Before stepping into my Rival Stars Horse Racing: VR Edition demo at Gamescom this year, I'll admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of horses. They’re big, scary and unsurprisingly very strong, so I couldn’t understand why people go out of their way to ride them. However, after spending time with these monstrously-sized creatures in virtual reality, I’m finally starting to see their appeal.
Based on the PC and Mobile game Rival Stars, the VR Edition adapts many existing systems like breeding and training. Instead of tapping a screen or clicking a mouse, you step right into the saddle and engage other riders across a series of high-intensity race courses. Success in the field rewards you with cash, which you can feed back into your ranch and develop your four-legged family. This straightforward system feels well suited to VR due to its grounded themes, and exploring the small but well-designed cartoonish grounds of my faux farm is surprisingly relaxing. The soft soundscape stands out, thanks to its soothing winds and bird calls.
I can’t enjoy the sunshine forever, though; inevitably, it's time to face my fears and see a horse up close. The stature of the digital foal immediately struck me upon entering the barn. Despite the surroundings looking so static, I'm pleasantly surprised by how realistic my new steed is with its waggling ears and random snorts.
Entering the pen greets me with various grooming and snacking goods that I can optionally use to build the relationship between the creature and myself. Naturally, I fed them apples until cute hearts appeared, signifying that my horse acquaintance was now my horse friend. In these moments, Rival Stars Horse Racing: VR Edition reminded me of early '00s games like Barbie Horse Adventures and Nintendogs, which leverage the freedom of virtual pet ownership with sincere bond-building. While they work fine on a flat screen, I feel strangely present with my horse in virtual reality. Tending to their needs and indulging in the meditative process of brushing down their coat is a delight.
With the horse fed and its hair brushed, I headed for the track and used our new bond to my benefit. Traversal throughout the farm uses approachable teleportation but racing is fluid locomotion. You feel each turn and speed boost as the visuals inside the headset mimic the horse's motion. While waiting for the race buzzer, I took a few minutes to learn the basics of jockeyship. Gaining speed requires you to grip the controllers and waggle your arms up and down.
This firm grip is essential to filling up the boost gauge, which requires aggressively rocking the controllers back and forth. Steering is thankfully simple, pulling back with my left or right arm to tug the reins in my desired direction. Soon enough, I belted out the starting gates and despite my training, I began flailing like a wacky inflatable tube man, gasping and grooving to get ahead of my competitors. Despite my goofy, overexcited approach, Rival Stars' movement systems eventually feel intuitive as my physicality blends with the visual shift between a tempered trot and a fierce gallop.
Cross Country maps are much more precision-focused, courtesy of tight corners and dressage-esque obstacles. Here, I struggled against the natural pull of my steed as I gained the speed needed to make the necessary calculated jumps and turns. Wrestling my horse for control can be annoying, though the feeling of resistance made the experience of landing jumps more legitimate and rewarding.
One aside worth mentioning, though, is that while I have earned my VR sea legs, the fast-paced and immersive traversal in Rival Stars did garner small bouts of nausea. Without an alternative movement style for the racing portion of the game, the intensity of Rival Stars Horse Racing: VR Edition might take some getting used to if you’re prone to motion sickness.
As my time with Rival Stars came to a close, I dove into the breeding portion of the game, which lets you match up horses by color and skill to create bespoke foals that match your needs. Within 30 seconds of making my own selection, a baby horse materialized before me, and I found myself besotted with the pint-sized racer. This aspect is still a work in progress, so only time will tell how these systems can grow. While adorable, it's unclear how they will work in the full game, especially considering complications like resource management.
It’s still early days for Rival Stars Horse Racing: VR Edition, but there’s plenty to love already. The bright pastoral world is quaint and rendered carefully, summoning a fitting landscape for tending to horses, and this combination of ranching and nurturing tasks creates a surprisingly relaxing atmosphere. The highlight was, of course, the racing, which, despite any bouts of motion sickness on my part, felt approachable due to its straightforward control scheme. I’m keen to return to the saddle and try my luck again soon.
Rival Stars Horse Racing: VR Edition is coming to PC VR and the Meta Quest platform in Q2 2025. It's also confirmed for Apple Vision Pro.
