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.
Reviews
- The game has a good premise with potential for enjoyable gameplay and bonding with horses.
- The horse animations are well done, and the horses have distinct personalities, adding charm to the experience.
- The graphics are decent, and the character designs and voice acting are appreciated by some players.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, making it frustrating to play, with issues like laggy controls and camera problems.
- There is a lack of depth in gameplay, with limited interaction with horses and repetitive tasks that can become tedious.
- The story feels incomplete and abruptly ends, leaving players unsatisfied with the overall progression and experience.
- story24 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The story in the game is criticized for its abrupt ending and lack of meaningful progression, leaving players feeling disappointed after a series of short quests and fetch tasks. While some characters and the initial premise show potential, the execution is deemed poor, with many players expressing that the narrative feels incomplete and fails to provide a satisfying conclusion. Overall, the gameplay is described as repetitive and lacking depth, diminishing the overall enjoyment of the story.
“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 is presented in a really fun way.”
“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 significant development effort, many players feel the graphics are subpar and in need of substantial improvement.
“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 is described as nostalgic yet innovative, particularly with mechanics like grazing on grass, but it suffers from clunky controls and stuttering performance. Players express disappointment with the shallow stable management system and the lack of depth in gameplay features, such as the absence of a breeding mechanic and frustrating navigation. Overall, while there are enjoyable elements, many feel the game lacks polish and depth, leading to a mixed reception.
“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, and issues with environmental navigation. 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
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is heavily criticized, with players reporting significant performance issues such as stuttering gameplay, frequent crashes, and poor animations. Many users note that even with decent hardware, the game is only playable at low settings and 1080p, leading to perceptions of it being a poorly optimized asset flip.
“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 a poorly optimized Unity game, and the open world design exacerbates these issues.”
“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 many players perceive as a cash grab.
“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 purchases that disrupt the balance and enjoyment of the game, turning it into a pay-to-win experience.”
- 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
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers appreciate the character designs and voice acting, noting a nostalgic connection to classic horse games, which adds to the overall enjoyment of the character development.
“I liked the character designs and the voice actors; the format reminded me of old-school horse games, but it was fun nonetheless.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional depth of characters like muscle mommy, tsundere Jackson, and wholesome Robbie to be engaging and relatable, contributing positively to the overall experience.
