Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch

1. H4ardDriv3

   Mar 20, 2023

   10

   I recently discovered this captivating horse game, and it has been a truly delightful experience. Restoring my aunt's ranch and exploring theI recently discovered this captivating horse game, and it has been a truly delightful experience. Restoring my aunt's ranch and exploring the enchanting open world kept me engaged and entertained. Taming, breeding, and personalizing my horses added depth and strategy to the gameplay. If you're seeking a heartwarming adventure, this horse game is a must-try!… Expand

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2. reinium

   Nov 6, 2022

   8

   I literally only made a Metacritic account to review this game.
   
   Is the game perfect? No. Is it fun, entertaining, and have some really coolI literally only made a Metacritic account to review this game.
   
   Is the game perfect? No. Is it fun, entertaining, and have some really cool mechanics? Absolutely. Most of the people who are giving it bad reviews have not taken the time to get used to the mechanics. I will admit that the game could do a better job of pacing, specifically in introducing new concepts like grooming, washing, changing tack/clothes, etc.
   
   I'm not saying it's great, but it is certainly a step in the right direction for horse games. If you've been a horse person and gamer for as long as I have, you know the struggle of finding a halfway decent horse game that doesn't cost you tons of money (looking at you, micro-transactions).
   
   I'm giving this game such a good rating because I want to see the developers follow through on it! It has such great potential, I would hate to see them give up on it. So if someone who has a hand in this game is reading this, I'm a fan! Great work! Now just to really refine it and add some more content… Expand

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4. apileoftires

   Nov 4, 2022

   7

   I'm not saying the other person that's reviewed this is lying, but this is nowhere near the bad game that they've described. It needs someI'm not saying the other person that's reviewed this is lying, but this is nowhere near the bad game that they've described. It needs some work, yes, but hopefully with a few patches it'll be even better. If you've suffered with all the bad horse games in the past, this game is actually fun! Don't take my word for it, there's videos up on YouTube, you can see for yourself.… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
5. threarah

   Nov 6, 2022

   4

   It’s not necessarily a bad game but it feels incredibly unfinished.
   
   Some of the animations are really odd - opening chests is a stand outIt’s not necessarily a bad game but it feels incredibly unfinished.
   
   Some of the animations are really odd - opening chests is a stand out point, where you wave a hand and it explodes. Some actions don’t end in a satisfying or obvious way - like petting your horse. When the bar is full, the action doesn’t close; when you do end petting a bit of short music happens but not in time to the animation on the horse; and nothing on screen indicates what this did for you. In fact nothing so far is satisfying to do in this game.
   
   The order the content is delivered is also baffling. I could build benches on the ranch before I knew how to wash my dirty horse or find food for it, and without knowing if they were just cosmetic or functional. The game was telling me about competition stats before I even knew where the ranch was. I’d slept in a tent before knowing anything about dealing with the horse I’d left wandering about! I’ve played bad, early 2000s horse games before, and even Pippa Funnell’s Take the Reins introduces mechanics and story in a more understandable way. A blurry clown (?) child telling me how to build bridges but nothing about horses pretty much sums up how weird the game’s priorities are.
   
   The most frustrating parts are the user interface and control scheme. It’s never obvious what is a click or a press and hold; whether increasing speed will actually work the same way twice is a mystery unto some malevolent god; and you never know what speed you’re at (so far, this might change in competition). Is that an extended trot or just a badly animated walk?
   
   Horse Tales feels like a soulless alpha build of the game, and while patches will probably help graphics or stability, I’d be surprised if they completely change the entire introduction or rework half the UI. See if you can find real gameplay of the beginning segment of the game before picking this up. My one hope is that the actual horse elements prove better than the shoddy graphics, plot, and awkward ranch building.
   
   EDIT: The bugs have also locked me into never finishing the game. Quest 'Who is Lilli' never moves on even when her score is beaten, despite this being on a list of bug fixes for the PC version.… Expand

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6. Llama96

   Nov 19, 2022

   3

   Not too bad to be honest, it's just very unfinished, bugged to the max... claims to be suitable for all ages but I cannot beat lilli in theNot too bad to be honest, it's just very unfinished, bugged to the max... claims to be suitable for all ages but I cannot beat lilli in the race lol
   Camera is TERRIBLE too... Between racing, angling the camera, jumping and ducking I find it difficult to play
   
   Hope they can fix this… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. missunruh

   Dec 28, 2022

   1

   You can't even play the game because of the bugs and lags. The performance on the switch is very bad and it looks, sounds and feels like aYou can't even play the game because of the bugs and lags. The performance on the switch is very bad and it looks, sounds and feels like a twenty year old game. And for real, I couldn't even finish the first race because of the bugs so I could not progress with the story. Isn't this game for a younger audience as well? Devs you owe me 40€ and 4 hours of my life.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
8. WildKat

   Nov 24, 2022

   0

   DON'T BUY the game on the SWITCH! It is super glitchy to the point that it WILL NOT SAVE your progress. I have wasted 12 consecutive hours ofDON'T BUY the game on the SWITCH! It is super glitchy to the point that it WILL NOT SAVE your progress. I have wasted 12 consecutive hours of gameplay (losing not only main story line progress, but several horses that I caught & bred) despite constantly "saving" by resting in my bed. I have completed the main storyline from "Party time" till the END of the main story quest line THRICE. Only to end up back at my save at the beginning of "Party Time." I am so mad that I don't even want to play this game anymore and I am seriously debating demanding a refund at this point. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY buying this on the SWITCH. It has constant frame drops to the point that racing is almost impossible, the game is completely not optimized for the Switch as there is input delay, the graphics will suddenly become worse (even during cutscenes), and you can accidentally get trapped in houses that have no doors if the game stutters when you are racing on your horse in the harbour area. If you want to play a Horse Game that actually has a bunch of different types of horses (which you will only have access to Selle Francis and/or Irish Cobs if you bought the DLC for this game) you might as well go play Star Stable Online. I was really looking forward to this game, and now I am just mad and frustrated that I have wasted time & effort only to lose HOURS of my progress THREE SEPERATE TIMES.… Expand

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