I have long gone on the record saying that I truly appreciate it when a creative work — especially TV, movies, and video games — bucks the tired trends and instead swings for the fences. I love audacious and daring approaches that venture into new territory or do something old in a fresh way. As MMO players, we’re familiar with been-there-developed-that titles, so it’s not hard to spot a project that’s trotting to the beat of its own hooves.
But is the recently announced Equinox Homecoming a little too different and too weird to be anything but an anomaly when it is released from the stables? And will I be able to get through the rest of this column without making a string of horse puns? Saddle up, friends, because I’m determined to sort out my feelings on this complex “cozy horse mystery” MMO.
Horseback riding. Murder mysteries. Cozy exploration. I’ve seen each of these pop up separately in games but never together – and never in an MMO. I’ve been told that this is a genre unto itself, one that I’ve never directly encountered.
At first, I thought the combination was a little silly, to be honest. How can something be “cozy” while also introducing elements of murder and supernatural horror? Those elements seemed to be at cross-purposes. But the more I sat with this, I started nodding to myself. What it made me think of was 2016’s Firewatch, a sort-of cozy walking simulator with aspects of crime, suspense, and exploration in a wilderness space. It worked well there, balancing a few genres, so why not with a horse MMO?
Speaking of horses, I know that equines are a huge draw to certain crowds. Some folks flip for horses, which is why games like Star Stable or shows like My Little Pony do so well. Plus, pretty much every MMO fan has had a trusty horse steed or two in their journeys. They’re low-tech ATVs that have stake in the realms of both beauty and warfare.
To be frank, I’m not the kind of person who daydreams of my favorite horse breed and idolizes them. Just not my thing. But what I can appreciate about this approach is the idea of using horses to explore the largely untamed nature of an island. That approach is a nice stepback from modern times, where it might almost feel like saddling up to venture forth into the old west. Even if you do have a cellphone.
I don’t know what to make about the overall theme of Equinox Homecoming or the core gameplay loop, mostly because we’re just now starting to learn about this project and the devs haven’t revealed that much about it. I do have to wonder how a story that sounds far more suited for a small-scale single-player experience could be expanded into a full-fledged MMO.
There will have to be a whole lot of quests and activities to occupy our time. The trailer hints at horse care, which makes sense, and I’ll toss in collections and explorable checklists as gimmes. I’ve also heard the mention of horse racing on the island.
Some wish list items that pop off the top of my head including the ability to set up camp and home ownership on the island. It would be very nice to have a base of operations that could be the epicenter of that aforementioned coziness.
But will this be a Twin Peaks/Secret World situation where a seemingly normal locale continually unfolds with new revelations of a mysterious world behind it? If that’s so, I’m definitely intrigued. It’s been a while since we had an MMO set in contemporary times, and all of this would represent a great change of pace from the norm.
In an interview published by a Blue Scarab consultant over on The Mane Quest, the studio said that it’s planning years’ worth of narrative content that will roll out in episodes, with smaller activities filling up the time between these. The appeal of that rests solely in the skill of the writers and quest designers to deliver a compelling story.
After getting past my initial “what the heck is this?” weirdness, I’m really warming up to what this team is doing with Equinox Homecoming (although that title is a little… unwieldy, I think you’ll agree). If done right, this could trot right into our space and take a large segment by storm. It might be best to get on this hype train early, especially if happy trails lie ahead.
Do you love spectating and speculating about upcoming MMOs? We do too! Every week, Justin tackles another upcoming title on the MMO Hype Train with opinions, analysis, and blind fervent hope. Choo choo all aboard!
