Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 364 sampled Steam reviews (344 positive / 20 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing13% mention it
- World & exploration4% mention it
- Grind & repetition4% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Bugs & crashes45% mention it
- Story & writing15% mention it
- Grind & repetition15% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
72%
18 reviews
5-15h
88%
41 reviews
15-40h
91%
45 reviews
40-100h
96%
81 reviews
100h+
98%
179 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (Metacritic) | – | 75 | 8 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 96% | 90 | 1065 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 88 | 44 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 95% | 89 | 3000 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Feb 6, 2024) · 300 reviews sampled · 33595 total reviews in window · weighted 243.9 up / 8.9 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (9)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 75
“Kenshi has hard difficulty. Kenshi is bugged as hell. Kenshi demands patience. But in return, Kenshi offers opportunities and freedom that you won't find anywhere in the RPG genre. If Kenshi were a AAA title with an unlimited budget, huge team, and high-quality design it would deserve much higher praise.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“An intriguing RPG/Survival hybrid sandbox that invites you to experiment in the world it presents. Some technical hiccups interrupt the open world and the freeform nature definitely isn’t for everyone but if you are after something different, Kenshi is the very definition of that.”
read full review ↗ - 84
“Work through the presentational ugliness and technical awkwardness, and you’ll find an experience of frightening depth.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Do not trust your first impression - this game is a true gem. Elaborate, huge, unbridled, stylish, fresh, captivatingly different. The only blemish is its poor performance and many bugs.”
read full review ↗ - 61
“A hardcore, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi survival game that is nothing if not challenging. Despite being in beta and harboring a variety of issues, Kenshi shows great potential; and its beta status leaves hope that some of that potential will be realized. This is a game that is very difficult to become established in, but that just adds value to your investment of time and strategy. ”
read full review ↗ - 50
“It took Chris Hunt and his small team 12 years to develop Kenshi and that unfortunately shows. The game utilizes an archaic engine, is poorly optimised and hideous most of the time. It also does next to nothing to help the player get a grasp of its mechanics, and, as it happens, their complexity are Kenshi’s most important aspect. I would be happy to love this game, because I understand and applaud Hunt’s idea of completely open gameplay, but loving Kenshi is extremely hard. [02/2019, p.47]”
- 80
“Kenshi is a colossal RPG that allow you explore its vast world whatever you want. You can be a thief, assassin or a simple farmer, and you will find always great adventures to live. ”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Kenshi is not a normal game and it's necessary to understand the long development and the intention of the developer to judge it. With its infinite possibilities, there's quite nothing like it and it's a dream come true for some players, but others will find the dated graphics and poor optimization unacceptable. Still, to create such an open world so well crafted with such a small team deserves the utmost respect”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Kenshi is the Dark Souls of the hardcore RPG segment.”
read full review ↗
GRYOnline.pl
GameGrin
PC Gamer
GameSpace
CD-Action
MeriStation
Multiplayer.itPatch history
- Community Update: 3 Million Copies SoldMay 25, 2026
- Kenshi 1.0.68 Patch NotesApr 1, 2024
- Kenshi 1.0.67 - Experimental BranchMar 26, 2024
- Kenshi 1.0.65 + FCS 2.14.2 HotfixFeb 22, 2024
- FCS 2.14.1 Hotfix (Experimental)Feb 15, 2024
- Kenshi 1.0.64 / FCS 2.14 Patch NotesFeb 6, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Kenshi 1.0.64 Patch Notes (experimental)Mar 24, 2023
- Kenshi 1.0.62 Patch Notes (experimental)Mar 23, 2023
- Heaps of localisation updates, weight bug fix (CN), and font bug fix (global)Mar 22, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Kenshi 1.0.60 Patch Notes (experimental)Mar 22, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- FCS Update 2.13Oct 17, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Kenshi 1.0.59 (experimental)Feb 8, 2022
- Kenshi 1.0.58 (experimental)Feb 1, 2022
- Kenshi 1.0.57 (experimental) - Plus FCS 2.1 updateJan 31, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Japanese language updateJan 31, 2022
- 1.0.55Dec 13, 2021
- Community Update #43: More Merch, FCS Updates, Japanese Language Overhaul & MoreDec 13, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Kenshi 1.0.55 (experimental branch)Jun 21, 2021
- Kenshi 1.0.54 (experimental branch)Jun 21, 2021
- Community Update #41May 27, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Kenshi 1.0.53 (experimental branch)May 5, 2021
- Kenshi 1.0.52 (experimental)Mar 18, 2021
- COMMUNITY UPDATE #40Feb 15, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Kenshi 1.0.51Jan 22, 2021
- COMMUNITY UPDATE: #39Nov 18, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Kenshi 1.0.51 (Experimental Branch)Oct 6, 2020
- August Community UpdateSep 30, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- July Community UpdateAug 4, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Kenshi v1.0.50Jul 16, 2020
- Kenshi 1.0.50 (Experimental Branch)Jul 10, 2020
- Kenshi 1.0.49 (Experimental Branch)Jul 8, 2020
- Kenshi 1.0.48 (Experimental Branch)Jul 7, 2020
- May Community UpdateJun 15, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Kenshi v1.0.47bMay 28, 2020
- March Community UpdateApr 20, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Kenshi v1.0.46Apr 14, 2020
…and 28 earlier patch announcements.