During the reign of Emperor Yao, the people of ancient China were frequently plagued by deadly floods along the Yellow River. Eager to put an end to the devastation, Yao picked Gun, one of his officials, to devise a plan. After several years of failed attempts using dams and dikes, Gun's employment came to a questionable end. After his passing, Yu inherited his father's work. Learning from Gun's failures, Yu set out to build a series of canals to direct the surging river into nearby fields and smaller waterways.

Legacy of Yu is a solo-only, fully-resettable, nonlinear campaign game in which you will step into the role of the legendary hero of the Xia Dynasty, Yu the Great. It'll be your job to build the canals ahead of the impending flood, while also defending your growing village against neighboring barbarian tribes. With every game, stories will be shared and new gameplay elements added. The campaign features a self-balancing system which adapts to how well you're doing. The campaign is over once you either win or lose seven games.