
One thing that’s probably got a bit lost in all the controversy preceding Horses’ release is the fact it’s surprisingly funny. Its humour is pitch black, yes, and its comedic moments often dance on a knife’s edge between laughter and revulsion, but writer and director Andrea Lucco Borlera’s first-person narrative horror – his debut game, created in close collaboration with Saturnalia developer Santa Ragione – is a fascinatingly singular vision. It’s singular enough, in fact, that it’s not an easy thing to effectively describe, but if you can imagine a sort of thematic reinterpretation of Animal Farm by way of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salo on one side, and a meme-able Garry’s Mod video on the other, then Horses gleefully oscillates between them, landing somewhere in the middle.