Kenshi is a fantastic game where you genuinely make your own story and can do anything in a huge open world with a post apocalyptic samurai aesthetic.

In the same vein as Mount & Blade, UnReal World, and other similar sandbox games; Kenshi has no main story, no pre-determined path to follow. This game is truly a story generator, you will become attached to characters, despise certain factions, genuinely feel affected when someone dies or loses a limb or becomes enslaved. You will make allies, enemies, friends, bases, do anything you want to. You wanna play a lone wandering samurai who bounty hunts? Do it. You wanna be a trader who runs a caravan and makes money selling things at higher value? Do it. You wanna renovate houses in cities and run businesses or training facilities out of them? Do it. Mining operation, hunting guild, farming plantation? Do it. You can ignore so many systems in this game or use all of them. There is an entire city-sim in this game you can choose to not do and not truly miss anything because you are still getting an amazing generated story the way you want it. Group-based rpg. Bounty hunting sim. Solo RPG. City builder. Guild organizer. Thief simulator. Business simulator. All of these things you can do or not. Your choice.

The gameplay is satisfying, very similar to Morrowind in the way of early on you will be missing and getting hurt a lot, but by the end you can feel the grind pay off, your characters becoming skilled and useful. If you enjoy the power gap in games you will enjoy this one, it is not a game about being powerful at the start as you won't be. You need to train. You need to lose fights. You need to get better gear. And it is all so satisfying.

The world is gorgeous and unique, the cities and wilderness and just overall design is so alien and fun and horrifying and beautiful. The music too is just outstanding, the Main Theme in particular makes me feel so emotional, the same way some of the most memorable tracks in gaming like Ezio's Family for AC2 make me feel. Its so good, the mournful yet adventurous and bright sound of the world is hypnotizing and invites you in.

Also, Beep is my truest love.

Reviewed on Feb 11, 2024


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