Ahead of the Game - Barbie Horse Ride & Rescue lets you pamper and care for beautiful horses (as you should)
Life in plastic - but on mobile
- Ride with your favourite horse across the open field
- Prettify your stables and pamper your beauties
- Enter contests and discover the story at the ranch
It's all about fulfilling childhood fantasies in this week's Ahead of the Game series, where we tell you about a new mobile endeavour that's playable in one form or another despite its unofficial launch.
I have a confession to make - I've never really understood kids' fascination for horses, so while I do love how my favourite niece used to gush over anything I gave her that's My Little Pony-themed, I don't necessarily see the appeal myself.
Of course, I say that as a complete hypocrite, because when I was a little girl, finally getting my own Barbie horse toy was a dream come true. I'd brush her hair endlessly until her mane was spotless, simply because I refused to see even the tiniest tangle on her glorious golden locks.
Barbie knows that all too well, because with Barbie Horse Ride & Rescue, you can not only do exactly that (albeit virtually), but you can also collect and nurture all kinds of different horses in your stable while playing along with the narrative at the same time.
You'll basically give horses some well-deserved TLC at the Roaming Hearts Rescue Ranch, where you can pamper them, prettify them, and even enter them into events in exchange for cool rewards.
And then there's the soundtrack - oh my goodness, the soundtrack. I absolutely love the theme that plays each time you gallop across the wide open fields to try and tame a wild horse, because it somehow captures that exhilarating feeling of freedom where it's just you, your horse, and the vast expanse around you.
Speaking of taming horses, though, you'll need to actually chase them down to "catch" them…and as the worst navigator/racer/virtual D-pad controller ever, I struggled with that the most, no matter how simple the tracks were. That's the only thing that really takes this whole thing down a notch for me, but really, it's more of a "me" problem rather than a Barbie problem.
So, how do you play Barbie Horse Ride & Rescue?
Now, this isn't actually slated for release until June 16th, but I'm fortunate enough to be based in a region where it's currently in early access on both iOS and Android. I'd say it's worth taking a peek at your own app store to see if it's available to play right now, because the earlier you can tame those beautiful horses, the better, right?
