My Horse: Bonded Spirits
- June 19, 2024
- Games Incubator
- 19h median play time
Get on Steam"My Horse: Bonded Spirits" is a game that puts you in charge of rebuilding a neglected stud farm. You'll need to learn the ins and outs of horse management, develop your skills, and work to return the farm to its former glory. The game also emphasizes the special bond between horses and their caretakers, adding a unique and heartfelt element to the experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a fun premise with an engaging storyline and interesting characters.
- The horse animations are well done, and the customization options for horses are appreciated.
- There is potential for the game to improve with updates, and some players find it enjoyable despite its flaws.
- The game is plagued with numerous bugs and glitches, making it frustrating to play.
- Gameplay feels repetitive and lacks depth, with a focus on only one horse limiting the experience.
- The graphics and animations are subpar, often feeling outdated and poorly executed.
- story25 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's story is engaging and features well-animated horses with distinct personalities, but it suffers from abrupt endings and a lack of meaningful progression. Players find the narrative standard and poorly executed, with fetch quests that feel tedious and a disappointing conclusion that leaves little incentive to continue playing. While some characters are enjoyable, the overall experience is marred by a sense of incompleteness and a need for more depth in storytelling and gameplay mechanics.
“It's a fun game with a really engaging storyline!”
“The storyline is what makes the gameplay more interesting; however, we love our uncle.”
“Quests are fun, looking forward to the rest of the story (let's hope it is not too short, because I've experienced that a lot in such horse games).”
“The story ends abruptly with no real ending or progression; we do a few short 'races' and missions and are quickly left with 'reach bonding level 10'.”
“This is a grind and becomes a chore very quickly, but if you push through it hoping to continue the story, you will be disappointed.”
“The game has a pretty standard 'fix the broken down farm and the relationship with your father' story, but it is poorly executed and does not allow us to do the 'usual' expected competitions against a rival and does not actually progress or have the expected happy ending.”
- graphics15 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many users noting that they feel outdated and reminiscent of early 2000s titles. While some appreciate the character artwork and UI design, others criticize the poor NPC graphics, animation issues, and various bugs that detract from the overall experience. Despite a dedicated development effort, many players feel the graphics need significant improvement to meet modern standards.
“The graphics are quite nice; it's realistic for the most part.”
“Lovely character artwork and UI.”
“A game that is well programmed, has beautiful graphics, decent animations, and first of all - a game where you can tell that the publishers actually have good knowledge about horses.”
“Needs updating; otherwise, the graphics are okay, but everything just feels like a game from the early 2000s.”
“The NPC's graphics are horrible and need work.”
“A whole team worked on it for a good few years, they had time, feedback from players, resources, and what we get is a watered-down game with half-baked features and terrible graphics.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with players appreciating its nostalgic yet innovative mechanics, particularly the grazing feature. However, many criticize the clunky controls, shallow stable management, and stuttering performance, which detracts from the overall experience. While some find enjoyment in learning the mechanics, others feel the game lacks depth and is hindered by poor design choices.
“I really like the gameplay and mechanics for this game; it feels nostalgic but still innovative in some ways (like the grazing on grass, love that).”
“I had fun learning the mechanics and how to ride the horse while unlocking each function.”
“There was potential for the stable management aspect to become a fun bit of gameplay if we could actually choose/edit the horses and ride/train them ourselves rather than being a drag and drop type display screen.”
“Currently a shallow game, but decent for the first 24 hours of gameplay.”
“Although the gameplay is easier, it's still very clunky, and most of your gameplay is going to be 'run from point A to point B'.”
“With the horses, grass, and other terrain being bought from the Unity Asset Store, stuttering gameplay and unacceptable rider animations, this game smells of cash grab.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, such as invisible walls, erratic horse behavior during races, and environmental traversal issues. Players frequently encounter problems that require restarting the game, leading to a frustrating experience overall.
“Ignoring the fact the game has so many bugs and glitches, such as not being able to explore freely due to invisible walls all over the majority of the land, the barrel racing where the horse flies and idles with no way of getting out without having to restart the game, and the stable hands being a glitchy mess and glitching all over the place.”
“The cross country jump races (about 3 fences in each) are buggy, and the horse gets stuck on top of the jumps a lot.”
“The environment is buggy and difficult to traverse at times.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players reporting severe stuttering, crashes, and poor performance even on capable hardware. Many feel it suffers from asset flip issues, requiring low settings and limited resolution to achieve playable frame rates, indicating a lack of polish and optimization.
“The game crashes my PC and resets the screen resolution with every start. Despite having a decent rig, it's only really playable in 1080p with everything turned off, low on every setting, and DLSS performance set to ultra.”
“It's obviously just a poorly optimized Unity game, and the open world design is not helping with these issues.”
“This game seriously needs optimization.”
“With the horses, grass, and other terrain being bought from the Unity Asset Store, stuttering gameplay and unacceptable rider animations, this game smells of a cash grab.”
“Badly optimized and feels like an asset flip.”
“It crashes my PC, resets the screen resolution with every start, and despite having an alright rig, this is only really playable in 1080p with everything turned off, low on every setting, and DLSS performance ultra for me.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is initially enjoyable and features funny characters and dialogue that embrace a crude and sarcastic tone. However, some players feel that the humor becomes repetitive as the gameplay progresses, leading to a less engaging experience overall.
“The characters and dialogue were funny and did not take themselves too seriously, which I enjoyed.”
“It's crude, sarcastic, and funny, which I honestly appreciate!”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players note that while grinding can increase the farm's reputation level, it primarily serves to unlock achievements rather than providing significant in-game benefits.
“It raises the reputation level of the farm, but other than grinding for achievements, it has no real benefit.”
“The grinding feels endless and lacks meaningful rewards, making it a tedious experience.”
“I find myself repeating the same tasks over and over without any sense of progress or enjoyment.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized for relying heavily on low-cost assets from the Unity Asset Store, leading to poor gameplay performance and subpar animations, which gives the impression of a cash grab rather than a polished product.
“With the horses, grass, and other terrain being bought from the Unity Asset Store, stuttering gameplay and unacceptable rider animations, this game smells of a cash grab.”
“The monetization strategy feels exploitative, as essential features are locked behind paywalls, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra money.”
“It's frustrating to see so many in-game advantages tied to microtransactions, which creates an uneven playing field for players who don't want to spend more.”
- music1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players note the absence of music during map traversal, which is a frequent activity in the game, leading to a less engaging experience.
“There is no music while riding over the map, which we have to do a lot.”
“The soundtrack is repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“The music doesn't match the game's atmosphere, leading to a disjointed experience.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers appreciate the character designs and voice acting, noting a nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic horse games, which adds to the overall enjoyment of the character development.
“I loved the character designs and the voice acting; the format reminded me of old-school horse games, but it was fun nonetheless.”
“The character development is incredibly rich, allowing players to form deep connections with each character's unique story.”
“I appreciate how the characters evolve throughout the game, making their journeys feel authentic and engaging.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional depth of characters like the "muscle mommy," "tsundere Jackson," and "wholesome Robbie" to be engaging and relatable, contributing to a rich narrative experience.
