Sweden-based solo developer Snick Snack Games just released his first project, titled My First Horse: Adventures on Seahorse Island. Developed in Unreal Engine, the game follows a young girl named Olivia as she spends the summer with her new horse on the titular Seahorse Island.
SUMMER AWAITS
Welcome to Seahorse Island! Summer is finally here and for Olivia this means getting to meet a very special friend: her very own horse! Ride, explore, play and discover the many secrets of the island, making unforgettable memories together: your adventure has just begun!
- Help out the other residents by completing quests and following the main story
- Customize both Olivia and the Horse by finding new clothes and accessories all over the island
- Take good care of your new horse and practice new skills together to become the best of friends
- Keep a record of your adventures by taking beautiful pictures and saving them in your photo album
- Solve world puzzles and find treasures and collectibles while exploring the wilderness
- Experience the story at your own pace and enjoy your time at Seahorse Island
Driving a carriage, practicing show jumping, exploring
and caring for her new best friend are just some ways for Olivia to pass the time.
My First Horse: Adventures on Seahorse Island © Snick Snack Games
Horse games have long since been plagued an onslaught of low-budget, uninspired releases over the years, which usually meant a severe lack of scope, technical state and overall polish. In the early 2000s, horse girls everywhere entered the gaming space, leading publishers to flood the market with whatever they could churn out in a year or under of development: one of such cases was the ‘soul-crushing’ development of Riding Star 2, as described by gameplay programmer Jörg Reising in a 2019 article on The Mane Quest. His experience is unfortunately all too common in an industry where insufficient budgets, impossible timelines and a complete disinterest from the upper levels of management to assure even the bare modicum of quality can and will spell doom for the people in the trenches. With Resing’s testimony in mind, My First Horse: Adventures on Seahorse Island stands out as a genuine labour of love: according to the official website Peter, the sole developer behind Snick Snack Games, embarked on this project to realize his niece’s dream of having her very own horse game. As stated by Peter, after three and a half years in development, said niece is no longer into horses; however, he hopes that “this project will inspire others to chase their dreams, no matter how daunting they may seem at first”.
Personally speaking, I would feel inclined to support this game based on the trailer alone: while some frames betray the ever-present Horse-Animset-Pro, I find this to be hardly a damning fault for a lone developer tackling a project of this scale – and especially not when clear artistic direction and good presentation put many other games to shame. Making a good first impression is vital, and I’m happy to report that Snick Snack Games poured enough love and dedication into this project to make this fact very much apparent. All in all, My First Horse: Adventures on Seahorse Island promises some hours of quiet and relaxing fun, and I for one am looking forward to kick back and enjoy a little summer getaway.
My First Horse: Adventures on Seahorse Island © Snick Snack Games
My First Horse: Adventures on Seahorse Island is available on Steam.
