0 
0 They’re making their way down the home stretch just in time for Rival Stars Horse Racing to cross the finish line and end up on the Playstation Store. Already available on Desktop, iOS and Android, PikPok is finally launching its horse racing phenomenon onto consoles!
Find out what else there is to add to your PS library by checking out our other reviews here!
It’s the final sprint towards the finish line!
Gameplay
Rival Stars Horse Racing takes a simple concept and really expands it into a massive game. Upon initially loading the game, it becomes clear quick that this game is not just back to back racing. However, it does so much more than that. The main overarching story is that you are trying to save your family ranch. It needs you to help give it a new lease of life and rebuild its reputation. Alongside this story, there are plenty of secondary stories going on in the background as you are introduced to other members of your team such as TJ the trainer and Sophie the stable manager.
Where most horse racing simulator games are essentially just back to back flat racing, that isn’t the case for Rival Stars Horse Racing. Whilst you do spend a lot of time racing (it is the main way to make money after all) once you prestige enough, you can also unlock show jumping, cross country and the steeplechase. It also isn’t something that you’re forced to do back to back.
In the initial few hours of the game you are going to have to race a fair bit to make enough money to upgrade the ranch and the training facilities but you also have passive income from your homestead to help you on your way. Once you’ve got enough money, you can take a look at the breeding elements using your legacy horse.
Creating a legacy
The breeding mechanics in this game are quite in depth. Not only does it take into account the way that your horse looks but you can also crossbreed to your hearts content in the hopes of creating a high level foal. When you first start this process obviously you can only choose the first horse that you’ve unlocked but as you own more horses there are more options available.
Initially, horses cannot be bread with a tier higher than two. As you continue to expand your ranch, the chances of a better level horse increase. If you are struggling to reach those higher levels, there are also two horses available in the store for you to outright buy so you don’t have to go through the foaling process.
Keeping it interesting
Despite the premise of each event in Rival Stars Horse Racing being coming first, Pikpok does a really good job of making sure nothing gets stale. Each race type has its own set of controls. Flat racing is focused on timing your sprint with button presses. Meanwhile, the steeplechase focuses on how well you can manage your stamina bar and rewards you for timing jumps perfectly. Even the showjumping changes its approach. There’s no definitive path in terms of finishing certain race types first. Even with the missions to push the story along you can choose where you want to play. It makes it easier to stay locked in when playing simply because you’re not getting bogged down by the same controls for everything.
Multiplayer
There are multiplayer options available in-game. You can face off against randoms or your friends in races. You can also take to free roam and explore the different cross country maps together. There are also daily goals alongside the story ones which allow you to unlock new skills which can sometimes give you the edge in the races.
It’s a cute way to add more to the game. However, if multiplayer isn’t really your thing there is more than enough to do in single player.
Graphics & Audio
Sometimes, the graphics in this game often leave a bit be desired. Rival Stars Horse Racing isn’t ugly by any means but they aren’t the smoothest of graphics either. The long manes on horses occasionally look odd and sometimes the graphics clip a bit. The biggest issue I had was when the game decided to just not load any of the opponents in. The opening cutscene that plays before every race went by just fine. Then the race started and there was no one there. A quick reload resolved the issue so, again, not game breaking but is a little bit annoying. Through all of my time playing the game, this only happened once.
The audio for the game is predominantly made up in the horse racing sound effects. Rival Stars also does a fun little trick where it has preprogrammed some names into the announcers. If you use one of the randomised names provided to you by the game, the annoucers will actually say the name of the horse. This probably isn’t revolutionary to most but I actually really enjoyed this additional little bit of the game.
Longevity
It’s easy to think that a game that mainly revolves around running in a circle on the back of a horse may be pretty boring. However I honestly cannot stop playing Rival Stars Horse Racing. The story is interesting however it never forces you to focus on it if you want to just do some races and win some events. It’s one of those games that you can load up, play for ten minutes and then put down without feeling like you’re going to forget what’s happening. I’ve got over ten hours in this game so far and there’s still so much story to do. I’m only at prestige 8 at the moment and there are still many courses and events that need completing.
For £24.99, there’s more than enough bang for your buck. It’s simplicity in its controls really lends itself to being an easy to play game which helps you lose track of time if you’re planning on playing for longer than just one race.
Final Thoughts
I have, unironcially, been waiting for a horse game that rivals the 2003 PS2 classic Barbie Horse Adventures and nothing has ever quite hit the spot. Rival Stars Horse Racing might be the closest I’ll ever get to that level of perfection. In all seriousness, I really do enjoy this game and I know I’m going to be playing it for a long time. It’s easy to play, it’s entertaining and is everything I want from a horse racing sim. I’ve got no choice really other than to give Rival Stars Horse Racing the Thumb Culture Platinum Award. It’s a fun game from beginning to unofficial end. I can’t wait to sink even more time into it.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Discord | Podcast
About Author
