Someone Actually Made a "Far Away Horse" Game and You Can Play It

While looking into search trends for my 2022 Yearly Review a few days ago, I came upon something marvellous: An actual Steam game called “Far Away Horse”. If you’re out of the loop about the alleged classic Gamecube title Very Far Away Horse, read up on it right here:

Ever since the Very Far Away Horse game case first started getting shared online in 2019, TMQ sees spikes in search traffic whenever the image goes viral again on Reddit or 9Gag or any other image sharing site. Since November 2022 however, The Mane Quest won’t be the only thing to show up in a search for the previously fictitious title: A game called “Far Away Horse” was actually made and released on Steam.

Now in fairness, I should add that this is not precisely the first time anyone attempts to make “Very Far Away Horse” into something actually playable. There is a version on Itch.io, but in that one you can see the horse from the start and can’t move any closer to it. Fitting perhaps, but not particularly interactive.

There are also about 10 titles on Roblox that seem to be dedicated to distant equines, but you’re gonna have to try those yourself if you want to find the best version. Shoutout to the Horse Game Database for bringing these to my attention though!

So, back to the new Steam game called Far Away Horse. Note that the “Very” was left out for this version, but don’t let that fool you into believing this puts the titular horse any closer to the player.

The game’s store description reads:

You might be thinking to yourself "Surely the horse couldn't be that far away!".
Well guess what. It is!
This game is not for the faint of heart.
You will walk, walk, walk, and that horse is still hours away from you.

Buckwild is the name and he's no slouch.
Your goal is to adventure out into the unknown and track down Buck.
Be careful though, Every single person who has tried to find buck ends up going insane.
Stay strong and keep walking!

Naturally – I take horse games very seriously after all – I had to buy this game and give it a try.

The game has no audio, no menu, and no interactions beyond walking and looking around. As you walk, you seem to level up but I can’t tell if this does anything beyond increasing the level counter in the top left corner.

The goal of the game is to find a horse named Buckwild, though there appears to be no indication for which direction to walk towards. Considering the game’s description, I assume this intentional and only those with the dedication to walk for hours into any direction will be rewarded with seeing the actual horse. In a Steam Discussion post, the game’s creator claims that the horse is “depending on if you go in the right direction anywhere from 3 hours to an eternity away.”

I am weak and cowardly and gave up after about 15 minutes of walking. I did reach level 8 (whatever that means) and then pressed the “save game” button, only to realize upon restarting the game that there’s not actually a “load game” option and I had to start from scratch.

The screenshot above is from the game’s store page, because I myself have not encountered the horse. I can’t say I am a huge fan of Buck’s blocky character design or clothing choices, but perhaps that just makes me unworthy of finding him.

The game is absolutely worth the single dollar it costs, if you’re looking for a confusing and pointless experience that may or may not eventually include finding an initially distant horse. I am happy that this exists and wish its developer all the best in shamelessly profiting off the search traffic that this meme keeps spawning, much like I do myself.

Far Away Horse is available on Steam.