Since the early ’00s, the horse girls have suffered through a drought. A drought of good horse games.
I can’t tell you the last time a decent horse game with gameplay I enjoyed for hours on end came out. For years, I’ve been replaying G1 Jockey 4, Gallop Racer 2, and the Horsez or Pippa Funnel games on my ancient PS2 or PC. The few that have released since 2012 or so have all felt incomplete, are riddled with microtransactions, or get overshadowed by some other drama.
And, as much as I loved riding around the prairies in Red Dead Redemption 2, it is unfortunately not a ‘true’ horse game.
I am so happy to report that The Ranch of Rivershine is not one of those mediocre disappointments. In fact, it’s my new favourite way to unwind after work.
My new favourite cozy game
It’s like Stardew Valley but with horses instead of farming. And less overwhelming.
Unlike Stardew Valley (which I’ve never finished. I play it like I play The Sims: restarting a save file every other year or so until I get overwhelmed and put it down), I’ve finished the main story twice – once with my Early Access save and a brand new one for the full release.
And I’m contemplating starting a third save even though the game doesn’t end when you finish the main story and collect all the things. I just want to go back and rebuild my ranch all over again.
What can you do in The Ranch of Rivershine?
Like all your favourite cozy farming sims, you’ve come to Rivershine to work and return the town to its former glory.
In terms of the day-to-day activities, you can:
- Buy horses
- Catch wild horses
- Breed horses
- Train horses
- Compete horses in races
- Compete horses in festival competitions
- Look after your horses
- Sell horses at auction
- Look after chickens, sheep, and goats
- Grow crops and fruit trees
- Restore the ranch buildings
- Buy clothing, tack, hair styles
- Find hidden treasure chests
- Befriend the townsfolk
Simple, but near perfect
The gameplay loop is simple and might get repetitive if you play it for hours on end, but it is not trying to be something bigger than it is. It’s made by a single developer who had a clear vision and enough awareness of their scope not to take on more than they could handle. Because of that, the game was delivered on time with no drama.
The result is an adorable game that plays well and is so relaxing – I truly can’t stress enough how soothing I find it. I often play it while watching a documentary or listening to an audiobook.
Even on the lowest graphic settings, it plays well
There were sometimes when I was away from my PC and desperately wanted to play The Ranch of Rivershine to de-stress. So, I put a Windows bootcamp thing on my MacBook and played it on the lowest graphic settings possible.
I couldn’t do much racing – riding fast on low graphics gave me a bit of motion sickness I didn’t experience on higher settings – but I could breed and sell horses no problem.
Also, random tip: if you’re struggling to find chests on some of the maps, try turning the graphics quality down for a little while. It removes most of the grass so you can see things on the ground a lot easier.
