Horses Review – Horror Game Banned on Steam
Blog Andrew Joseph 02 Dec , 2025 0
Whether it's gaming, film, painting, or any other form of creative endeavor, art has long been a vehicle for transgression and subversion, providing curious observers with a way to consider disturbing, often taboo aspects of society. Take, for example, David Lynch’s surreal horror epic Lost Highway or the captivating puzzles of Half Mermaid immortal – Their uncompromising and dark vibe leaves you changed and often leaves you with more questions than answers. Horse, the latest game from developer Santa Ragione, uses the medium to tell its own morally challenging story, asking you to complete increasingly harrowing tasks as a naive farmhand. Horses is sure to make you feel uncomfortable, it's a deeply moving first-person horror game that, despite some pacing and signposting issues, tells a story that's sure to stick with you whether you want it to or not.
Before we dive in, it's worth mentioning that due to Santa Ragione's heavy theme, it does provide a lengthy content warning before you start playing the game. It details the themes you'll encounter, including graphic imagery, psychological abuse, and suicide. The warning goes on to explain that you may also engage in activities that are contrary to your own moral beliefs. How you feel about your horse's requests is ultimately very personal. Still, I'm glad to see the developers clearly outlining the future for those who, like me, might struggle at some point – you should take this warning seriously.
You take the place of Anselmo, a troubled 20-year-old who is sent from college to work on a rural farm for two weeks at the behest of his parents. However, you immediately know something is wrong when you look at the titular horses, who are actually naked humans with horse masks permanently covering their heads. From here on out, nearly every action you complete, from simple farming tasks to grueling veterinary work, is intentionally made to make you feel conflicted, as the horses force you to participate in the farmer's sick power fantasy. For about three hours, I was forced to be constantly curious, but still found myself trying to navigate the haunting world conjured by San Ragione, with its gray moral code and disturbing paraphernalia.
In reality, “Horse” is an interactive silent film, with disturbing lines of dialogue presented via old-fashioned title cards, interspersed with sparse live-action and 3D animated sequences with limited first-person interaction between them. Every scene is in black and white, and you're trapped, staring into the farmer's mouth as it delivers a monologue through an evil grin, spliced with real-world footage of vegetables being watered (as well as other more disturbing visuals that I won't spoil here). The minimalist soundscape adds to the off-putting atmosphere, and is buffeted by the roar of the film that constantly taunts you, ensuring you feel isolated as you endure weeks of work. This mixture of audio-visual torture is unsettling from the start, only escalating as you get closer to the stunning finale.
At dawn each day, you'll receive a list of tasks that need to be completed, such as feeding the dogs, chopping wood, and cleaning the stables. These jobs are rarely as simple as they appear on paper, and often lead to confrontational scenes that gradually unravel the farmer's goals and how the horses become his “property.” Your inventory is limited and you can only process two items at a time. As a result, you'll often find yourself running back and forth between the minimap, fences, tool sheds, and houses. Even though it's an open space, the threatening elements within it are constantly changing and subtly playing with your expectations. NPCs like the farmer's dog Fido (another masked subjugated human) can and will move through space, complicating your job and often terrifying you.
Without going into too much detail, on one occasion I was tasked with finding loose horses and returning them intact to their cramped stables. The search eventually led me out the front door, where I witnessed a confrontation between a horse outside the door and a horse still trapped inside. These unusual moments become increasingly intense over the course of the horses’ run, effectively reinforcing the harshness of the world around them in their nightmarish, hay-filled isolation.
Throughout the summer you meet a number of curious and lively locals who are complicit in the farmers' actions, including a veterinarian, a wealthy businessman, his daughter and an informed priest. While there isn't a ton of dialogue to loop through in these brief interactions, the unsettling writing and sinister characterization of each citizen increased my sense of dread, as it becomes clear that your freedom, whether in life or on the farm, is not a guarantee. As I realized the inevitability of my new reality and began to feel fear, I found myself questioning not only the way farmers treated “animals” or outsiders, but also the way farmers treated me. What mistake could I make that would land me in his prison? This is the core question to think about during and after your time with your horse.
Of course, the horror doesn't end when the workday ends, and sometimes, as the sun sets, Anselmo falls into a dreamlike state, where reality merges with their imagination. In these moments, the ghost of the peasant and his sexual and religious traumas manifest themselves through dark allegories that you experience in a raw, challenging, and uncensored form. Instead of relying on text dumps, Horse's penchant for sharp dialogue and symbolic imagery gives players room to unravel its unique and weighty story.
It's a shame, then, that with such a strong concept, there are some relatively mundane signposting issues throughout that can disrupt the pace, leaving you pixel-searching for the right equipment, or overthinking simple puzzles when you could be pondering one of the horse's many jarring visual metaphors. For example, one day I just needed to feed the horses – but although the basic requirements were met, nothing changed and I couldn't prompt the farmer for further information. With no clear next step, I searched the area until I happened upon a specific project that I didn't know needed progress. In a game that feels so deliberate and carefully planned, moments like this can ruin the mood, and wandering aimlessly in such a psychologically punishing environment can feel awkward, especially when you're so motivated to solve the mystery.
Like a pile of sugar cubes, Horses often leaves you in the palm of its hand, but unlike other more cohesive horror games, e.g. gargle Or no, I'm not human, and San Ragione's attempts at keeping you there are hard to come by. Low-stakes gameplay feels like the main culprit here, as there's not much to chew on if you're not sucked into the unfolding story and characters. The short runtime only amplifies these limitations, disrupting the rhythm of an otherwise carefully curated experience.