Saddling Up for My Horse Girl Gaming Era

Turns Out...I Was Never Just a Cozy Gamer

There comes a point where you have to stop pretending something is "just a phase" Mine? Apparently...horses. If you've been following me for awhile, you may have noticed the pattern. Every time a new horse game gets announced... Someone tags me. Every Stream Next Fest....Someone sends me the trailer with the comment

"Uni, this one has horses."

My Steam library is pretty much a digital stable now all because strangers on the internet saw a horse in a video game and automatically thought of me.

It Started Long Before Video Games

I have loved horses for as long as I can remember. I spent most of my days in a saddle and riding my horses on trails. On weekends I was either at a NBHA show or a Rodeo trying to beat the fastest time around three barrels. I got hurt and life happened. Work, Kids, Bills, the saddle collects dust now, but I still have my big four legged pasture dogs. Being an adult has a funny way of convincing you that the things you loved as a child are supposed to stay in childhood.

One Horse Game Became.....Every Horse Game

It started innocently enough.

"Uni, this game has horses in it, I think you will like it"

to oh this one has some pretty horses in it, I'll try that one.

to "this one is one sale?"

Before I knew it, I wasn't just occasionally playing horse games. I was on the hunt for them. Whislist after wishlist. Demo after demo. Early access announcement after early access announcement. If it had horses, I wanted to know about it. I love horses and it made me feel like that little horse-obsessed girl once again.

The Moment It Finally Clicked

A few weeks ago, someone tagged me in another horse game announcement. Which isn't even a surprise anymore. If you take a look at my Steam library.

• Horse Club Adventures

• The Ranch of Rivershine

• Windstorm

• Horse Tales

• Red Dead Redemption

• upcoming indie horse games

game that aren't technically horse games..... but became horse game because of how much time I spent with my horse.

Other's have even called out that I wasn't becoming the horse game girl, I have been her all along.

This Doesn't Mean I Am Leaving Cozy Gaming

Not even a little! I'm still going to lose entire weekends decorating houses. And disappear into gaming games. And you will find me writing about a story game that left me crying into my blanket. Cozy gaming isn't going anywhere.

If anything....Horse games just feel like another branch of the cozy tree. They are peaceful, slow, and built around connection. They are exactly what my heart has been looking for.

I Stopped Worrying About My Niche

One of the biggest things I was told when getting into content creations is to niche down. Pick one thing, Stick with it. Don't confuse your audience. And when first starting out I believed it. I worried that if I talked about horses too much, people would stop reading. And I felt like I was drifting too far from what people expected from me. After being in this industry for as long as I have been I noticed that people don't follow me because I play cozy games. They follow me because of how excited I get over games and sharing my tips and advice. Me being me is the brand. Not the category. Doesn't matter if I'm stressing out while my teammates carry me in Fortnite, or crying over Arthur Morgan, or talking about horse mechanics....It's still me.

Your Joy Is Your Brand

This might be the biggest lesson I have learned in my content creation journey. The things that light you up? That's your brand. Not your logo. Not the color palette. Not the niche. Joy is recognizable. Passion is contagious, and every time i sit down to write about horses..... The words just flow. And when it can do that, it's a pretty good sign you're exactly where you're supposed to be.

What Is Coming Next

Probably an unhealthy amount of horse content. Talking about upcoming releases. Finding hidden indie gems. Crying over digital horses. Spending way too long choosing saddles. And trying to convince you to become horse people too.

Sorry in advance.

If Horses Aren't Your Thing

I hope you stick around. This community has never been about one genre. It's always been about kindness. Comfort. Laughing together. Finding games that make life feel a little lighter. Maybe horses aren't your PB&J, maybe it's horror games, story games, FPS games, whatever brings you job....There's room for it here.

One Last Ride

This isn't a rebrand. It's not me changing who I am. It's me finally letting myelf be exactly who I've always been. The little girl who loves horses. The cozy gamer who found that same feeling again through video games. The creator who stopped worrying about fitting neatly into one little box. So here's to sunsets. The trial rides. The indie horse games. And the late-night wishlist scrolling.

The best content doesn't come from chasing trends. It comes from chasing the things that make you come alive.

With love, muddy boots, and too many screenshots of digital horses,

Uni