Horse riding is a pretty popular and widely loved sport, so it is a bit of a surprise just how little love it gets when it comes to gaming.
This type of game is perhaps more popular on PCs, but even then, quality options are few. When it comes to consoles, the situation is far worse with an even smaller pool of options to choose from.
There are a couple of horse games that are not discussed in this review, but that is mostly because, despite the dearth of options, those games are not good enough to be considered worthy of a look.
You can take my word for it too because I did the research for the best horse games on PS5. My research gave up only six names, so this review is going to be a relatively short one. Let’s get into it!
Equestrian Training
- Genre: Casual, Simulation
- Developers: Smart Tale Games, Microids
- Release Date: September 13, 2021
- Buy from: PlayStation, Amazon
- Multiplayer: Local co-op, Online co-op
- Average Playtime: N/A
Equestrian Training is a casual educational video game with a focus on learning about horses. The game was published by Maximum Games and Microids in 2021.
The title is already a huge spoiler about what to expect here. If you’re a horse lover, this game helps you learn how to ride and care for horses.
The first point in its favor is the fact that there is a local multiplayer mode, and the game’s suitability for all age groups means that you can enjoy this multiplayer mode with pretty much anyone that can grasp the simple concept of it.
The game itself is split into three categories: Learning, Exam, and Mini-game. Learning prepares you for the Exam section by providing you with knowledge about the topic of horses.
In the Exam section, there are 20 questions for you to answer, and you have to do so on the clock. Some questions are accompanied by four multiple-choice answers, while others are more close-ended with “True” or “False” options.
There are up to 2,500 questions in total in Equestrian Training, so you can bet you will leave this game with a solid repertoire of new knowledge about your favorite animal. A sample of what the Exam looks like in multiplayer mode is in the screenshot attached above.
The mini-game section contains a selection of three mini-games that involve taking care of your horse, participating in an endurance race, and completing a jump course.
There’s a nice touch of realism in the handling of the horse too. When you ride for too long or too fast, the horse’s heart rate is directly affected and performance is consequently impacted too.
Cleaning up the horse as and when due also helps to ensure that it stays healthy, which is also important.
Finally, as you play through Equestrian Training, you will find that there is a Glossary section that provides helpful definitions and information about new terms and words that come up over the course of the game.
My Little Riding Champion
- Genre: Adventure, Casual
- Developers: Caipirinha Games
- Release Date: November 28, 2018
- Buy from: PlayStation, Amazon
- Multiplayer: No
- Average Playtime: N/A
My Little Riding Champion (MLRC) is a casual adventure horse simulation game published by Toplitz Productions.
Unlike Equestrian Training, there is a main character here (pictured in the screenshot above) named Luisa. She inherits her uncle’s equestrian center and is charged with the task of bringing it back to working order.
The center was previously well known for its riding club, participating in all the local competitions and winning a fair number of them.
However, after the death of the original owner (her uncle), things went downhill and the local rivals started to dominate instead.
This is where your key objective lies. You have to repair the center and make it good enough to start competing in the competitions with your riding club once again.
There are side quests such as racing club members and working village jobs to keep things nicely varied, and it is also pretty nice that you can explore quite a bit outside of the main storyline.
You can even earn good money driving tourists in carriages around the village of Rosshain.
As you play through the game, you’ll see that there are up to six different horses that you can buy. Each one is a different color, and you also get different tacks and clothing choices to go with them.
Although there is not a great deal to the story overall, the developers did try to add a little spice to things by introducing a rival for Luisa.
The rival is another woman named Cornelia, and she is the reigning champion hell-bent on making sure that things remain the same.
To be honest, the gameplay mechanics of My Little Riding Champion are not the best. The movement of the horses and your actions (especially when cleaning a horse) are not the most realistic for a supposed horse-riding simulator.
However, the attempt at building a story, and the addition of those side quests make up for these drawbacks to a reasonable extent.
This won’t replace the need to ride a real horse, but it should be a fun pastime for horse lovers that just want a casual equestrian experience.
PHAR LAP: Horse Racing Challenge
- Genre: Racing, Simulation
- Developers: Prodigy Design Limited
- Release Date: March 22, 2019
- Buy from: Amazon, PlayStation
- Multiplayer: No
- Average Playtime: N/A
PHAR LAP – Horse Racing Challenge is one of the most popular horse games out there. The game was published by Tru Blu Entertainment.
If your thirst for a horse game can only be quenched with horse racing, this is arguably the best option for you in the PlayStation Store. It’s not the most versatile or unique title out there, but it does exactly what is advertised, and it does it well.
The gameplay here is pretty simple. You start out with the most basic facilities and horses, but as the game progresses, you can unlock better horses and upgraded facilities across new levels.
Each level has a main mission that you must complete to progress to the next. The missions are repetitive as they mostly involve racing across specific distances, breeding specific types of horses, and upgrading specific buildings.
The controls are pretty simple too, which is a good thing for a causal horse racing game. The better your horse is, the higher your chances of winning a race even if you make a mistake.
If you’re racing with one of the worst horses on the track, then you’ll almost certainly need to complete a perfect race to stand a chance.
PHAR LAP Horse Racing has a couple of other game modes too. There is a betting party mode that’s great for players that want to place bets on horse racing without actually having to go out to a real track.
Each player involved in the betting party is given the same amount of money, and then you choose the number of races and the racetracks to use.
Important information about the form of each horse will be relevant to making the decision on which one to bet on, so you need to pay attention to that.
The game also has an online multiplayer mode where you can compete with other horse racers for points. The player with the highest number of points at the end of each series of races wins.
Finally, there is a fun little tool for creating your own racehorse. If your preference is not adequately represented among the default available options, you can customize many things such as coat color, markings, and skill level to create your personal dream horse.
You can’t breed with a customized horse, but you can buy it from the store in story mode.
You can even go online and buy horses that other players have created, stocking your stable with your version of the very best horses for those intense racing events.
Red Dead Redemption 2
- Genre: Action-adventure
- Developers: Rockstar Studios
- Release Date: October 26, 2018
- Buy from: Amazon, PlayStation
- Multiplayer: Online PvP, Online co-op
- Average Playtime: 50 hours
When it comes to games that deal heavily with horse riding and care, Red Dead Redemption 2 is overall unarguably one of the best horse games on PS5.
The game itself is genuinely one of the best-ever gaming experiences from the stables of RockStar Games, but its premise mix of Western, Midwestern, and Southern gameplay also makes it a really good option for horse lovers.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a single-player action-adventure game that was published by RockStar Games in 2018.
The story itself is much broader than the role that the main character’s horse plays, but the horse is still a pretty big part of it.
Whether you’re playing the main story with Arthur or the prologue with John, both characters rely heavily on their horses to traverse the open world of the West, robbing people, trains, banks, and engaging in gunfights.
At the beginning of the game, you start out with a pretty basic horse. However, when you earn enough money, you can upgrade this horse in many ways.
New tacks, saddles, shoes, and stirrups are only some of the many upgrades that can affect the speed, acceleration, and handling of your horse, so be sure to pay attention to them.
The more you ride the horse, the stronger your bond gets. Building a stronger bond will improve your horse’s reactions to commands and is especially useful when you’re taking on new horses tamed from the wild or bought from the stable.
When your horse gets dirty, you can groom it by brushing it down or riding through a body of water. This is important because dirt reduces the health core of the horse when it is not cleaned up for a while.
Red Dead Redemption 2 also has some of the most realistic horse animations you’ll see on any game released in its time.
Details such as the movement of the horses when galloping, walking, or racing at full speed are pretty neat, and the body language of the horses when they smell danger or hear gunshots is a thing of beauty too. They can even buck you off the saddle or kick you with their hind legs!
Red Dead Redemption 2 has everything any horse lover could want from a horse game. Grooming, Racing, Realistic Simulation – they’re all top-tier. The game is definitely a must-have in your catalog.
Windstorm: Ari’s Arrival
- Genre: Adventure, Family, Sport
- Developers: Aesir Interactive, Eurovideo Medien
- Release Date: March 2019
- Buy from: PlayStation
- Multiplayer: No
- Average Playtime: 3 hours
The Windstorm series saw a first installment released in 2018 and Windstorm: Ari’s Arrival is the second game in the series. This one was developed and published by Eurovideo Medien in 2019.
The titular Windstorm is a stallion that was originally attached to the main character named Mika in the first installment.
In Ari’s Arrival, the new main character is Ari, a foster girl that must help Windstorm to recover from the anxiety that was triggered by the fire that she experienced with Mika in the first game.
Horses are known to get attached to their owners, so it seems reasonable that Windstorm is struggling so much with Mika out in a coma and a stranger in charge.
So, it is an uphill task to get Windstorm to trust you in the first place, let alone open up to be in a vulnerable enough state for you to help reduce the crippling anxiety.
These two are the main characters in the game, but they are not the only ones. Mr. Kaan, for instance, is also important to the story as he helps you achieve your main objective and gain Windstorm’s trust.
Apart from him, you will also encounter other characters in and around the farm which serves as the central focus of the events in the game.
As it stands, horse games will only use a fraction of the processing power of the new-gen PS5, and you should adjust your expectations if you’re looking for one with the prettiest graphics and buttery smooth performance.
That said, Windstorm does look nice, and the details in Ari’s Arrival are clearly much improved in comparison to the first game.
The game is played from a third-person perspective, so you get to see much more visual information about your character, the steed, and the environment.
There are side tasks here to complete away from the main objective, although each one is conveniently tied to the story somehow.
Recurrent duties such as caring for your horse, practicing on a course, and exploring the world around you contribute to the overall activity in the game to keep things interesting.
If you’re looking for the best horse games on PS5 that attempt to build a real connection with the player and the characters, then Windstorm: Ari’s Arrival should be one of your top choices.
Horse Club Adventures
- Genre: Adventure, Casual
- Developers: Wild River Games
- Release Date: May 26, 2021
- Buy from: Amazon, PlayStation
- Multiplayer: No
- Average Playtime: 5 hours, 30 minutes
Horse Club Adventures is another option in the category of open-world adventure horse games on PS5.
The game was released around the same time as two other “horse-y” games that I will not mention, solely because of the fact that I have nothing good to say about them.
However, this particular title does have something to offer in the category of the best horse games on PS5.
Again, as you can already tell from the sample screenshot that is attached above, this is not the most advanced of games that you’ll play on the PS5 when it comes to graphics.
The art direction is reminiscent of a toy approach with vibrant and cheerful colors that are probably more suited to a game set on the beach, but it does a job.
Things are fairly boring at the start of the game. Your character and horse are as basic as can be, and you can only customize and upgrade stuff when you earn rewards by playing the game.
Your journey with your horse starts out with standard lessons on sprinting, jumping, caring, and feeding. Once you’ve mastered these basics, you’re ready to start on the missions.
Speaking of missions, there are three of four main missions each day, and a handful of other side missions. The missions range from the simplest of tasks such as riding to meet up with other characters at a specific location, to less simple ones such as delivering items.
The game world is fairly large, so traversing across it can get tedious after a while, especially because there’s not a lot to look at.
It can also be annoying when you’re told to go somewhere with another character, but your waypoint to the destination is that other character, so you cannot move quicker than them.
There are other small oversights here and there that make this game feel unfinished at times, but you’ll have more joy if you ignore the story and play at your own pace.
The occasional races offer a nice distraction too, and you can adjust the difficulty levels to suit your skill level better.
Horse Club Adventures is more suited to younger audiences that are less demanding in terms of what they want from gameplay and overall experience.
If you have a young child, niece, nephew, cousin, or whatever, this can be one of the best horse games on PS5 for them.
What Next?
Considering the relatively few options in the “horse riding” category, I’ve got a couple of suggestions for you if you’re looking for more.
If you’re interested in horse racing, then an alternative would be to consider other types of racing games. Have a look at the best racing games for PS5 and you may find something that quenches that thirst just a little bit.
Alternatively, if you’re particular about the actual riding of horses, a large number of the PS5’s best medieval games involve quite a bit of horse riding. You can pick one that has an open world and allows for exploration away from the story.
