Must-Read: Polygon Analyzes Assassin's Creed Horses with an Expert of Equine History

Polygon writer Simone de Rochefort and Horse Historian Professor Donna Landry take a close look at the horses in the Assassin’s Creed games: The recent titles Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla all use the same horse model regardless of their vastly different settings and cultural context.

De Rochefort and Landry draw comparisons between this horse type and modern breeds, and go through the games’ Viking, Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece settings to discuss how horses in those regions and time periods might have looked.

I absolutely love this deep dive and am incredibly happy that for once, I am not alone in reporting on video game horse accuracy. The article is an absolute must-read for TMQ fans, horse history enthusiasts and equestrian gamers. Go read it, and let Polygon know if analytical horse content is something you want to see more of!

Click right here: Polygon: A horse expert weighs in on the Assassin’s Creed pony debate (that we started)

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Animal Fest is live on Steam now, and lots of Horse Games are on Discount
Animal Fest is live on Steam now, and lots of Horse Games are on Discount

Steam’s “Animal Fest” is happening right now, and quite a few horse games are part of it – meaning, a lot of them are on discount. Here’s some tips for what to check out, along with links to my reviews where they exist:

Exclusive Game Announcement: Horses of Hoofprint Bay, a 2D Stable Management Game Inspired by My Childhood Favorite Horse Game
Exclusive Game Announcement: Horses of Hoofprint Bay, a 2D Stable Management Game Inspired by My Childhood Favorite Horse Game

I have very special news to share today: Horses of Hoofprint Bay is a brand new upcoming horse game that’s incredibly special and dear to me for various reasons I’ll tell you all about below. But first of all, here’s the just-released trailer

Horse Racing Manager is Out Now in Early Access! Key Giveaway & Developer Q&A
Horse Racing Manager is Out Now in Early Access! Key Giveaway & Developer Q&A

Horse Racing Manager is a 2D Management Game where you run your own racing stables, breed and train horses, and manage staff. Since its announcement, the project has grown and evolved – adding Harness Racing , Betting, Medical Care for horses and new locations, among other things – and launches into Early Access today!

Preview: Horses are coming to Disney Dreamlight Valley and I got an Exclusive First Look at them during Gamescom
Preview: Horses are coming to Disney Dreamlight Valley and I got an Exclusive First Look at them during Gamescom

Disney Dreamlight Valley is an adventure life-sim featuring lots of classic and modern Disney characters all the way from Mickey Mouse to Moana. Needless to say that when its publisher Gameloft reached out to me before gamescom with a request to show me something relevant to my interests at the event, I was stoked to take an exclusive look.

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Recommended: "A murder-mystery horse MMO baffled me so much that I spoke to gaming's resident horse expert"
Recommended: "A murder-mystery horse MMO baffled me so much that I spoke to gaming's resident horse expert"

Following the announcement of Equinox: Homecoming, Harvey Randall at PC Gamer began to wonder why someone would make a game like that and what is up with the horse game niche in general. Naturally, I was happy to provide some insight.

Friends, Forage and Freedom: Why We Should Stop Normalizing Solitary Confinement in Horse Games and What Devs Can Do Instead
Friends, Forage and Freedom: Why We Should Stop Normalizing Solitary Confinement in Horse Games and What Devs Can Do Instead

How do horses live? What does a stable look like? Splendid barn aesthetics are nice to have for humans, but what horses really need are the so-called three Fs: Friends, Forage and Freedom. Today I want to have a look at what meeting those needs looks like and how horse-focused media can play an important role in education and normalization when it comes to the question of “What should a cool, fancy, high quality stable look like?” 

Recommended: "The Problem With Red Dead Redemption 2’s Horse Testicles – 'There's Too Many of Them'"
Recommended: "The Problem With Red Dead Redemption 2’s Horse Testicles – 'There's Too Many of Them'"

I was invited to a brand new podcast called You Are Error, hosted by games journalist Nathan Grayson for Aftermath. Nathan and I talked about some of the many ways in which mainstream video games keep dropping the ball when it comes to including horses and why I’m sure that the horse game audience is bigger than anyone realizes and has a lot of potential.

Horse Games – History of a Neglected Genre and its Untapped Potential – Talk from Devcom 2024
Horse Games – History of a Neglected Genre and its Untapped Potential – Talk from Devcom 2024

I was a speaker at Devcom 2024 in Cologne, giving a presentation on my horse game work. The recorded talk is now available on YouTube!

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