There are Star Wars mods, and then there are Star Wars mods that look at the galaxy far, far away and decide it needs a lot more panic, infection, and bad decisions in the dark.
That is pretty much the vibe behind Death Troopers Overhaul, a new Kenshi mod built on top of Project Kathun, and it goes hard in a very specific direction: full-on survival horror inside one of the bleakest sandbox RPGs ever made. Which, honestly, sounds like a disturbingly good match.
Instead of just dropping in a few themed enemies and calling it a day, this mod aims to reshape the world into a nightmare version of Project Kathun inspired by Death Troopers. The setup is simple and grim in the best possible way. Rather than escaping, the infected from the story crash on the moon of Kathun. With Rebels and Imperials already fighting across the world and a strange infection spreading through the foglands, the Blackwing Virus takes over and pushes everything into chaos.
That is already a solid pitch. Star Wars meets Kenshi is one thing. Star Wars zombie horror inside Kenshi is another kind of problem entirely.
A horror overhaul instead of a small add-on
What makes this one stand out is that it is not trying to be a tiny flavor mod. The creator is treating it like a real overhaul.
So far, Death Troopers Overhaul adds new textures, new races, new enemies, new factions, infected spawns, overhauled cities and factions, a new roleplay start, and even new menus plus updated loading and character creation screens. That is a fairly chunky list already, especially for a project that is still marked as a work in progress.
According to the mod creator, the desert area is fully finished, and about half of the biome spawns across the world are already done. In other words, this is not just a cool idea on a mod page. It is already turning into a real playable horror scenario.
And that matters, because Kenshi is one of those games where atmosphere does a lot of the heavy lifting. If a mod can change the world map, the factions, the enemy spawns, and the general tone all at once, it can completely change how a run feels. That seems to be exactly what is happening here.
Why it fits Kenshi so well
Kenshi is already a game where things go wrong fast. You lose fights, limbs, money, dignity, and sometimes your entire squad because you wandered ten meters too far in the wrong direction.
So taking the Death Troopers concept and dropping it into that kind of world makes a weird amount of sense.
The mod seems to understand that. It is not just using Star Wars assets for visual flavor. It is leaning into dread. Infected zones, broken settlements, altered factions, and a horror-first tone all make this feel less like cosplay and more like an actual alternate scenario for the world.
That is probably the strongest hook here. It is not simply “what if Kenshi had Star Wars armor.” It is “what if Project Kathun turned into a galaxy-sized outbreak movie and left you stuck in the middle of it.”
That is a much stronger article pitch, and a much stronger mod pitch too.
Still unfinished, but already interesting
The creator is also pretty open about the fact that this is not done yet. The mod is roughly halfway complete, with more city overhauls, biome spawns, infected races, dialogue, and possibly more factions still on the to-do list.
Honestly, that kind of transparency helps. It sets expectations properly, and it also makes the current version a little more interesting to watch. You are seeing a big thematic overhaul in the middle of taking shape, not just a polished final release dropped out of nowhere.
It also sounds like the creator has a clear direction for where the project is going, which is half the battle with ambitious overhaul mods.
What you need to know before installing
There is one important catch: Death Troopers Overhaul requires Project Kathun as a base. So this is not a standalone conversion you just toss into a clean Kenshi install and hope for the best.
The mod creator also notes that it is incompatible with PK Rework, since that mod adds NPCs and interferes with town spawns. So anyone building a heavily modded Project Kathun setup is going to want to read carefully before smashing the subscribe button and creating their own personal bug report generator.
It also apparently pairs well with some of the creator’s other mods, especially Trooper Variants and Forgotten Relics, which helped inspire the infected angle in the first place.
A nightmare worth watching
There is something very appealing about a mod that knows exactly what tone it wants. Death Troopers Overhaul is not trying to be a little bit of everything. It wants to turn Project Kathun into a Star Wars horror sandbox, and from the feature list alone, it sounds like it is getting there.
If you like Kenshi when it feels hostile, and you like your Star Wars with more corpses, viruses, and collapsing order, this one looks worth keeping an eye on.
Because sometimes the best mod idea is not making a game bigger, prettier, or smoother.
Sometimes it is making sure the whole moon has gone horribly, gloriously wrong.
Stay connected with the galaxy’s latest updates!
Follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, bsky or Pinterest for exclusive content, mod guides, Star Wars gaming news, and more. Your support helps keep the Holonet alive—one click at a time
