New Open-World Game is a Perfect Replacement for Red Dead Online

While Red Dead Redemption 2 is widely recognized as a modern classic, the problems with its multiplayer offering are also well documented. Players took issue with Red Dead Online’s lack of support compared to GTA Online, which has been treated like a golden goose by Rockstar Games. Additionally, Red Dead Online suffered from hacking issues and a lackluster economy where players had to work hard to obtain cash through gameplay, yet left them with little to spend it on once they actually amassed said money.

With Red Dead Online not having the staying power to be the definitive multiplayer cowboy game, games like The Legend of California have room to really make an impact. What Legend of California has going for it is the pedigree behind it, as Jeff Kaplan is a part of Kintsugiyama, the company developing the game. Kaplan’s experience with Overwatch practically guarantees that Legend of California’s FPS mechanics will be satisfying to engage with, and its PvP should be similarly enjoyable. Plus, with experience on World of Warcraft under Kaplan’s belt, everything in between the first-person shooting and fights with other players will likely turn out to be similarly enjoyable.

The Legend of California Features at a Glance

• EXPLORE an expansive and evolving open world with distinct biomes and iconic landmarks.
• FIGHT wildlife, NPC outlaws, and other players with FPS combat that rewards skill.
• BUILD the ranch of your dreams together or solo, including useful structures like horse stables and mines.
• GATHER, COOK, and CRAFT to survive in gold rush era California.

The Legend of California is an open world, action-survival shooter set on the mythical Island of California during the gold rush era. Explore a vast, untamed frontier and forge your legacy alone or with friends.

The Legend of California’s PvPvE Approach Keeps Gameplay Consistently Varied

Like its name suggests, The Legend of California is all about elevating an unnamed outlaw (or posse of outlaws) to legendary status. Players will begin in a fairly empty (yet downright beautiful) rendition of 1800s California, taking in the colorful biomes and landmarks as they explore. Mechanically, they’ll engage with all the expected systems from this kind of open-world game—they’ll track down resources to craft stronger gear, hunt animals to keep themselves fed, and wield various guns along the way. And that gunplay is exactly where Kaplan’s expertise should come into play.

Overwatch’s hero shooter mechanics always rewarded skill and precision, two traits that The Legend of California specifically highlights as key parts of the design philosophy when it comes to combat. Though the game is primarily PvE, meaning players will do their share of shooting animals and clearing NPC camps for quick coin, PvP will be available as well. And, much like first-person shooting, PvP will be up this studio’s alley given Kaplan’s work on the most critically acclaimed hero shooter ever made.

To be clear, The Legend of California is a PvE-centric western & cowboy game, meaning that traditional servers will treat player vs. player warfare as an entirely optional mechanic. If players want to enjoy some casual building or adventuring with their friends, they can opt out of conflicts with other gamers by avoiding the clearly marked PvP zones spread throughout the open world. At any given point, only 20% of the map will be covered in combat arenas, with PvP combat being off limits in the rest of the map. Inside these zones, players can steal “lawless” items, and if they escape the zone with them, they’ll have extracted the loot and successfully robbed enemy gangs. Perhaps the most exciting thing about The Legend of California’s limited-but-unique approach to PvP is these shifting zones. As a session goes on and the zones move, different player-made structures can be found within them. Essentially, this allows for an infinite number of “maps” to fight in, with various player-made structures in different servers getting held in the combat zones.

The Legend of California’s Approach to Multiplayer is Already a Huge Win

While The Legend of California’s world will begin as a fairly empty playground with some scattered shops and old timey vibes, it will eventually become full of buildings hand-crafted by players. Gamers will design their own ranches piece by piece, and they won’t just be for show. Stronger crafting stations can be housed in the bases, stables can be placed for quick access to horses, and mines can be built so that players don’t have to venture far to collect necessary materials. And for those that wish to engage with PvP, bases could be carefully built to function as memorable arenas as well as homes, with high ground, alleys that lead nowhere, and other clever designs that throw off players caught on a posse’s home turf.

The Legend of California makes it as easy as possible to form a co-op Company with three other players, and once they’ve done so, groups will share all their resources, buildings, and progress. Players will also be able to contribute to their Company’s growth even if they’re the only one online, as dedicated servers means that gamers can log in and log out whenever they please. With other Companies building in other parts of the world, each server could eventually look different from the last, with Legend of California’s open world becoming increasingly intricate the more times players spend within it.