Kenshi similar games & best alternatives

Kenshi - Trailer
Kenshi - kenshi_1.avif
Kenshi - kenshi_2.avif
Kenshi - kenshi_3.avif
Kenshi - kenshi_4.avif
Kenshi - kenshi_5.avif
Kenshi - kenshi_6.avif

Kenshi

PC (Microsoft Windows) • 2018

Should you play it?

A free-roaming squad based RPG. Focusing on open-ended sandbox gameplay features rather than a linear story. Be a trader, a thief, a rebel, a warlord, an adventurer, a farmer, a slave, or just food for the cannibals. Train your men up from puny victims to master warriors.

What works

  • Extreme player freedom and autonomy
  • Deep emergent gameplay and storytelling
  • Large, immersive open world
  • Complex skill and progression system
  • Strong modding community enhancing experience

Things to keep in mind

  • Dated graphics and clunky ui
  • Performance issues and bugs
  • Steep learning curve and initial difficulty
  • Lack of multiplayer or social features
  • Tedious micromanagement and grind

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Tyranny

  • 5089: The Action RPG

  • Stickman Strikes: Conquer Fantasy World

  • Age of Wonders III

  • Age of Wonders 4

  • Gothic 1

Less dominating

Games that feels like Kenshi but with less domination over others

  • Banquet for Fools

  • Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG

  • Star Renegades

  • Age of Reforging: The Freelands

  • Dead Age 2: The Zombie Survival RPG

  • Jagged Alliance 3

Less social

Games that feels like Kenshi but with less teamwork and cooperation

  • Elemental: Reforged

  • Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes

  • Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark

  • Pine

  • MENACE

  • Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition

More competitive

Games that feels like Kenshi but with more competition against others

  • Empires Mod

  • Dune: Awakening

  • Impossible Creatures Steam Edition

  • Age of Wonders: Planetfall

  • Command & Conquer™ Tiberian Sun™ and Firestorm™

  • Dune: Spice Wars

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Kenshi. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Kenshi. These titles are not in What to play next.

Kenshi: Less representative of its motivational profile, with noticeable differences. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Fellowship, Domination. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Story, Exploration. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Competition.

Last update: 21/08/2026