Another vote for Kenshi. I’ve had 2-3 long, relatively successful games but I always end up just setting up a desert settlement near the religious slavers and growing my squad by taking out their work camps and recruiting the newly freed. It’s a good game loop.

For me at least, it is a slower game. I’d guess a couple dozen hours to comfortably face anything but the weakest tier of combatants, at least first game. A few goats will 100% maul your ass