New Open-World Game on Steam is a Goulash of Red Dead, Kingdom Come Deliverance, and Death Stranding

The Legend of Khiimori is one of 2026’s more intriguing open-world debuts on Steam, scheduled for March 2026, and featuring a horse-centric action-adventure that doesn’t seem to be just another sandbox. Instead, it carves its own path through the 13th-century Mongolian steppes, letting players inhabit the life of a courier rider who must traverse brutal terrain, forge bonds with steeds, and endure the wild on a journey that feels as much spiritual as strategic. This makes it one of Steam’s most promising and unique games, even though you may recognize some of its systems from elsewhere.

At first glance, the parallels to Red Dead Redemption 2, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Death Stranding can feel strange. But where those titles wield their grandeur across Western frontiers, medieval kingdoms, or post-apocalyptic delivery lines, Khiimori distills those influences into an experience rooted in one essential truth: life on the open plain is less about combat or spectacle, and more about connection to the world, to the weather, and to the creatures that carry you through it. For these reasons, it may be one of the best games on Steam to get this year, and you can wishlist it now.

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A World That Breathes Like RDR2’s Frontier, But in 13th-Century Mongolia

If Red Dead Redemption 2 has any lesson for players and developers to learn, it’s that an open world isn’t just a map or a conglomerate of things, but rather it’s a living ecosystem. Rockstar’s 2018 masterpiece remains unmatched in how its frontier feels alive, and it’s part of what made the game so popular.

• Storms and weather changes roll in with purpose, making the world more lively and authentic.
• RDR2‘s wildlife is given agency and is all about realism:
  • Animals have daily routines.
  • Each animal species behaves differently (i.e., wolves hunt in packs, alligators stay still in water, etc.).
  • They have reactions to the environment.
  • Horses in Red Dead Redemption 2 can react to the presence of specific animals, like snakes.
• The world is divided into different biomes and ecosystems, where persistence is key (for example, dead animals don’t just despawn immediately, and hunting can reduce the population of a given species).
• Brushing dust off Arthur Morgan’s boots and caring for horses feels like part of a rhythm rather than another facet of RDR2‘s gameplay loop.

How The Legend of Khiimori Pays Homage to RDR2

In The Legend of Khiimori, the sweeping Mongolian landscapes feel carved from a similar design philosophy. Snowy passes, burning deserts, and vast grasslands encourage players to plan their routes ahead of time and purposefully breed and train horses. The emphasis on survival over spectacle can seemingly turn every journey into a gamble, which is a far cry from fast travel icons or waypoint markers. There is tension in each decision, and in that unease, you can sense echoes of the way the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is so masterfully engineered.

Where Arthur Morgan bonds with his horse, caring for grooming, feeding, and stamina, Khiimori demands a deeper interdependence. You aren’t merely riding, but you’re forging a partnership with your horse that could make every leg of the journey as narrative-driven as any story mission. This is turning traversal into a core mechanical beat, rather than a chore, and with the way horses in Red Dead Redemption 2 were curated, a similar level of detail and/or bond with them could elevate Khiimori to great heights.

The Legend of Khiimori’s Medieval Immersion Borrowed From Kingdom Come 2

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s medieval immersion set a new bar for video games. Its sprawling Bohemian world, dense NPC systems, and sometimes clunky, yet deeply satisfying, mechanics make each milestone feel earned. Knights, mercenaries, and peasants live their lives with rigorous detail, and the player’s choices carry weight in both gameplay and story.

Sometimes in terms of world permanence, too. Khiimori isn’t a first-person RPG, nor does it mimic KCD2‘s narrative depth, but its sense of realism is arguably inspired by that same philosophy.

• The open world in The Legend of Khiimori isn’t simply expansive, but it challenges players to respect it.
• Weather isn’t background decoration, and it alters your approach.
• Horses aren’t tools, but they’re lifelines you must train, feed, and breed, and success depends upon them.
• The game’s survival loop of foraging, crafting, and planning mirrors Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s harsh environment, which is an adversary as much as any enemy.

Where Deliverance 2‘s historical authenticity is its guiding star, Khiimori channels this through cultural and ecological fidelity. The result is an immersion that feels earned, not through bombastic set pieces, but through persistent systems that shape every choice you make. Just like Warhorse Studios’ medieval sandbox, Khiimori seemingly rewards patience, awareness, and tactical thinking.

Death Stranding’s Quiet Echoes in Every Legend of Khiimori Delivery

It might surprise some to hear The Legend of Khiimori compared to Death Stranding, but strip Hideo Kojima’s sci-fi veneer away, and you find a thought experiment about labor in an unforgiving world. Sam Bridges’ odyssey isn’t about action, but rather connection: connecting Death Stranding‘s terminals, people, and places through weighty traversal. In turn, your cargo becomes narrative, your backpack a character to protect.

In Khiimori, the courier’s life is literally about delivery. Each mission isn’t just a quest marker, and you have to earn both survival and legacy. Unlike most action titles, the tension doesn’t come from gunplay or blade clashes; it comes from route planning, weather forecasting, and anticipating how terrain will sap your horse’s stamina in The Legend of Khiimori, if not outright jeopardize precious cargo. This isn’t padding, but rather purpose. And in that purpose, you’re reminded more of Sam Bridges’ list of waypoints than any gunfight in a triple-A shooter.

The game’s developers have leaned into this ethos, positioning Khiimori as a simulation of courier life rather than a glorified hack-and-slash adventure. And while critics have already pointed out graphical rough edges and control quibbles in early demos, the underlying systemic depth evokes the same contemplative pacing that made Death Stranding more than just a walking sim.

Why These Comparisons Matter, And Where Khiimori Stands on Its Own

Comparing a niche Early Access title to giants like RDR2, KCD2, and Death Stranding is inherently reductive. Those are benchmarks, whereas Khiimori is a promise, for now — one that synthesizes their best qualities without simply copying them. From Red Dead 2, Khiimori adapts that feeling of a living world, where environment and creature coexistence are as integral as quests and NPC schedules. From Kingdom Come, it takes systemic survival and realism, turning every moment into a mechanic that matters. And from Death Stranding, it borrows the meditative rhythm of purposeful traversal, the joy of the journey as its own reward.

Where Red Dead 2 narrates a dying frontier through story and character, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 explores medieval life through role-playing and consequence, Khiimori finds its voice in the quiet grind. It’s not about the biggest gunfight or the most dramatic cutscene. It’s about the wind across the steppe, the weight of gear on weary shoulders, and the trust between rider and mount as you chase the horizon.

In a market saturated with spectacle, that focus feels refreshingly humble and deeply promising. The Legend of Khiimori is not simply a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, and Death Stranding. Instead, it distills their philosophies into a unique vision of open-world survival, rooted in horse-based traversal and mindful exploration. It’s a game that asks you not just to play, but to inhabit a courier’s life, with all its solitude, strategy, and subtle triumphs.

Released

October 26, 2018

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol