Horses 2025

Video game · Windows

Developed by Santa Ragione

Horses is a 2025 horror-adventure video game developed and published by the Italian studio Santa Ragione and filmmaker Andrea Lucco Borlera. The game puts players in the role of Anselmo, who helps manage a farm owned by an unnamed farmer who enslaves humans dressed as horses. The gameplay features experimental visual elements including silent film styles, camera angles, intertitles, and live-action sequences. Borlera, an Italian designer and filmmaker, originated the concept for Horses and pitched it to Santa Ragione, drawing influence from surrealist cinema in shaping the game's aesthetic and visuals.

In November 2025, just before its release, the developer Santa Ragione announced that Steam had decided against distributing the game on its platform. This was followed by similar actions from the Epic Games Store. The developer claimed that platform owners like Valve did not provide clear justifications for the content restrictions. As a result, Horses became available on other digital storefronts such as GOG.com and itch.io. The ban sparked discussion around platform censorship and its effects on indie game development.

After launch, Horses garnered mixed reviews. Critics appreciated the filmic methods used and the original nature of its premise, while noting that the game lacked enough explicit content to justify its removal from digital stores. Some critiques focused on how the themes were executed, with certain reviewers finding the narrative lacking in choice or nuance. Though removed from several platforms, Horses generated enough sales for Santa Ragione to cover production costs, although not enough to fund further projects.