Each system, from dressage training to hoof picking to photography is explained to you in a series of lengthy text boxes when you first start it, with no way to look up any rules or controls a second time unless you happen to have the paper manual at hand.
Petz Horsez 2 is a game consisting of a dozen different systems, and all of them have their own rules and controls, the whole thing feeling thrown together at random. The stall mucking minigame is controlled from a first person perspective that locks your camera to the mouse, but to end said minigame you have to move the mouse to the top right for a cursor to show up so you can click a button. Basic movement is clunky as hell thanks to not allowing for any backwards walking and sometimes ignoring your input if you press forward and sideways at the same time. Let’s have a thorough look at the good, bad and ugly parts of Petz Horsez 2.Īs a result, your hands are constantly moving between different positions on mouse and keyboard. So how does the horsie adventure game hold up without a lens of nostalgia to gaze through? Since the game is being sold on Steam under Petz Horsez 2 nowadays, I’ll stick with that one.Ī closer look at this game hasn’t only been requested on multiple occasions by some of TMQ’s regular readers, it’s also been named as an all-time favorite by many. Like many horse games, Petz Horsez 2 was sold under drastically different titles, so you may also have known this same game as:Ībenteuer auf dem Reiterhof 6: Kampf um die RanchĪll of those are a mouthful, I know. It was developed by French studio Lexis Numérique and published by Ubisoft, who would go on to release the first entry in their massively popular Assassin’s Creed series that same year. Petz Horsez 2 was originally released in 2007.
We’re looking at a game that I hadn’t played until now, but which is to many people what Mein Pferdehof is to me: that one sacred childhood memory of a horse game that was good. But Petz Horsez 2 is available on Steam these days and a relevant reference for many adult horse game fans. The review you’re about to read is a bit of an exception to said guideline. I want to provide context and information for people trying to make a purchasing decision, so it’s relevant to me that games are easily available today and not just memories of the past. When selecting games to review on TMQ, I generally try to choose newer titles.