Code provided with thanks to minscape.
The Legend of Khiimori – Galloping Into Early Access
There’s something special about The Legend of Khiimori. It doesn’t arrive with bombast or world-ending stakes. There’s no ancient evil threatening the land. No chosen one prophecy humming in the background. Instead, it hands you a horse, a delivery route, and the wide, wind-swept beauty of 13th-century Mongolia, and says, “let’s ride!”
And honestly? I kind of love that.
You play as a courier rider in the Yam system, tasked with delivering goods across a vast, often unforgiving landscape. Early on, you’re helping an old fella recovering from injuries sustained in a bear attack (as you do), which sets you off on a journey of trade routes, packages, and careful planning.
But let’s be clear: this isn’t just a horse with a fast-travel button attached. This is a horse simulator in the most detailed sense of the word.
This Is Not Red Dead Riding
If you’re expecting to gallop freely as you might in Red Dead Redemption or Barbie’s Horse Riding Adventure, think again. Riding here is deliberate. Weighty. Sometimes nerve-wracking.
Your horse has stamina, health, thirst, hunger, and even mood to manage. Sprint too much and you’ll drain stamina fast. Charge downhill recklessly, and you might trip and injure your steed. Push through rivers without thinking? You’ll slow dramatically. Ignore inclines? You’ll feel it. It makes every journey feel meaningful.
You can’t just bomb across the landscape without a care in the world. You need to stick to paths where possible. Plan around terrain with your handy map. It turns traversal into gameplay rather than filler between quests, and it all feels kinda rewarding within its hardships.
The Bond Between Rider and Horse
The real star here isn’t the open world. It’s your horse.
You brush them down when they’re dirty. You bathe them in rivers. You give them a reassuring pat (yes, there are good boy/girl pets and they matter). You feed them, water them, and monitor their mood. A grumpy horse won’t perform as well, not that you would ever want that to happen, right?
There’s even weight distribution to consider. Cargo must be balanced across saddlebags. Overload your horse, and its stamina drains more quickly. Stack everything on one side, and your horse will feel the imbalance.
It’s intricate, almost survival-sim levels of detail, but it never felt overwhelming to me. Instead, it made the partnership feel authentic. You’re not just using a mount. You’re responsible for a living creature. And very good boy/girl. Did I mention you get to name your horse?
A World We Don’t Often See
The setting does a lot of heavy lifting, too. 13th century Mongolia isn’t a backdrop we see often in games, and that alone gives The Legend of Khiimori a refreshing identity. The landscape stretches from sweeping steppes to snowy peaks and harsher desert climates. It’s vast, sometimes intimidating, and filled with ruins, crafting resources, wildlife, and trade hubs.
The characters you meet are fully voiced in English. Some are warm. Some are grumpy, just like me most mornings. The main character herself is enthusiastic and driven, keen to prove herself and get the job done. I liked her, I’d happily have her as my post lady. It’s a pleasant world. Adventurous rather than explosive.
Crafting, Survival, and a Bit of Archery
There’s more to do than deliveries. You’ll forage, craft tonics, prepare animal repellents (yes, one early quest involves horse droppings and cloth, which you then proceed to fling at a bear, that’s when I knew this game was going somewhere interesting), and manage supplies carefully. You also need to manage in difficult weather conditions and night and day cycles.
You carry your own satchel, your horse carries theirs, and planning what to bring matters. There’s an in-game economy with vendors and trade routes. Bridges to build. Locals to help. Wildlife to manage.
You’re equipped with a bow and arrow, too. It’s not just for combat; it’s also a tool. Special arrows and powder pouches can gather resources or deal with threats more mindfully. Wolves can be handled without turning every encounter into a slaughter. That gentler design philosophy fits the overall tone well.
There’s even a small riding mini-game where you time button releases to grab resources at speed. Or you can dismount and gather manually if you prefer. Because sometimes you just want to walk rather than ride.
Let’s Talk About the Jank
Now. We do need to address the rather large horse-shaped elephant in the room. This is Early Access, and it shows.
My horse occasionally developed a habit of simply not listening to me. Commands? Ignored. Recall? Sometimes met with silence. On more than one occasion, he spawned on top of a tent in town like he’d achieved some kind of accidental parkour mastery.
There are visual issues, too. Character models can look rough. Lip-syncing is off. Facial animations feel awkward. It’s ambitious visually, but perhaps a little too ambitious for its current level of polish.
Performance-wise, it’s demanding. It’s a hefty install and requires solid hardware to run comfortably at higher settings. At times, it feels like the game is reaching for graphical heights it’s not quite ready to sustain smoothly. Think I would rather the game looked a generation or three behind graphically if it meant it ran smoothly on most PCs and Steam Deck, the latter it certainly can’t hack.
There are also smaller bugs scattered throughout, the sort you expect in Early Access, but they do add up.
Final Thoughts: A Ride Worth Taking
This is a game with heart. A game that dares to make horse care deep and mechanical rather than decorative. A game about responsibility, planning, bonding, and surviving together in a vast landscape.
It may be biting off a little more than it can chew technically right now, but the roadmap ahead looks promising, with more story, refinements, and additional mechanics. If the team can smooth out performance and squash the more disruptive bugs, there’s something genuinely special here.
This isn’t about hosing around (I’m sorry, I had to). It’s about care. Partnership. Earning your place on the steppe.
If you’re looking for a new adventure that’s less about slaying dark lords and more about building trust with a horse while delivering parcels across Mongolia, The Legend of Khiimori is absolutely worth keeping an eye on.
I’ll certainly be watching its journey as it continues through Early Access.
Hopefully, next time, my horse will stay off the rooftops.
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