By Jacob Miller | Sep 10, 2026
While Red Dead 2 allowed players to switch to first-person view optionally, Westlanders makes it the primary way players will experience the game, with the camera only pulling back while driving a customizable wagon across the map. Visually, the game looks genuinely impressive, promising a dynamic world filled with unpredictable encounters, wildlife survival challenges, bandit shootouts, and hidden locations scattered throughout its open world.
Settlement Building Becomes a Core Mechanic
Red Dead fans should brace themselves, because unlike RDR2, where building was mostly reserved for a story-driven epilogue, Westlanders turns construction into a central gameplay pillar. Rather than simply building a single home, players will construct entire settlements, connecting multiple hubs that can be automated over time, giving the game strong appeal for fans of automation-heavy titles like Satisfactory as well.
Westlanders lets players explore its open world solo or alongside friends in co-op, battling hostile gangs and dangerous wildlife through first-person shooter combat. Survival elements come into play too, with players needing to manage threats like suffocation in mines, waterborne illness, and frostbite depending on the environment.
A customizable wagon serves as both a mobile campsite and a way to meet new characters throughout the journey, while character progression comes through skill tree upgrades, base expansions, and crafted tool improvements. Players can also build and automate large outposts, linking them together through roads to form functioning trade networks.
A World Built With Red Dead-Level Detail
With Red Dead Online support largely stagnant, cowboy enthusiasts looking for a co-op alternative may find Westlanders appealing. Whether the game can match the storytelling depth and memorable strangers found in Rockstar's beloved franchise remains to be seen, though developers have promised a world filled with fascinating characters, hidden secrets, and diverse locations to discover. Threats will vary as well, ranging from aggressive wildlife like wolves to NPC gangs willing to fight back if players let their guard down.
Rather than relying on generic biomes with only surface-level differences, Westlanders aims to follow Rockstar's example by carefully crafting each region to feel distinct. Players can expect unique wildlife and region-specific crafting resources in different areas, encouraging exploration and potentially motivating players to build bases across multiple locations.
There are also environmental dangers in the works, such as the danger of frostbite in cold areas without the proper gear, trouble breathing while exploring mines, and waterborne illnesses associated with swampy areas, giving Westlanders noticeable survival game aspects at times.
Just as Arthur Morgan's gear improved gradually over the course of Red Dead Redemption 2 through hunting, shopping and exploring, Westlanders' characters will grow in power over time through a tech tree system that unlocks powerful gear and useful structures. Players will gather resources to craft melee weapons and firearms. Random events in the world will also add some flavor to exploration and give players more materials to craft with. They also help keep the outpost system feeling dynamic, as players will sometimes need to defend their settlements from attacks by scavengers and wildlife.
This is where Westlanders starts to differentiate itself from other Western titles. It all begins with the player's wagon, which acts as a customizable mobile home instead of merely bonding with a single horse like in Red Dead. Groups can choose drivers, which horses pull the wagon, and which upgrades to add to improve storage and other stats. Once players have decided where they want to settle, the wagon becomes the start of full settlement building.
Building settlements is a hallmark of games like Bethesda's Fallout and Starfield, and Westlanders looks set to deliver a similarly satisfying experience. In their towns, players are able to build and adorn buildings, unlocking new structures and decorations through a tech tree system. Once settlements are established, players can then build road networks from their base to other player-made settlements, akin to the connecting road systems seen in Death Stranding.
Once a network of towns has been constructed, players can progress to automation, as developer Breach Studios has promised factory-level efficiency when Westlanders launches on Steam in 2027. The resources you have gained from exploration can be used to hire specialized workers that can be given tasks and paid wages. Each worker will have different strengths and weaknesses and will improve at what they do the more they work. Players are basically building a whole trade empire with the ability to build trade routes over custom roads and hire guards to protect them from thieves. Westlanders puts the player in the shoes of adventurer, outlaw and business owner all in one, providing plenty of variety to keep co-op groups busy for hours.
