Multiplayer RPG Re:Legend has farming, monster taming, and, crucially, 'co-op breeding'

Having earned nine times its Kickstarter target, multiplayer “sim-JRPG” Re:Legend is now as funded as it is adorable. It’s not hard to see why it caught fire. Developer Magnus Games seeks to blend the life sim elements that make games like Stardew Valley so hard to put down with an involved monster-breeding system—and top it off with four-person multiplayer, no less. On top of magical creatures called Magnus to tame, there’s also houses to customize, villagers to befriend, islands to explore and a class-based combat system.

Re:Legend isn’t short on promise, but its many features are sorely lacking in detailed explanations. To help fill in the blanks, I talked with Magnus Games co-founders Welson Gan and Dong Chee. 

PC Gamer: It’s a big one, so I want to knock it out first. What release date are you targeting for PC? 

Magnus Games: We’re currently still planning to release in June 2018, but may have to shift certain stretch goal features to post-launch considering how many we reached.

And what’s your price point?

We’ve yet to fix the exact price tag, but we promise it won’t tear a hole in your wallet!

You’ve said multiplayer will be similar to the host system of Monster Hunter. How does multiplayer progression work? That is, how does playing with my friends benefit me and the village in my save file?

It’s similar to Monster Hunter, but the difference is you'll join via IP or Steam friends list once it has been integrated. We're aiming to allow players to progress through the story together without having to jump back into their own world. Our current plan is to have one person dedicated as the host and all the story and village progression will be saved within that particular person's save file. Three other players who join the host's game will still retain their house, inventory, items, monsters, and any personal belongings in their own saves. 

How many Magnus will there be at launch? Will you be adding more?

We have around 200 Magnus planned for the initial release and we do want to expand the universe further after that, so we're definitely going to add more.

Can I breed my Magnus with my friend’s Magnus? Can I trade for his Magnus, or let him borrow one of mine?

We have no current plans for Magnus trading or borrowing, but we do plan to support co-op breeding.

I’ve read that you can have several Magnus follow you solo. Can you only bring one with you in multiplayer? 

Yes, that’s correct. Part of the reasoning is that we want to strike a good balance difficulty-wise, and we also want to make sure the game’s performance stays high.

Are Magnus stored in some type of barn or house?

Yes, they will be stored in a barn located in your farm. This way your Magnus get to have a comfortable home too. The barn is really close to the farming area so it's pretty convenient. 

Can players change Magnus from anywhere, or do they need to return home to swap Magnus?

You must return to the barn to swap Magnus. They are all physically located inside the barn so you can see them walking around. There’s no storage box per se; you just walk up to them in the barn and interact with them as you please.

Can players carry multiple weapons and swap classes whenever?

No, you can only change your class at your home or at the guild house where you take on quests. So you need to plan in advance and decide which equipment to choose before going out to explore areas with hostile Magnus. This means you need to strategically build your team to make sure your party is able to overcome different enemies. 

Let’s say my favorite Magnus is a water dragon. She’s level one, and she’s great at watering my crops. When she reaches level two, will she be able to water crops more quickly? Will that depend on which branch of evolution I pursue? 

Yes, the evolution branch will determine a Magnus’ specialty and you will have to decide how you want her to evolve. Most Magnus will become better at what they do when they evolve, but if you're feeling adventurous, you can try to raise it differently and see if it gains different specialties that you did not expect. 

Magnus are also mounts. Are there any flying mounts? 

Yes, there are Magnus that can fly but it’s more akin to floating right now. Though we do plan to add a sky biome in the future. 

How do the Magnus breeding and Magnus fusion systems connect?

Breeding and fusion are two different things in Re:Legend. Breeding is when you breed two Magnus of the same species, and there's a chance that you will get a rarer version of them through their offspring. Rarer offspring will have a different look but their stats will remain unchanged. Fusion is reserved for certain species of Magnus and creates a wholly new species by sacrificing two Magnus. 

You’ve cited Fantasy Life as a major influence. I’ve played a lot of that game myself, and I’m wondering if Re:Legend will incorporate something similar to the skill bosses it had—stuff like giant trees, fish and ores? 

That is a feature that we really loved and we think more people should be able to enjoy it. So yes, we'll be incorporating “boss” resources in our own way.

How are environments connected? One trailer shows what looks like a teleport system.

Yes, there is a fast travel system to get you from one place to the other. But to unlock it, you first have to travel to that location normally. You can do this by riding on the fish that you have raised.

Tell me more about your final stretch goal, the extended end game. Is this “random final dungeon” infinitely replayable? Can players tame all the Magnus within it? 

Yes! There are even several new tamable boss Magnus with difficult taming conditions that will make things more interesting and rewarding. There will be also be different types of resources to harvest and secrets to find.

Re:Legend was born from your previous project, Legend of Lumina, correct? Which was cancelled mid-development due to financial struggles? 

Yes, that is correct. It didn’t work out following our investor's financial issues so we had no choice but to cancel the game. But that misfortune made us grow as a team and gave us the power to move forward.

Was that why you chose Kickstarter for Re:Legend?

Yes. Legend of Lumina was funded by private investor, which was a less stable source of funding than Kickstarter. We’re gamers too, so we understand the heartache of a title getting canceled. We want to deliver what we promised to our fans who followed us throughout the whole journey and have believed in us since the Legend of Lumina days.

How does Re:Legend compare to Legend of Lumina? Did you salvage any assets or ideas, or restart from scratch?

We had to rebuild everything from scratch with Re:Legend. The premise remains the same but it was expanded way beyond the scope of Legend of Lumina. We might be a small team now but we are expanding to improve the quality of the game and meet fan expectations following our Kickstarter success. This is a challenge that highly motivates our team and we promise to do our best to deliver an amazing game.