"Why Doesn't the Industry Make Good Girls' Games?" – A Video Essay into the History and Market of "Girly Games"

Moon Channel, a YouTube creator of gaming video essays, has released a fantastic video tackling the history and market of so-called “girl games” – video games deliberately marketed to and targeted at young female players. This is includiding, but not limited to, Horse Games.

Parts of the essay echo many points that I often make here on TMQ – which is no coincidence, since channel host Moony mentions me and my work on The Mane Quest as an influence in the video. I am flattered, I feel heard, and I may have cried a little from sheer validation.

I hugely appreciate this nuanced and spot-on take about this often-forgotten niche, and can heartily recommend watching it.

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Horse Games and Gender – How Video Games often fail to combine Quality and Femininity
Horse Games and Gender – How Video Games often fail to combine Quality and Femininity

There has been a significant amount of progress in recent years in how female characters are included and designed.

What remains is an imbalance between how our industry tackles subject matters and activities that have a gendered connotation, which is a significant factor in the utter scarcity of well-made games about horses.

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Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori Kickstarter Campaign concludes with over 500k € raised
Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori Kickstarter Campaign concludes with over 500k € raised

After 30 days of campaign and another week of late pledging, the crowdfunding campaign for Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori by Aesir Interactive has officially closed on Friday, April 11th 2025. The total amount raised ended up at €504 798 from 8889 backers, just unlocking the much asked-for stretch goal “Falconers of Mongolia” that promises giving players an option to hunt with an Eagle. 

Game Announcement & Developer Insight – Equinox: Homecoming is a story-driven, horse-focused MMO that takes its audience seriously
Game Announcement & Developer Insight – Equinox: Homecoming is a story-driven, horse-focused MMO that takes its audience seriously

Equinox: Homecoming combines dark mystery with horse-focused gameplay into one of the most promising new game announcements our genre has ever seen. Let’s have a look at the announcement trailer and dive into some juicy behind-the-scenes insight for how this game is getting made and why it took so long for someone to realize this potential.  

Tap Derby and Horse Runner DX: Two New Horse Games to Check Out on Steam
Tap Derby and Horse Runner DX: Two New Horse Games to Check Out on Steam

Today we get to look at two recently released horse games that may have flown under your radar.

Both of these games came to my attention because their creators used the TMQ communities to find interested players. They might not fulfill every horse game dream you’ve had, but they’re sure worth a look if you’re willing to try something new and support independent developers at a very affordable price tag.

Friends, Forage and Freedom: Why We Should Stop Normalizing Solitary Confinement in Horse Games and What Devs Can Do Instead
Friends, Forage and Freedom: Why We Should Stop Normalizing Solitary Confinement in Horse Games and What Devs Can Do Instead

How do horses live? What does a stable look like? Splendid barn aesthetics are nice to have for humans, but what horses really need are the so-called three Fs: Friends, Forage and Freedom. Today I want to have a look at what meeting those needs looks like and how horse-focused media can play an important role in education and normalization when it comes to the question of “What should a cool, fancy, high quality stable look like?” 

Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori is now Live on Kickstarter
Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori is now Live on Kickstarter

Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori is live on Kickstarter now! I would tell you more about what that means for the game and kinds of rewards you can get, but honestly, the campaign page speaks for itself and deserves a look whether or not you plan to back!

Review: My Life: Riding Stables 3 is a Vast Improvement over its Predecessors, Held Back by Store-Bought Horse Animation and Bad Balancing
Review: My Life: Riding Stables 3 is a Vast Improvement over its Predecessors, Held Back by Store-Bought Horse Animation and Bad Balancing

Part of my joy in writing these reviews comes from telling you in excruciating detail about the games you don’t already know and care about. This game has 11 reviews on Steam in total, so I can actually add relevant insight here – and I personally was very interested in this game considering the history of its franchise. 

Recommended: "The Horse In Stardew Valley Deserves Better. Here’s What ConcernedApe Could Try"
Recommended: "The Horse In Stardew Valley Deserves Better. Here’s What ConcernedApe Could Try"

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I both adore Stardew Valley but also find its horse incredibly underwhelming. It turns out that a recent conversation invigorated someone else in their long-held belief that the Stardew Valley horse could be so much cooler: Over on the Punished Backlog blog, Amanda Tien dives into the many ways in which mechanical and emotional depth could be added to our sadly underdeveloped pixel horse.

Recommended: Most animated horse assets you can buy are subpar in terms of anatomy and not good enough if your target audience includes "people who like horses"
Recommended: Most animated horse assets you can buy are subpar in terms of anatomy and not good enough if your target audience includes "people who like horses"

Frustrated once again by indie game developers’ over-reliance on the massively flawed Horse Animset Pro, I have taken to Reddit like a proper “angry person online” and wrote a deep dive aimed at gamedevs on the gamedev subreddit showcasing why I can’t really recommend people use the most popular animated horse asset.

analysisAlice Ruppertgirl games, horse game history, barbie games, recommendationComment