"Horses" is a game that plunges players into a disturbing narrative set during Anselmo's summer in Italy. Sent by his parents to work on a farm after a "wasted" semester, Anselmo anticipates a peaceful, hands-on job. However, his expectations are shattered almost immediately upon discovering the farm's dark secret: the Farmer's prize "horses" are, in fact, naked people forced into horse masks and treated as livestock. This horrifying revelation sets the stage for a fortnight of unimaginable atrocities, forcing Anselmo to navigate a terrifying reality where he is constantly walking on eggshells.

The game "Horses" has garnered significant attention and controversy, particularly due to its ban by Steam based on a 2023 demo build, with Epic Games subsequently following suit before the game's official launch. This series of events sparked widespread debate about monopolies and censorship within the gaming industry, often overshadowing discussions about the game's actual content and gameplay experience. For those who have actually played it, the true nature of "Horses" becomes horrifyingly clear.

"Horses" is designed to be deeply provocative, consistently unsettling players and pulling the rug out from under them at every turn. Its narrative employs unsettling techniques, such as replaying a late-game scene three times through distinct and disturbing dream sequences. The game confronts players with graphic and traumatic themes, including gore, suicide, sexual assault, mutilation, and brainwashing, all packed into its roughly three-hour runtime. The developers themselves acknowledge the intense nature of the content, providing extensive content warnings on the game's website and within the game itself upon startup, underscoring the necessity of such precautions.

Beyond being merely provocative, "Horses" is fundamentally cruel. It shares a thematic kinship with other games like "Mouthwashing," in that it compels players to perform objectionable tasks to advance the story. This design choice mirrors Anselmo's own predicament: he is forced into complicity, fearing that he too might end up in the "horse pen" if he resists. Despite attempts to help the captive individuals, players are inevitably drawn into the atrocities unfolding around them. A particularly poignant scene exemplifies this cruelty, where players are tasked with motivating a "horse" to work. Given the choice between a "carrot" and a "stick," failed attempts with the former lead to progressively larger "sticks," culminating in the player being forced to use a brutal baton, with the Farmer's dog blocking any escape. This scenario starkly illustrates the game's core mechanic of forcing moral compromise and complicity upon the player.