I think Kenshi as a piece of art often asks the player what would they do if it meant living another day. What is too far, too cruel? Would you propagate a machine of suffering if it meant another day of life for every person you wronged?
Take the proliferation of slavery in the United Cities for example. It is wholly optional. Entire save files havent touched a slave shop. But kidnapping bandits and trading human life for profit ingame is relatively easy. Any unconcious fool on the side of the road is an easy 400c. at least, most likely more. Keep in mind this is a game whose main premise is the sheer bleakness of it all- the endless famine, bloodshed, and political corruption. Every Catan credit counts- every paycheck is one more morsel of jerky of stave off malnutrition. The systems in place are built to turn citizens against one another so that the elites may continue to thrive on the fat of the land.
But we are also shown despite the towering, seemingly unmovable monolith of the slave economy, that people want to change it. The people are fed up with it, they rebel! Communities form of abolitionists dedicating their lives to the cause, no matter the turmoil they must endure! The game whispers the truth in hushed tones atop the dunes: Complicity in a cruel system is never the only option.
A major crux of several themes of Kenshi is the testing of the player's resolve. This is one of them- Asking the player if they have the resolve to do the right thing no matter the cost to the self, and stating how enduring the kind but painful path is how we build a better world.
jbbartram-illu
jacobvanloon
prguitarman
blakekathryn
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gummygunk
