In Star Stable players adventure around the beautiful fantasy island of Jorvik, able to complete quests and stories in the saddle of their own horse in a virtual horse themed MMORPG. With a wide variety of customizable horses, long quest focused content, social activities, Star Stable offers plenty to players, but at what cost? Read on to find out what we think is Good & Bad with the game!
THE GOOD
Free Trial - The game is available for free download and players can then trial the game playing some early content; progression become limited but players are able to still play the game
Plenty of Horses - There is a huge amount of horses on offer, from different breeds and colours, they can be customized to provide players with the type of horse they want and then ridden, tended to, raced and more
Quest Based Content - There's plenty to do on the island of Jorvik and players will get into numerous storylines for the various NPCs that inhabit the island, they will become a champion to depend on
Virtual Pet - This game offers some classic "virtual pet" style mechanics and gameplay with players having to constantly tend to their horse as they would in real life; riding it, feeding it, grooming, watering and cleaning out stables to make sure their horse stays happy and healthy
Intuitive Controls - The control mechanics of the game are simple and functional, with a quick push of the forward button a horse will start to move, pushing again will increase its speed and autorun, giving the feeling that the horse is running itself as opposed to be a car-like accelerator where you're always pushing the forward key
THE BAD
Subscription Game - The Free Trial is extremely limited, offering players the chance to reach level 5 it gives a shallow taster of what is on offer, but the vast majority of content and features are only available to subscribing members or those who purchase a one off lifetime membership status
VIP Importance - Becoming a subscribing member gives you access to exclusive shops, but purchasing a lifetime membership (which is reasonably cheap) gives players access to a Lifetime Members Only shop; which feels like subscribing members just aren't as important
Gear vs Skill - Racing horses is a large part of the competitive gameplay and getting the best time on a track grants rewards, but the races are relatively simple and players can learn the best routes/lines easily enough, so once the low skill ceiling is hit it is always the players with the best gear that win the races
Premium Focused – Although players pay to subscribe to the game paying cash, there is still a lot of new content added to the game (particularly new horses) that is still focused on selling things with "Star Coins" Premium Currency, eking even more cash out of already paying players
Can't Have a Male Character - In character creation players can only play as a young girl character, which is pretty odd; horse riding isn't exclusive to females and there's plenty of males who play the game as well
Any thoughts on the article? Got more to add? Let us know your thoughts on Star Stable in the comments.
