Horses

About Horses

Horses is a first-person indie adventure that blends slow-burn mystery with unsettling atmosphere. Developed by Andrea Lucco Borlera and published by Santa Ragione, it drops you on a summer job at a horse farm that quickly turns ominous. The game’s 14-day structure tasks you with chores and exploration, but every routine task feels like a setup for something darker. Set in a sunbaked, isolated rural setting, the story unravels through cryptic notes, live-action intermissions, and environmental clues. It’s a game about routine and resistance to it, where the mundane collides with the uncanny. Released in 2025 for PC, it’s designed for players who enjoy psychological tension over combat. The hook: a job that’s less about farming and more about surviving a slowly decaying reality.

Gameplay

Each session starts with a daily routine: feeding horses, mending fences, cleaning stalls. But the real gameplay happens when you break the rules. The farmer’s guidelines are vague, but deviating from them unlocks hidden paths, documents, and eerie encounters. You navigate in first-person with a simple control scheme, but movement feels deliberate, every creak and shadow matters. The 14 days are structured like a horror anthology, with each day introducing a new “event” that pushes the farm’s facade further. You might find a hidden shed one day, a cryptic journal entry the next, or a horse that’s no longer where it should be. The tension builds through repetition and discovery: you’re constantly balancing chores with curiosity. The game doesn’t handhold; you’re piecing together the mystery from fragments, which can feel maddening or methodical depending on your approach.

What Players Think

PlayPile community ratings average 4.2/5, with 78% of players completing the game. Average playtime is 12 hours, though some report 20+ hours chasing side clues. Moods are split between “eerie” (65%) and “tense” (58%), with 42% calling it “unsettling.” Review snippets praise the “slow-burn atmosphere that lingers like a bad dream” and “live-action intermissions that feel more like a horror short film.” Criticism focuses on pacing, some call the first half “too slow” and the ending “underwhelming.” Achievement data shows 35 total, with 28% of players earning all. Completion rates dip sharply in days 8, 11, where environmental storytelling becomes more abstract. “It’s like the game is actively trying to mislead you,” one player wrote, which others confirmed.

PlayPile's Take

Horses is a divisive but ambitious experiment in psychological horror. It rewards patience and lateral thinking, but its slow pacing and abstract clues may frustrate some. Best for fans of games like Amnesia or Outlast that prioritize mood over action. With a $29.99 price tag and 35 achievements, it’s a niche pick for completionists. The mystery is atmospheric but not impressive, and the ending splits opinions. If you enjoy figuring out secrets through environmental storytelling and don’t mind a disjointed structure, it’s worth a shot. But if you prefer clear narratives and active gameplay, this might feel like waiting for a storm that never arrives.

Storyline

Fourteen days, a horse farm, and a few rules to follow... Welcome to the farm, where the sun is hot, the grass is green, and the horses are waiting for you. But as the sun sets, and shadows creep across the land, the tranquility fades, and the farm's facade begins to crumble. In this enigmatic first person adventure, you'll take on the role of a summer worker taking a break from his college studies. You will be responsible for taking care of the farm and its animals for a fortnight. Each day, as you explore the farm, you'll encounter many "surprises", peeling back the layers of the farm's unsettling mysteries. Guided by the cryptic rules of a mysterious farmer, you'll decide whether to tread the safe path or allow curiosity to lead you into the farm's hidden depths. Choose wisely, for some truths are far more terrifying than the lies we cling to. Unsettling live-action video intermissions and unique gameplay events for each of the 14 days will keep you on edge as you experience a journey that will haunt your dreams long after the final curtain falls. Will you survive the summer, or will the farm claim yet another victim? In any case, we're sure your summer working experience will be truly unforgettable…