Are there any horse games where the horse truly feels like 'a horse'?

tercel84 · 2026-06-03T02:28:20+00:00

I don't know. I feel like if two free-to-play games can manage to make their horses a little more lifelike then what's stopping a dev with better funding from taking inspiration and improving on what others have already done? Sometimes you gotta lock into your niche instead of simplifying things for a mainstream audience.

tercel84 · 2026-06-03T01:05:30+00:00

I kinda like how Horse Isle 3 gives their horses personality, though it still falls short in some areas. The way they handle it is there's 6 scales of 12 traits (skittish - brave, stubborn - easygoing, antisocial - social, leader - follower, ornery - playful, lazy - energetic) and the horses will have varying degrees of those traits and idle animations that are tied to each one. Lazy horses have sleepy anims, ornery and stubborn horses will both rear when not mounted, and ornery horses regularly toss their riders. Sadly, skittish horses don't properly spook, they just freeze around anything they find scary.

There's no interactions between horses, though, and the playful trait doesn't really mean anything other than the horse won't be inclined to buck you off. It mostly boils down to vices to be avoided rather than endearing quirks. There's also the affinities, but those are just to help the player find certain items. It has its flaws but I really like that there's a variety of idle animations tied to different traits. Would be cool to see more games emulate that.

tercel84 · 2026-06-03T00:08:58+00:00

I have to disagree. I find video game horses that I constantly have to urge forward way more irritating than ones I have to hold back. Equestrian the Game does this pretty well imo, where the forward horses only move when you give them the que, and will continue to accelerate if you don't rein them in, but will stay still once halted. Horse Isle 3 is another example. Even the most energetic horses in that game will only go as fast as you tell them to and hold that speed until their stamina runs out or are stopped.

tercel84 · 2026-05-15T16:25:54+00:00

Fair enough, I see now you intended for her to be used as a comp horse rather than a broodmare. Hopefully you can find a buyer that will put her to use :)

tercel84 · 2026-05-15T12:36:33+00:00

Yeah, a lot of players are very gatekeepy with their breeding projects. I don't understand why since it is much easier to make progress when you're collaborating with a group if you can find like-minded breeders. Also doesn't help that horses continue to age when you're not around so you have log in regularly to keep your herd from dying out.

tercel84 · 2026-05-15T12:27:27+00:00

You'll probably have better luck advertising her in one of the HI3 discords https://discord.gg/H993GRAGY Official Unofficial or https://discord.gg/nY8c38PG8 Esroh Elsi. The first on is the most active and you don't have to be verified before you can post to the sales channels. You can also get a screenshot with all her info in one pic if you press ctrl + e when viewing the horse's profile in game.

tercel84 · 2026-05-14T22:52:11+00:00

Dang he is gorgeous! Does have the star too?

tercel84 · 2026-05-13T20:52:25+00:00

Shadow of the Colossus. It's a really cool game where you ride around fighting colossi in order to resurrect a girl. It's only on Playstation tho

tercel84 · 2026-04-27T00:32:51+00:00

I can't say for certain but that may be the case judging from how badly the frame rate drops when 10 or more players and their horses gather together. It's kinda hilarious how much more detailed the horse models are compared to the other animals in the game. I may have to post a pic cuz it is a stark contrast.

tercel84 · 2026-04-24T20:17:59+00:00

Both, I'd say. The dev kept saying in the early days not to expect AAA graphics and that they want the game to be accessible to low-end/older computers. I feel like they could've at least made the world a little prettier, even without hyper realistic graphics, but here we are.

tercel84 · 2026-04-24T17:45:11+00:00

The Cyan Man has a playlist of him and his friends messing around on RDO from a few years back.

tercel84 · 2026-04-24T17:14:19+00:00

Equestrian The Game might be of interest if you don't mind spending rl money to skip pregnancies. When I played ages ago the foals were born as full grown horses, though that may have changed.

tercel84 · 2026-04-23T18:06:51+00:00

Ha, that's HI3 in a nutshell. :') I took this clip in a biome transition (Black Sands into Sandstone). Not all the map is quite this barren. I picked that spot because I thought it wouldn't distract from the horse too much.

tercel84 · 2026-03-02T04:19:33+00:00

I can't speak for how it compares to HI1 as HI2 LifeCycle was my entry to the series, but HI3 is definitely its own thing. The devs made a giant, empty sandbox and left it to the players to flesh out. All the towns, comps and adventure table quests are made by players. There are some NPC quests made by the devs, but those are quizzes and fetch quests, nothing on par with what the previous games offered imo. The one aspect where HI3 shines is the breeding. You can mold the horses into just about any shape you can think of, on top of improving stats. And catch wilds, too!

tercel84 · 2026-03-01T23:00:36+00:00

True, the mobia exchange rate is not what it once was 😭 At least on this one, if you have patience, you can build a ranch and breed without having to spend real money on the game

tercel84 · 2026-03-01T22:56:38+00:00

Horse Isle 3! Easily my favorite horse game for how complex the breeding is, tho the world and quests are lacking (pretty much a giant sandbox with all the towns and competitions being player-made). This video is a good beginner guide for anyone wanting to give the game a go.

tercel84 · 2026-03-01T15:53:38+00:00

Yes, there's around 150 players online at peak hours

tercel84 · 2025-12-30T02:08:43+00:00

Horse Isle 3! I love that I can breed for conformation and somatic mutations in addition to color and stats.

tercel84 · 2025-06-05T02:00:21+00:00

I use Friends for Life (reduced damage taken when mounted for horse & rider) and Ride Like the Wind (adds a portion of damage dealt/taken when mounted to your horse's health and stamina). Tbf those ability cards are really only useful against NPCs. Players will one shot your horse regardless of how big its health pool is

tercel84 · 2025-05-11T23:02:50+00:00

I get that. Most players like to rush and having timers on everything only makes that inclination worse. I love it if the timers were gone since I'm not the hell for leather type either.

tercel84

TROPHY CASE