Gaming: Finally Someone Has Threaded The Needle Between Survival Game And...
The Legend of Khiimori is a surprisingly detailed horse courier sim that I'm actually loving more than just in solidarity with my horse girl gamer friends.
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As my dapple grey Mongolian trudges through a foot of snow up the last hill into a remote mountain village, my character Naraa lifts her forearm to block the glare of the setting sun. For a moment, the shadows on the trails my horse's hooves leave in the powder remind me of the same beautiful effect in Red Dead Redemption 2 and I think to myself: You know, The Legend of Khiimori might just be the one that puts horse games on the map. After it gets through early access, that is.
The Legend of Khiimori is an open world survival sim where you play as a horse courier in 13th century Mongolia. I've jokingly called it 'Death Stranding but horses' and, after playing six hours myself, that description really isn't too far off. Naraa the courier has to make deliveries between Mongolia's historical Yam postal stations, connect more stations to the Yam network, balance the weight distribution in her mount's saddlebags, and chart slow and thoughtful routes through the hills of the steppe.
Khiimori is being developed by Aesir Interactive which has prior horse game experience. Respected horse game developer and critic Alice Ruppert has been consulting on it too. I'm no horse expert myself, but with that pedigree I'm trusting that the accuracy of horse representation is all buttoned up here.
It is a bit weird playing a survival game where my player character is effectively immortal and the only meters I'm managing are actually for my horse: food, water, mood, stamina, and health. I quickly learn that galloping all over the map isn't the right way to play Khiimori. My mount's stamina depletes fast if I run too long, more so if I don't stick to the dirt roads. I'm encouraged to keep things to a nice trot, maybe a canter, and pick up to the occasional gallop over long open stretches of road. That delineation between horse gaits, and the incentive to mind them, is a detail I know equestrians love and one I got the hang of without much hassle.
The simulated elements of Khiimori's horsemanship are demanding enough that I don't at all miss having human survival to manage. I need to plot routes across the map that will pass by water sources for my mount to drink at and replenish her water meter. I've got to remember to or
Source: PC Gamer
