It’s easy — and free! — to get excited about upcoming titles, but when a new MMO arrives, the choice whether or not to try it is surprisingly nuanced. Sometimes it’s too early in the testing process, so you want to wait for a more full bake. Sometimes it’s too pricey, or you’re waiting for word-of-mouth reports, or you simply have other projects that are taking up your time.
And then sometimes an MMO comes along that offers up such an unusual and intriguing premise that it’s hard not to leap into its early access, even if it’s virtually assured to be barebones and janky. For me, that was Equinox Homecoming, the “cozy horse mystery” game that’s generated no small amount of buzz among our staff ever since the studio fully revealed it back in March. I spent the weekend playing it, and boy do I have thoughts to share with you.
Character customization is… decent?
I wasn’t either thrilled nor disappointed by the character customization process. It’s pretty basic in some spots while weirdly expansive in others (say, makeup). What’s pretty interesting here is that after you make your character, you then customize your (first?) horse as well, which is something I’ve never done in an MMO before. I do hope that they’ll add a lot more options across the board here, but it’s a good starting ground for future development.
It was really strange for the game to have me name my character only for the first NPC to run up calling me “Alex.” Maybe that’s my secret identity.
Wonky graphics are present, but the UI is well-done
Once I was in the game, I immediately liked the general presentation. I saw another player (we jumped at each other a bit, although Equinox Homecoming doesn’t give you much vertical leap distance) and admired the sleek, minimalistic-yet-functional user interface. There’s a good map system, chat window, minimap radar, quest tracker — all the essentials. I could easily group up or add a nearby player as a friend as well. Big thumbs up to the quest guide, where you hit “Q” to have a purple stream appear to show you the path to your current destination. No getting lost for me!
Where this early access stumbled somewhat were very poor graphics. Everything was functional — perhaps not optimized well, but functional — but the texture layers weren’t always loading. I kept seeing other objects and layers pop in and out, the most hilarious of which was watching my character arrive in on a boat that was floating over nothing, as the water wouldn’t load. Wait, actually the most hilarious was when my character was having a heart-to-heart with a friend while walking my horse, and my horse’s tail glitched to cover half the screen like a giant moving banner.
The story is somewhat MIA
Early access is going to early access, and that’s very apparent in the completely missing story beats. Some of the cutscenes aren’t finished yet, so the studio put placeholders with the sketches of the events, which was kind of cool. Less cool were the cutscenes that had placeholder slides giving you a very brief description of what happened. Since story is so important to Equinox Homecoming, I’m loathe to get too far into it without actually getting to experience the finished product. And if I’m going to continue to be picky, while there’s some decent voice acting, there are also regrettable moments that really need a do-over.
You can ride right away
I hate it when MMOs don’t let you do anything out of the gate other than what the tutorial strictly allows, which is why I give a pat on the back to this game for giving me a little bit of breathing room to play with the UI and even mount up on my horse and take her for a trot.
Yes, that’s right, you can beckon and ride your horse from the get-go. Everything here was quite intuitive, although most MMO players are going to have to get used to a mount that doesn’t start and stop on a dime. It’s a shade more realistic for that — the animations in this department are a standout — and I didn’t mind it at all. There are even different ways you can get on your horse, from climbing up the side to jumping from the back. Also, there are four speeds to your horse, so “upshifting” and “downshifting” are important to master.
You also have to care for your horse’s four needs. While the game says that there are no penalties to neglecting these, you also won’t get the benefits of a leveled-up horse that someone grooms and loves and gives little snuggy nuzzles. Ahem. Sorry.
There’s a lot tucked into the background
You’ll definitely want to play around with the UI because there are plenty of sections essential to your adventures on the island. The journal is a personal favorite, with hand-written notes and doodles detailing the story so far. Then there’s gear — with stats and status of you and your horse — as well as a backpack and a compendium of the characters you’ve met so far.
This game is a total vibe
After giving you your horse and teaching you how to ride it, the game sends you on a rather lengthy trip to your mother’s home. I thought this was genius. No rush, no pressure, just a relaxing ride through pretty scenery while listening to a soothing soundtrack (I can’t say enough good things about this score, by the way). This isn’t a game where you’re sprinting to the next kill, this quest communicates. It’s an experience, so soak in it.
While I was trotting along and taking in the sights, I asked other players in chat what they thought about Equinox Homecoming so far. One responded, “It’s a little buggy but very lovely,” which is a perfect way to sum up its current state. Repeatedly, I was reminded of the Life is Strange adventure game series in the tone, journal, and visuals.
I found this MMO to be a lot like a modern adventure game (or even a walking simulator) in its feels. There’s a good portion of narrative and interactive objects, and the island of Alderwood begs to be explored. The MMO part of it feels less developed, although it was nice to see and hear from several players as I was out and about. I got through my first race without embarrassing myself too much, and I saw that there are “riding clubs” (which I assume are guilds) that one can join.
All in all, this was far better than I had feared when I heard how fast it was coming to early access. Don’t get me wrong: This isn’t a game that I’d recommend purchasing right now. Or maybe not even for the next half-year. But if development and hype continues, I would change that stance in the future.
Equinox Homecoming isn’t that playable as a fully featured MMO yet, but it’s got serious potential as a unique entry to this genre. I can envision spending many hours yet exploring this island and uncovering its mysteries — and maybe feeding my horse every single dang dandelion I come across. I’m just concerned that Blue Scarab shot itself in the hooves by putting this on the market far too early, creating bad first impressions that it now has to fight against.
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!
