Equinox: Homecoming

I've really enjoyed Equinox: Homecoming so far, and I'm sure I will continue to enjoy it. Despite this, it's a solid "do not recommend" from me. It's a "live service" style of game, which means it's not actually finished despite being out of early access. What [b][i]is[/i][/b] there is pretty good, but the live service aspects suck most of the joy out of the gameplay. To highlight a few specific issues: [list] [*]In a horse game that you've already paid money for, you have to spend MORE money to get more horses. The least expensive horses cost about $10 USD in premium currency. You can also grind out about $2-$3 USD of the premium currency a week through very boring weekly tasks. [*]The story is excellent, but there's not a lot of it (yet). The developers have tried to hide that by padding it out with tedious fetch quests, but that really just makes it even more obvious how little there is. [*]Because the game is a work in progress there's not much to do outside of the main story and side quests. [/list] These aren't the only flaws, either. Everything but the most basic clothing and horse tack options [i]also[/i] cost real money, character models and animations need a major overhaul, the lighting system is awful, and the in-game towns feel lifeless, deserted, and half finished. Equinox: Homecoming has the POTENTIAL to be great. The environments are gorgeous, the story is great, the characters are fun, the voice acting is better than in many AAA games, and the developers seem to know how horses actually look, behave, and move, which is really rare in video games. Maybe after a year or so of updates the developers will have added enough new content and learned to not be so stingy with cool cosmetics. Until then, however, my advice is to not bother.

Call me old fashioned, but when I see a game out of early access and pay for a "full game," I expect the game to be finished. The fault is on me for not looking into the game posts better, but I could almost excuse the game being unfinished (main story, single player) if I didn't also feel like I was playing pony express simulator to make up for the lack of content. Complete one aspect of a side quest, and you'll be forced to travel 1.5 km across the map to complete the next section of the quest, and so on. The microtransaction horses were also a bit wild. Maybe there's more content in the online aspect, but as far as single player goes, paying for a game out of early access that still isn't finished rubbed me the wrong way a bit.

Found this early access horse game in the sales targeted at an older audience [i]finally lol[/i] Easy gameplay, with tutorials. I play with my controller and could confidently stick my granny on this game to dander about. It's a nice point and click style; with a written novel story experience. ( So far unfinished bc EA - but looking forward to the next chapters ) Lovely islands and other scenic islands to explore. I'm fond of these types of games, especially after a session of decapitation in my combat focused games. Community itself is 10/10 banter [ global chat is top tier banter ] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3793180680 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3790624740

Sounds like a dream game. But the game is badly optimized, a lot of bugs (for example the first quest getting equiped i think the name is, didnt even showed on map where i should deliver the packages so i had to check youtube for that lol). Beautiful scenery, BUT sometimes the lighting doesnt suit the angle of the camera. FPS stutters the whole time, can go from 140fps to 40 in a second and climb back up. Some textures dont even load (hay in the stall, its just missing texture but in gray), some npcs like the horses have hooves in the ground. Hair and mane wierdly flows sometimes. when a mini cutscene play where you talk to npcs, my character and the horse just falls from a small height. Other than that, great idea i can see some sso stuff which is nice. Thought the game would be alot better since the developers are from famous good games. Do i recommend? 50/50 If you dont mind the stutters, bugs and visual stuff then yeah, but sometimes it does look good. The cutscenes, horse models and mocap is spot on and the story is thrilling and catchy. But if you also want the game to look good and have good performance and peace playing it without any stuff that looks bad and annoy you then no. Would probably wait until they fix it. IF they fix it lol. Cant believe it had 7mil budget.

If StarStable Online and Life is Strange had a child, it would be this game. I see a lot of potential in this game and hope that the storyline continues to be just as exciting as it has been so far and doesn’t completely fizzle out at some point, like it did in StarStable. The game is just at its beginning so of course there are a lot of unfinished aspects - but i think it took a strong start so far. What’s great so far: - The landscape graphics are very beautiful and realistic, i enjoy to just ride around - Finally, a horse game aimed at young adults rather than children What I’d still like to see the most: - Expanded horse training options, e.g., targeted agility training, dressage exercises, etc. - More liveliness in the game world, e.g., NPCs that don’t just sit around but move through the world, wild animals, etc. - The ability to replay story quests without losing your actual progress, to bridge the gaps between story updates and so that players don’t lose track of the story - More diverse options in character customization

As of right now I cannot recommend this game. I honestly feel like I got lied to and am glad I bought it on sale and not full price. As a full disclaimer, I played this game with chat closed and other riders hidden. I have no interest the multiplayer aspect. Even though it is in full release, it feels very early access still. Some Animations don't play all the way through (dismounting etc), some cutscenes are buggy (opening scene and several others played both VA's for male and female at the same time, some scenes lagged and then skipped all together) and some animations feel like place holders (the horrendous trot animation). The story is good, but there are definitely parts that feel a little disjointed and it feels like a quest in between or a cutscene are missing. Especially some of the back to the barn quests that jolt into a scene or feel like they jolt halfway into it, making you feel like you've missed some dialogue or something. The story is also UNFINISHED. Which vexed me considerably. This game is not in early access, it is in full release, meaning the story should be fully accessable. No where was advertised that the story was incomplete. I have yet to find an ETA for the next chapter. Additionally, you get to name your character but in all the quests, spoken and written, your name is never actually used. They all call you Alex, regardless of what name you give yourself. An aspect I am unsure is intentional or if it just a placeholder name. The upgrading of gear feels odd, using flowers or mushrooms to upgrade clothing or tack feels strange. I would prefer just using currency for this. The stats also don't seem to matter unless you're competing against the other players. Horse care being optional is strange considering the bond with our horse is supposed to be important to the story, but with the care being optional, the horse ends up feeling like a lifeless bike you just get from point a to point b with. I do like there's no breeding and additional horse availability is limited, forcing you keep the same horse for much of the story. This gives your horse more meaning, more games need to do this rather then be a horse collector game. I do like the graphics and music. It sets the right tone and ambience and adds to general creepiness for certain scenes. I had no issues running this game on max graphics. The game itself didn't lag but some cutscenes were stilted on some occasions. TLDR: Story not finished animations not finished upgrading gear is illogical horse care is optional Game is in full release but should still be in EA. I will revisit this game when the story is fully released and change this review if needed.

The game is very enjoyable from what I've played so far. It runs well most of the time, but needs some optimizations still. Despite a low concurrent player count, the world still feels lively with players running around. There's also a lot of amazing people who play it.

So far, I’m really enjoying this game! I’ve been looking for a horse game that satisfies my love for Star Stable Online (SSO) and Alicia Online (AO), and so far, this one is meeting many of the criteria I’m looking for. I really enjoy the storyline, and it seems to be progressing in an interesting direction. The community is also very kind and welcoming, and I love that you can join clubs and connect with other players. Horses are the primary reason I play this game, so one area I would like to see improved is the variety of horse options. There also aren’t many customization choices and gear at the moment. However, since the game is still relatively new, I’m willing to give the developers some time to expand these features. That said, PLEASE add more options for hair colors, hairstyles, and customization colors in general, for both the horses and our characters! More variety would make the game even more enjoyable and give players greater freedom to create characters and horses that feel unique to them

This game is so refreshing because its not your typical horse game. Its not just caring, riding, training, showing, unlocking more horses and coats etc. Its got a storyline. The storyline is very dark and mature so it is definitely a different type of horse game and for that I am hooked. The devs actively update and actually listen to the community which nowadays i feel is rare. The animations are quite solid and I am obsessed with the horse sound effects. The quests and the cutscenes are great too. Can't wait for future updates. <3