I’ve grumbled before about past eras and about how there’d be no chance of a modern chap like me surviving. The Wild West, though? I got this.
It’s rude of you to ask, but there’s lots of reasons, actually. First, we had a Laser Quest inside the Spanish City in Whitley Bay for a short period in the early ‘90s, and I was awesome. I was blasting people left, right and centre, ran so many circles round a friend that he sprinted into a mirror and gave himself concussion. Great times. It’s a transferable skill. Anybody comes raiding my ranch, I’d pick ‘em off, no problem. I’d have to run a ranch in the first place, though. Not sure how to do that. There’s horses and stuff. I’m getting a peculiar gait as the years pass, so riding horses won’t affect me there. And I get on with animals, apart from the bitey ones…
The game. We’re here for the game. Western Legends Stories from Kollosal Games is an open-world narrative-driven experience in which a collection of short episodes will intertwine into a larger story. You’ll be able to do everything you’d expect in a Wild Western experience – fight, hunt, survive, and shape the future of an emerging frontier town – but you’ll do so under your own terms, tackling these challenges how you see fit.
While this standalone edition retains many of the elements from the original Western Legends, such as duels, robberies, mining, the Marshal/Most Wanted trackers, but adds in new building types, interactive NPCs, and permanent decisions that impact the town and its surroundings as well as your own character (although note that this isn’t considered a ‘Legacy’ type game). You can choose the kind of life you want to live: be a sheriff, a hunter, a miner, a builder, an explorer, and more. The map will open up further and further as your adventures go on.
There’s an amazing amount of cards, judging by the available images, which is to be expected from an open world game that intends to give you freedom to play your way. The artwork is evocative of and appropriate to the setting. The entire campaign is replayable, as each scenario, depending on your choices, has various events and narrative developments that may or may not occur. Even the campaign’s conclusion can vary. In short, two playthroughs of the same scenario will feel vastly different!
If you’ve played Western Legends then you’ll love the freedom you have to approach the game on your terms (and if you’re a videogamer then you’ll already dig the Red Dead vibe). If you’re new, then the story-driven campaign should draw you in deep, with each session lasting around 90-180 minutes – great for one of those Sundays when old John Wayne movies are on in the background.
My advice? Get yourself to Laser Quest for some training pardner, then mosey on over to the Kickstarter here and sign up for notifications. This is one cowboy adventure you won’t want to miss.