It is my firm belief that everybody living in the southeastern United States will at some point be in close proximity to horses, and I am no exception. So I speak with some authority when I say that there's a really good horse maker on Steam – so good that it makes me want a full-fat horse RPG worthy of this equine character creator.
Unbridled: Horse Designer popped up a few days ago as something of a demo for – I kid you not – Unbridled: That Horse Game, which is more of a horse riding, racing, and raising sim that's still a work-in-progress. I cannot remember how I found it, but its few user reviews seem to be 95% positive for good reason.
I get the feeling that the siloed-off horse designer is also a work-in-progress, but it's already a staggeringly in-depth bit of tech. You can choose from male, female, or gelding horses; customize their personality and favorite snack; and adorn them with several different bridles. It's set to some lovely lo-fi, too. But I didn't truly understand what I'd found until I saw the toggles. Here's a small slice of this veritable horse boutique:
- This stunning open-world horse game smashed its $65,000 Kickstarter goal straight away, and it's bringing my favorite part of Red Dead Redemption 2 to 13th-century Mongolia
- If you liked Red Dead Redemption 2's ultra-realistic horses, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 devs also used a real horse in the motion capture studio
- Individual eyelash, whisker, and iris toggles
- Markings for each hoof and leg, plus a horse's snout, blaze, and body
- Styles and colors for your horse's forelock and mane
For fun, I spent a few minutes making one horse and then generated a couple of random ones, and they're all pretty convincing. I've dropped those screenshots below for reference. I'm especially fond of the dappling pattern you can get on the body because it's got one of the best textures in the whole demo.
I've seen RPG protagonists with fewer customization options than these horses. If we can't get an RPG where a customized horse is a narrative vehicle for the life stories of a bunch of knights – or something; I'm just spit-balling – I would genuinely love to see this kind of detail lavished on steeds in RPGs like The Witcher 4 and The Elder Scrolls 6.
It's fun to style your horse's mane in, say, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but this goes so much further. That kind of player creativity and investment can help establish a simple steed as a major character in a story, like Roach in The Witcher 3. I'm no horse snob, but I'm all for better horses in games.
As ever, The Witcher 4 isn't technically The Witcher 4, but I'm calling it that until CDPR gives us a better name.
