it for you. The early game is pretty slow and it relies on you enjoying the world around you more than the gameplay, afterwards they both work together and that's when the game shines. If you can't handle crashes or potenitally broken AI then hold off on your purchase but definitely keep an eye on this, when all the issues are ironed out this game will be phenomenal. If you don't mind crashes or other early access problems then this game is worth the money as-is and will only get better with time.

So, this is probably going to be one of my favourite games of all time.

Despite the game being not having half the features that are planned for it, I'm hooked, because what it does contain is fantastic, and the potential of it excites me beyond belief.

Quality:
As it is currently, there are some minor annoyances bug/glitch wise (I.e wall/gate placement in base building, items dissapearing when dropped, and people being launched into the sky when put down) but with a pinch of salt and frequent quick-saving, it's nothing that will spoil your experience and the game is very playable as it is.

Value: (I paid £12.99)
For your money, you get to support the development of a game that will hopefully set the standard for future RPG's, as well as many, many, hours of what is currently very enjoyable Alpha gameplay. And if you're like me, and are really excited about where this game is going, you get to feverishly await the addition of future content!
I've clocked just over 60 hours on this playthrough and feel like I've more-or-less plumbed the depths of it by exploring most of the map, filling up my sqaud with people, doing 99% of the research and getting my main guys to be pretty good at what they do. However I could probably wring another 10-15 hours out of this playthrough easily, and the game has the potential to be infinitely replayable. I'd happily start over right now.


Brief Overview:
Until you can build your first outpost, you'll spend most of your time roaming around a vast and empty desert. I s**t you not. But trust me, you'll love it, because it's so atmospheric. Also, you will be very, very, very, cautious, hopping between the safety of city walls until you can toughen your guy(s) up. or you WILL get destroyed by ne'er-do-wells in the desert.

The thing I love most about Kenshi, is that it doesn't need quests or missions (although these may be implemented later), because it's an epic story that tells itself, and you make it up as you go along and become immersed in the story that you create.


Conclusion:
If you love RPG's, katanas, epic journeys, and immersive, open-ended, gameplay, then Kenshi is a no-brainer. The vast amount of potential this game has is a bonus. I wish all Early Access titles were this promising.


For a forcast of Kenshi's future development, check out this handy-dandy Roadmap: http://www.lofigames.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=295:roadmap&Itemid=71

When it comes to early access, there are really two questions facing any potential buyer: "Is it fun yet?" and "Will it be more fun in the future?"

The latter question is always a matter of faith. In this case, having read the developer's blog and having seen meaningful updates regularly rolled out, I believe that yes, this game will only get more fun. But again, that's a matter of faith, and I've seen smarter people than me have their faith in other early access projects shattered. In life we can be certain of death and taxes, but unfortunately not of patches and content updates.

So, that leaves our first question, is it fun now? With 50 hours invested so far, I can say that I certainly think so. There's no story to speak of at the moment, but the travails of your custom character(s) as they trek through the wastes, gaining strength and equipment, are gripping for a certain kind of player. You will suffer beatings from bandits, scavenge after NPC battles like a vulture, discover profitable trade routes between towns, build a base, hire new recruits, and of course craft. Eventually you'll be strong enough to lay bandits squads low, assault cannibal camps, or event crush the Samurai and Templar who patrol the desert.

There are bugs, but they are more irritating than game-breaking. There is a lack of story content, but with enough imagination it hardly matters.

If development stopped today, I'd be disappointed (a major pathfinding overhaul is supposedly imminent, and an incredible alien bestiary is on the horizon) but I'd still feel as if I'd gotten my money's worth. I therefore feel confident recommending Kenshi as a unique and fun experience, already worth your time and money.

This game has serious potential.. I've been playing it for 2 or 3 years now, and it's just gotten better.. great soundtrack and sounds have been introduced(for the most part), excellent armor and clothing additions..
The creator seems genuinely passionate about his game, and has hired more devs to further the game in depth and atmosphere.. I think this could be the real deal as far as greenlight goes.. (unlike SOME games)
I can't wait for the new map, as well as new animals, combat/sneak mechanics, etc.

I think this will be a good one, and worth watching out for if you aren't keen on unfinished games.. : )-~

This game is for RPG-Players. This game is for those who love Strategy games and building their own town. This game is for people who like freedom and a sandbox to live in. It's special, but if you really are a fan of all the above, you should get this game!

First of all, in my opinion the graphics are pretty decent, especially for this type of a game. I know it's far beyond those knock off titles upcoming like Witcher 3 and Inquisition, but keep in mind it's not a pure RPG, you build your own cities and there can be way more NPC onscreen at the same time than you would imagine( I had a realy big battle with like 50+ NPC's, all fighting at the same time). The Audio is well...improvable to say the least, but hey it's still early access. Story: there is none! Or to explain it better: think of your own story, why are your characters here? What do they want to accomplish? And the most important question: why are they doing, what they are doing? Right now there are no quests, but they will be implemented, just like several guilds/parties/groups you will most likely be able to join(if I am not mistaken). The landscape of Kenshi is...monotous right now. You're traveling a pure desert, with many high mountains, but also some dunes. There are many cities controlled by NPC factions, most of them small, some are bigger.

But for me the most interesting part is the sandbox part. You can litteraly build everywhere! I am not kidding. Only restrictions are terrain such as really high mountains and you're not allowed to build too close to an NPC city. So ever wanted to write your own story? Build your own little kingdom? Craft your own gear to quip your fighters? To send them on a conquest to foreign lands or people you do not like? Or do you just desire to trade peacefully? Or maybe, maybe you're the type of guy who wants to stay alone and take on a huge challenge by fighting all on your lonesome against hordes of bandits? Get it!

If you like RTS + RPG combined in a sandbox then this game is for you.

If I'd state the cons&pros -

Cons

- Can crash sometimes multiple times, then work for few hours with no problems
(this is early access so this is more like problem now than later)

- Late Game can feel like theres nothing to do, no real threat presence when squad is well equipped.
(depends how you play it)

- All the bugs and pathfinder. (sounds cliche)

- It's weird how people find this game hard,
if you play the game smart you find eventually its easier than you thought,
and can feel depressing. (the feel of threat eventually vanishes when you approach late game)

- I add some more if I figure something worth listing.

- Big map, yet so little content.

Pros

- Many ways to play it.

- Basicly you are free to do what you wish to,
no restrictions. (kill whom you like)

- This game really needs thinking, if you set the difficulty too hard
it might be really hard to get the game going (getting past early game),
which I find nice, the harder - the better.

- You can build your own base

- Playing wise pays off.

--

Other thoughts

If this game had multiplayer I'd even pay a month subscription for it.

5/5 in its current stage despite being in early access.

The concept of this game is awesome. A true open world oriented game, with innovative and fascinating mechanics.
An apocalyptic world, somewhere between Mad Max and Samurai ronin, where you get to build your own outpost, grow food and craft ever better blades and armor. lots of NPC to fight, or hire, leading to really great sword action scenes. The current desert map (they say a new bigger map is in the works) may seem empty, and it is, but will draw you in with red sunsets as you spend 10 minutes of real life time walking your character (or small army of 20) from a city to another.

Unfortunately, it has been left at that for too long, and hasn't been worked on seriously for maybe 2 years. I have only had it for the last year or so, and must say little work has been done in that time. Sure, a patch comes up every month or two, but only to add a new useless model, or a non working one. Something trivial that really adds too little to this beautiful broken sandbox.

The developers seem to take this game as a hobby, something to work on every now and then, and don't really address the the main problems; Broken economy, failing or halfway developed production trees, bad pathfinding system, frequent crashes, and numerous other glitches and bugs that makes the game unplayable (not to mention completely undeveloped, greyed out perks and abilities).
Pretty, and creative, but broken. And btw, that's just the games framework I'm talking about, there is no lore or content here of any kind. No quests, or Diplomacy, and the only reason you'll talk to an NPC is to hire it or trade with it.

But that's fine, as a game in development, it really is just that. Problem is you have no idea where it's going.
The developer site has little info to offer (lofigames.com). You can find there a nice 'current features in game' thread that's "updated regularly" but hasn't been touched since september 2012. Or you can check the game's Wiki for more game info, but that wasn't updated since patch 0.44 (we're at 0.69 now).
They have posted a 'roadmap' for what will be worked on, but wouldn't give any date, and at current pace, it will never happen. Sure, there are some promising announcements like a new path finding and 64bit engine, or a new map and even matching artwork for future animals, but since they did little to nothing in the last year or so, i'm very doubtful as to when or how that will come out.

The last few patches, every couple of months or so, were as minor and insignificant as can be (non working walls, useless prospecting ability), the kind of stuff that can be done by one programmer in one relaxed weekend. And they are tossed just like that, without any schedule or following any serious timetable. You never know when a new patch comes out, or what it may contain.

So do I recommend this game? no. I Don't.
I believe the guy who came up with it should really get some studio's attention, and maybe start working on a new project from scratch (sign me up for that!). I believe this is one hell of a concept, worthy of a real developing team, with real budget and timetable.
But at the moment, this is all you get for your money- the concept of a game. And judging from the past year of development, it will probably remain at that..

But if you're crazy about open world sandbox games, try this experience out. It really does have nice ideas to it.


P.S
nothing would make me happier than to rewrite this review once development picks up speed. It probably won't.

As a child, I improved rudementery reading skills with classic RPGs like Dragon Warrior 3, Shining Force, and Fire Emblem. These games were amazing, because in adition to cementing a sense of justice in a 5 year old, they presented a memorable plot, different forms of character development (DW3 with the personalities, where the personality determined stat increases, and was determined by initial stats. Shining Force with the stories told by your squadmates in the various bases found over the 8 chapters, as well as themes of amnesia. Fire Emblem for being, well, Fire Emblem.) None of that is in this game. Which makes it perfect.

"Why would you tell that story to point out what it doesn't have?"

Simple: Kenshi has everything else that made those games personally iconic. From Dragon Warrior 3, you have each squad member being completely unique from creation, with nearly endless possibilities for customization, with an open world. From Fire Emblem, you have that strategic element, same with Shining Force. But with no 'level' or 'class' system, there are no restraints. I'll admit, I plan after writing this to re-create Shining Force in game, by creating each of the characters in order of appearance. That'll be fun!

But it doesn't stop there. The combat is fluid, and the AI is great. Giving each limb, and core parts it's own hit points, and changing gameplay according to damage (and changing DAMAGE based on how you choose to heal it) is something more in-depth than most heavy LARP systems I've seen. You can build a base and be a group of peaceful farmers/traders (not that you need to eat). You can start a war with one faction (though I wouldn't reccomend it... ever), or become a group of mercenaries. The sandbox element is strong in this game.

While the game is still in alpha, the groundwork has been set for so much more than is already released (as a player, I'd be fine if I had to deal with what i've got.) The few bugs that are in the game are minute and are easily bypassed with frequent quicksaves and game imports. The dev, while a little slow in getting the game out, is very careful to minimize bugs. A perfectionist, if you will.

And this brings me back to that 5 year old playing those games for the first time, because while I can't play through those stories again, every click is another element that goes into a script playing in my head. While the characters may not interract on screen, they can be in the player's mind. As an adult, I've been a DM for a few years now, but Kenshi gives even more creative freedom to the player, which is the ultimate goal of an RPG. The only thing you can't do multiplayer, and i'm sure that by the time it gets to full release, it will have addressed that.

This game can only be catagorised as a Sandbox/RPG/RTS/Simulation/Open World/Base Building Awesomeness. This is better than most games released today, and for the price, you'd be a fool NOT to pick it up. The true brilliance of this game is that there is a start point, but it is infinite. The end is wherever you choose to stop.

"Toughness Stat - How to train:
-Not wearing armor; armor is for wimps.
-Getting hit for high amounts of damage, like a man.
-Get up and fight when you should be playing dead."

Sold.

You probably shouldn't play Kenshi. It is going to suck you in. Just walk away.

JK... but not reallly.

The thing crashes semi-frequently, and there are bugs such as the path-finding and character edge-sticking which reviews have mentioned, but these don't ruin it by far and are still in development (if your character is stuck in a wall, just tell another character to pick them up). Gameplay took some getting used to, as did the interface. Kenshi has a very balanced mechanic between RPG and RTS without feeling like either. More specifically, it somehow manages to combine the feel of Mount & Blade and Dwarf Fortress, with a little influence from Bioware-style party-management, into one intelligent video-game-gasm with some serious yet subtle attitude and atmosphere.

The new content being talked about is going to expand upon what is already hours of playability. Apparently there are going to be new maps, beasts, quests, and I could even see more Mount & Blade-like politics with faction leaders (you listening, devs?), and mounts, or vehicles, and other characters, and maybe even a storyline, and then there's the modding community, and... and... let me stop.

Enter the desert.

When I first saw this game, thought it was gonna be a M&B: Warband clone, only in a Asian setting, and that sounded great. But what this game is, is so much more, or at least potentially.

You create a character in a post apocalyptic feudal Japan-ish world, and from there your on your own. You can be a merchant, thief, shop owner, start your own town/outpost, craft your own weapons and armor, build different kind of functional buildings, research technology to build/craft even better stuff. You can train in fighting, stealth, repairing etc. by doing what ever you want to train in. Recruit squad members as bodyguards or as part of your personal mercenary group/army and control and train each person individually.

At first the game had sub-par GFX (It still not great, but aesthetically pleasing) and no sound, but bear in mind it was still in pre-alpha (currently in alpha), the graphics have improved since, and there is sound now. On top of that new major features keep being added every few months.

I bought the game when it was still $10, and it feels like an investment. I play it for a couple of months, when I come back after, say six months, more features are in and feels more polished every time. A few new major features (64bit engine, dialogue, overhauled pathfinding, animals/beasts and a new larger map with biomes) are planned for the near future. They already mentioned the beta in their latest progress update, price will probably go up again. In its current state (28/09/2014) the game is already very enjoyable, so buy it now while it's still in it's alpha pricing $20.

PS
I only started to play the game on Steam recently, my actual playtime should be more than 100 hours, maybe way more, I don't keep track realy :)

As of the writing of this review, I have about 49 hours in the game, and it's not finished. Forty-nine hours and it's not finished! They started with the sandbox (which is where they could have stopped as far as I'm concerned) and then started adding stuff! Grow a farm, mine for ore, learn how to make stuff, wander around and kill bandits, do whatever you want! Lo-Fi games is very good about updating fans, and they listen to comments. So check it out! Get in on the ground floor! Enjoy!

After searching for a game that even resembled Mount & Blade. I was able to find this gem of a game. I have played way more hours then what is currently said on steam, I had the game before they even put it on steam but I don't recall how long ago that was. Anyway this game is amazing and I love how unique it is from every game. The game first will first ask what gameplay do you want to start was and the option was wanderer and something else. Then you got thrown into game and had your character customize screen show up to change the way your character looked and name him as well. Then it would make you feel that you could not fight alone in the game and that you were just weaker then everyone since they've been through experiences that you haven't even experienced yourself like fighting. Since then they've added tons of new features like farming, mining, and crafting, as well as a lot of new defensive weapons at our disposal. They haven't done an update in a long time though since the next one is supposedley the 64-bit build, new pathfinding engine, and the map too. So i'll update this review when it comes out.

Highly recommendable, if you're one to be able to tolerate temporary bugs.
I am legimitately in love with this game. This was definately worth the buy.

For those who lean towards the more realistic side of survival, regarding combat, tactics, trade, and diplomacy, this is for you. This open world sandbox rpg does away with fictitious variables like hp and ability points, and replaces them with hard real-time experience.

Increase each area of each characters combat, industrial, and other functionality through practice and execution. There are no experience levels, or any other form of "sudden increase" that requires pointless grinding or unapplicable tasks. You are what you do, and as good as how much you do it, and neither are there restrictions that prevent you from choosing any path that you wish to walk. Want to be a simple guard? Sure. Want to be a farmer that's a one-man army? You bet! The only restriction is your dedication.

They may be out there, but no other game I have played has provided this much freedom in how you play, and what you wish to do.

Alpha game:
Currently the game has many bugs that can be frustrating at times (including one complete crash), but they are being worked out. The dev team is devoted towards this game, and it shows. The game currently lacks many of it's planned features, but even as it is, 450+ hours into the game, and I am still not finding it tedious, a grind, or any sort of repatetive. The planned roadmap for Kenshi looks beautful and it only shows that this game is going to get even better.

A few main bugs that need to pointed out:
First and foremost. A complete game crash can occurr. There is an autosave feature that helps you deal with this (which you can set the duration of the autosave), but it is there. I'd recommend checking the forum for more details about this "super crash". THere are factors that can contribute or void it.
Pathing is struggling a bit, but a solution to that seems to be on the horizon.

Fun rts/open world sandbox/rpg/squad management/base building game. The developer continues to update the game although progress is a bit slow, slow but steady. The game has already been well worth the money I have spent and it continues to get better with each patch that is released.

This really has a lot of potential! I love the openness of it and the lack of any real user friendly guide. This kind of forces you to decide what you want to learn to do. I wouldn't recommend this to the casual gamer as the learning curve is kind of steep but if you enjoy open world sandbox games with RPG elements then this game might be for you.

i love this game, it combines the best aspects of an RTS base building game and an RPG, but sadly since its in alpha its sooooo buggy, like play 2 hours and crash buggy. But nevertheless its a very good game that i reccomend if not buy it now wait till theyre atleast in beta stage.

I have never written one of these. Now basically if you have not bought this game, I strongly suggest you go on youtube and look up a video of the game. This game will not be *won* anytime soon. I think i am up to 140 hours or something like that, and still no where near enough to be able to safely say, I can easily take over the whole map. That is MY end game. The dev's are working hard. They are doing some good work. But remember this is still in development. So there are bug's. But so far from what I saw. *I had this game from pretty much close from first release* I have always enjoyed this game for what it is and offers. I strongly suggest you get this game is you like sandbox LONG games.

I've been playing for a long while now and only recently transferred my account from desura to steam, reason for my almost non-existent gameplay time...it's all about preference. All I can say is that this game is unique in its own way and a lot of reviews had gone into details which I would rather not repeat. The developer and maker of kenshi had before worked as a security guard before to make a living while designing this game until recently he got enough money from sales to form a small team. We had waited years for long intervals between updates but he had never disappointed us before. It is his persistence to complete this game, come what may attitude, is the selling point to me. I see it having a lot of potential and modable qualities, his preseverance and persistence at work is the deciding factor. Believe me, it will take some time to get a complete game but it will arrive and you will not be disappointed. It's just quality work by a single master-craftsman with a few helping hands to produce this gem, so you can't expect work to go fast to your liking....he wants it to be the best so for me, take all the time you need, just don't take too long....I hope. ^_^