You can currently try out the open-world game The Legend of Khiimori via a free demo on Steam. In addition to the generally stylish graphics, the horses in particular stand out.
Horses are often just a means of transportation in games. Even when they look incredibly good, as in Red Dead Redemption 2, they often remain in the background. You feed them, care for them, and improve your riding skills, but the focus of the plot and gameplay action usually lies elsewhere.
This is not the case in the open-world game The Legend of Khiimori, which will be released in early access on March 3, 2026. The game from Aesir Interactive and Nightingames lets you slip into the role of a Mongolian horsewoman and horse breeder – so it really is all about our hoofed companions.
Horse lovers and open-world enthusiasts can see for themselves right now (a free demo on Steam.)
Free demo for open-world and horse fans
The demo is playable until November 30 and includes approximately 90 minutes of early access. This should give you an initial overview of the mechanics and the visually appealing game world.
Included are the beginning of the journey, as well as numerous quests that have you deliver goods or important messages. You play a mounted messenger in 13th-century Mongolia, so you’ll have to traverse wild and dangerous landscapes on horseback.
There is hardly any other way to overcome the vast, barren, and inhospitable terrain, so mounts are much more than just loyal friends. They are essential for human survival. But you don’t just ride, you also take care of your horses and keep an eye on their health, stamina, and mood. You brew medicine, improve yourself and your mount, and also engage in trade or breeding.
To survive in the wilderness, you must not only be clever, but also defend yourself against wild animals with a bow and arrow, gather food and supplies, or go hunting.
Horses that even give Red Dead Redemption a run for its money
The diverse landscapes of Mongolia are designed to impress you visually in Unreal Engine 5, whether you’re traveling through a scorching hot desert and barren steppe land or over frosty mountain peaks and steep cliffs. Because the weather and environment can also pose a danger, you must always plan your routes carefully and select and train your horses accordingly.
This is where realism and the focus on mounts come into play: you work with the animals to further improve and combine their natural strengths, and also strengthen them with the help of breeding over generations.
Great attention has also been paid to variety and detail in the visuals, so that the horses are depicted as authentically as possible.
Incidentally, The Legend of Khiimori is no longer part of the Ostwind series, if the name rings a bell, but is an independent game from a German developer.
