I can't blame this game for the fact that the entire Spirit franchise took a turn for the worse, both in terms of narrative themes and horse animation. However: the game itself suffers from a ton of UX issues and is only really worth playing if you're a huge fan of the movie. It does not live up to the 40$ price tag in either quality or quantity.

Full review (including lots of gifs and images) here: https://www.themanequest.com/blog/2021/7/31/review-dreamworks-spirit-luckys-big-adventure-a-promising-open-world-game-marred-by-a-thoroughly-frustrating-user-experience

This game is really good! Beautiful scenery, massive open world, tons of quests/errands to do for people, and, of course, an exciting story. I haven't got through the whole story, it's very exciting so far, though! The reason I posted this review this early, though, is because I know lots of people considering wishlisting this might not even consider it worth getting, because it says that the keyboard and mouse is not supported, but, IMPORTANT, that is incorrect information!! You CAN use it, for this game, don't know why it says it's not supported, in this game, very misleading....the controls in-game are just shown by what controller buttons to press, yeah, with no option in-game to look at what the keyboard key bindings are, but they are still there, nevertheless, and do work. Because I'm a PC player, more than any other console, I'm used to using a keyboard and mouse, and didn't like the controller when I tried it out, so am now playing this game with the keyboard and mouse, and, after trying out all the keys on my keyboard, I discovered all the keyboard controls for this game, which do work:

WHEN ON FOOT/NOT RIDING -
Move around: W, A, S, D
Jump/Jump up onto ledges when climbing rocks: Space bar
Crouch: C
Interact (like talking to people and picking up objects)/Call Spirit to you: F
Take pictures with camera: E (F is to cancel it, after pressing E)

WHEN RIDING -
Mount: Space bar (also used to make Spirit jump, after mounting)
Dismount: C
Sprint/Make Spirit drink from water troughs: F

Should probably update that Notice information, devs, otherwise, it could possibly drive a lot of PC players, used to the keyboard, away from this game; I wouldn't have kept this game if I hadn't discovered that the keyboard and mouse controls work.

But, yeah, apart from that, this game is outstanding. It has bad things, yeah, but the good things far outweigh the bad: Here's the pros and cons:
PROS -
1. Amazing riding mechanics, just amazing animation for Spirit and his movements, in general. The whole animation of the riding just feels so realistic, unlike any other horse riding game I have ever played; when you make Spirit turn when running, it just feels so realistic, more slow, controlled turns, instead of the quick, choppy, unrealistic turns I've seen a lot in other horse riding games. When you turn the camera to look at Spirit running, side-on, he looks just beautiful, wild, and elegant, just like what he looks like when running in the original movie, Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron (which is actually my favourite movie of all time, which is why I love so much that there's a game about Spirit now, thank you so much, devs for bringing him to the video game environment :D), I love playing the original movie's soundtracks when playing this game, like This Is Where I Belong, Homeland, and I Will Always Return. Also the way he swishes and flicks his tail around, especially when turning, and his facial expressions, it's very similar to the expressions he made in the original movie, Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron, it's just so cool seeing it now in a video game :)
2. Really fun quests and errands, things like rescuing horses in distress, finding lost items or doing nice things for people, etc. I love games that have stacks of errands and tasks you can do for people, but only when they're enjoyable, which luckily, they are, in this game (excluding the camera ones, those are just annoying, to the extreme).
3. Cosmetic items and area locations to discover in open world. You can customize the clothes of your character, I love being able to customize the look or clothes of your character in games :) There are chests scattered around the open world, containing cosmetic items, like clothes for your character. They're not that hard to miss when you get close to them, when you come close to one, even from quite far away, you can spot it by a tall, vertical purplish beacon of light it emits. And when you discover an area, the name of it will pop up on your screen, in big words, and you can then fast-travel to that location any time you want.
4. You can change the time of day. When exploring the open world, you can choose to either ride at day or night. Just simply select an area you have discovered in the open world (discovered areas can be found in the Diary), and you can choose to fast-travel there either at day or night.

CONS:
1. Spirit can easily get stuck on big rocks/obstacles, or on sloping ground edged by cliffs. You can walk down sloping ground, but the minute you step onto the the cliff surrounding the edges of the slope, Spirit gets stuck on it, can't move, and it's very hard and irritating to get him unstuck from it. It's annoying, because you can't walk or hop over the cliff parts, even if it's just a very slight slope, with the ground just inches below it. You can actually make Spirit walk backwards, though, which is very interesting, I've never played any other horse riding game where you can actually make the horse move backwards. Very handy :)
2. Jumping, when riding, is, well...to be frank, quite pathetic. I know it looks like Spirit can jump a nice distance in that little animation of him jumping over the fences, in the 'About This Game' section, but he actually doesn't jump like that at all in this game; just tiny little hops that only move you a couple inches forward, even when sprinting, Spirit's speed greatly decreases, just about abruptly to a stop, when you jump; considering Spirit is the King of jumping massive distances (after all, he jumped the Grand Canyon in the original movie!), his jumping should be more effective than that....
3. Photo quests are an absolute headache. When taking photos of animals for quests/errands, you have to be standing at the right distance (not too close or too far away), and make sure the animal is facing you and not moving; what's annoying about this is that, the camera will say you're too far away even when you're right up close to the animal (there's no option to zoom in or out with the camera), and will only say you're close enough when you're close enough to the animal that you scare it, making it run away. The only way you can successfully take the picture is if you go right up to the animal, then stay in the camera mode, without unequipping the camera, until the animal eventually walks back to the spot it started, close to you; because, for some reason, they don't really get scared of you when you're actually using the camera, only when you're not using it;
4. Spirit's stamina, even when at full, runs out way too fast, in a matter of seconds. Considering he's a horse, the rate at which his stamina drops is just ridiculous, doesn't feel realistic, people could run for longer periods than that; almost constantly finding myself being forced to do 2 things that replenish the stamina, trotting at a painstakingly slow pace, for a considerable amount of time, in the massive open world, or dismounting to hug Spirit and say 'I love you;' constantly having to do these 2 things every chunk of seconds, is just annoying (another way of replenishing Spirit's stamina is drinking from water troughs, but that's harder to do, because those are only in civilisations, the majority of this game contains natural open world in the wilderness).
5. Jumping and climbing ledges with your character is a nuisance. It can be difficult, because you don't have control of the camera when climbing and jumping; the minute you do so, the camera turns sideways, at a side-on view of your character, and you no longer have control of the camera until you jump back off the rock and onto the ground again. It does help to be able to look sideways sometimes when you're climbing and jumping; but just sometimes; there are other times when being able to look in front of you would help, too.

Overall, still a fantastic game, I love it! Absolutely recommended, well done, devs, great job, can't believe Spirit's finally here in a video game! :)

NOTE: This has functional keyboard and mouse support, contrary to what the store page claims. Aside from platforming sections being a bit janky the default layout works just fine.

This is pretty fun, but it is almost criminally short for the initial asking price. For such a massive world around the Miradero town site, there's not a whole lot to do in it once you've finished the main quest. Once you complete the side quests, there is literally nothing to do in it apart from riding around on Spirit until he needs grooming.

The main quest will take you between 4 and 6 hours, I clocked in at just under 4.5. It has solid partial voice acting and an enjoyable story line, but the villain vanishes from the game world despite you having to later free mustangs he inexplicably continues to capture. Full completion of main and side quests is quoted by a developer as needing between 15 to 20 hours, but I finished at just under 13.5 by abusing Fast Travel where available. Most of the side quests are interesting, but the multi-part one Abigail offers which sees you wander the world photographing wildlife far and above overstays its welcome.

Minor technical issues, Spirit has a habit of refusing the smallest of slopes if they're rock covered and there seems to be an issue with collision zones around the end of one bridge. Lucky *loves* to pop up out of crouch stances if she starts to slide on an incline, making the photography missions a chore sometimes. Lots of scenery loading stutter when venturing in the wilds, not sure if this is due to my dated PC or if the game would benefit from an SSD.

If you're a fan of the original movie you may wish to pick this up on sale although fair warning this is not Spirit as we knew him. On the other hand if you're a fan of the newer TV series and movie, this is probably right up your alley as it features characters from those and might be worth full price if you've got a horse-crazy kid and money to burn.

Short but a nice little game.
I think quests were kinda boring, running errands.
From point A to point B and back to point A.
Collect this and that.
Story was childish, what is expected from a kid's game.
No one should ever compare this game with a masterpiece like RDR2. Never!
Open world is very compact and limited, but fun for kids I guess.
Spirit gets stuck all the time on things like rocks or trees.
Super small stamina for a stallion from the wild is ridiculous.
He should be able to gallop a little longer than under 2 min.
Game has many minor bugs, nothing game breaking.
Very fun few hours for little girls or fans of the movie.
Me? My inner horse loving girl is still waiting for a GOOD horse game...

I don't normally leave reviews, but my 5 y.o. daughter absolutely adores this game. The riding controls are simple enough that she's been able to pick the game up on her own (we use an Xbox 360 controller) and complete most of the main storyline without any help. Some of the platforming segments can be a bit tricky for her thanks to some not quite ideal camera angles, but otherwise she does most of it on her own. Quest objectives are clearly marked / easy to follow and she loves seeing some of the main characters from the show represented. As others have stated, keyboard and mouse are supported despite what's in the description.

Would definitely recommend this to anyone with younger kids who are fans of the show or horses in general when it's on sale. Now if only there was a mod or dlc to make Pru and Chica Linda (her favorite character and her horse) playable....

Recommended under both of two conditions: (1) On sale. (2) For a very young audience, fans of the series, inexperienced gamers.

Great new horse game for the less experienced horse fans out there! After finishing the main story in 3hr 30min (along with a few of the side quests) my overall thoughts (and gripes) are as follows:

- Difficulty - Very easy -
This game is very easy and will not provide much challenge if that's what you're looking for. If you’re here to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride (pun 100% intended), then this would be a good game for you.

- Tutorials - Hand holding -
There were tutorials for absolutely everything, which is really good for kids and those with little experience in these sorts of games. An option to skip them would've been nice for those who know what to do/want to figure it out themselves, such as myself.

- Controls - Controller AND keyboard and mouse compatible!!! -
As others have said, the store page is incredibly misleading. You most certainly CAN play with a keyboard and mouse. The tutorial instructions and prompts are definitely displayed only as controller buttons, but if you can figure out the equivalent controls on your keyboard, you’re good to go.

- Steering - Dodgy, but usable -
In the reviews of almost every horse game I've played, there will always be that one person who says they had difficulty steering their horse... for once, that person is going to be me. While I was able to steer adequately, I found this game more irritating than most other horse games I've played. The controls on my controller were at times very touchy, causing the horse to swing around incredibly fast, while at other times the horse was very slow to respond.

- World - Open world, but still partially forced routes -
It was incredibly annoying to think you were going to go somewhere by going one way, only to find yourself against an unscalable cliff and needing to backtrack. What made it worse was the lack of a decent map (covered in my next point). I guess if you think of it like a maze and have patience it’s not so bad.

- Map - Half great half useless -
I loved having the ability to fast travel using the map. But the map was otherwise useless to navigate. There's no terrain differentiation at all (other than a really obvious lake in the middle), making it impossible to use it properly. If you wanted to find something, you’ll only be doing it by memory or using the step by step quest markers (which often don’t even take you on the most direct route).

- Story - A huge amount of loading screens -
Don't get me wrong, I like games with lots of story cutscenes. But I felt that this game could've at least made the transitions smoother. It felt like someone grabbed a full cutscene and chopped it into several tiny ones for some of the quests. Even during cutscenes, it would load out of the cutscene for a few lines of dialogue, before loading back in to the next part of that cutscene. Again, while it wasn’t a problem, it it did make the story kind of hard to get in to.
Another thing that added to the problem, was the flow of the story. Part of the time it felt like you were making a lot of progress. Then you’d suddenly be ground to a halt by some seemingly less important (but necessary) quest. This also didn’t help to create a smooth experience.
Finally, some of the story didn’t really line up with itself. Without spoilers, the story went something like: ‘Pru and Abigail are going with you on your quest! Oh no, we can’t continue because of this problem. Better go back to town and ask Pru/Abigail.’ Um… but aren’t they with you on your quest? Better consistency would’ve made the story more believable.

- Horse Care - Very basic -
Although I liked its simplicity, brushing your horse (to keep its speed boost at maximum) was introduced much later in the game than it should've been. You only unlock grooming your horse after a certain quest, and you need to complete several quests before that. It really should've been one of the first things you were allowed to do.
In addition to this problem, it’s not really clearly explained in the beginning that once your horse gets dirty, your boost bar will start to reduce and will ONLY increase when you clean your horse. Hugging and watering your horse will regenerate it’s speed ONLY up to this cap. This felt like the single area where the excessive tutorial failed.

- Graphics - Beautiful -
The world, animals, and characters are all really well designed and animated for their art style.

- View - Felt distant -
A bit of a side note but, compared with most other games I've played, for some reason I felt very far away from the character in this game. It wasn't a problem, but it would've been nice to have the option to zoom in a little.

- Photo mode - Fun! -
Of the things I think this game did well, photo mode would definitely be one of them. I enjoyed it and felt it was a well implemented feature.

- Climbing Puzzles - Reasonable -
These puzzles, scattered around the map added a nice extra activity to the game. Overall I enjoyed it, though I would’ve liked to maintain control of my camera view during this mode to see where I was going better. The puzzles themselves were not difficult or frustrating, just something interesting to do during quests and on the side.

Conclusion: This game feels designed to be played a very specific way, and in many ways doesn't really allow you much freedom (but also less room for error?). Although I found this game to be short and basic, I did enjoy galloping around for the time I did and will likely go back to polish off those side quests soon. I would definitely recommend this game if you have kids or want a nice, easy game to relax. It's very family friendly on all fronts, as it states.

Just an awful experience. Controlling Spirit through winding paths with obstacles is an exercise in frustration. He constantly gets stuck on strange bits of geometry which forces a slow dismount and waddle away to move him from one place to the other. The 'cleaning' mechanic seems to consistently hit at the worst time (when you're 1000 miles from home and any other fast travel point) and the side quests add nothing of value.

I'm glad that I'm free from its clutches.

Summary: It may be good, it may be bad. I will never know as seems it needs a controller to progress beyond 5 minutes and it doesn't like mine

PROS: At least I managed to load up the home page?
CONS: Xbox controller support dodgy - stops all progress

For those considering buying - this game says it requires an Xbox controller. I have one - I have the official wireless dongle for PC. It works perfectly in Steam Big Picture mode and all other controller-compatible games. However, this game adamantly refuses to recognise it. Checking the community page and I see at least one other person had this issue. And after a generic response from the devs, they haven't tried to help.

After you start up, you get to a section where the game requires input on the l-stick of the controller to move (part of the tutorial, I assume). The game refused to recognise any keyboard input at this point to allow progress (although I could use the keyboard to navigate menus). Hence it was impossible to move forward.

If you do decide to buy this, just make sure you check within the 14 days steam refund window that the controller is working for you - else you may find yourself out of pocket and no wiser as to what adventures awaited spirit and lucky....

Also - side note - at least in the 5 minutes I saw - half the text is voice-acted and half is purely written (including instructions on what to do next it seems). The game is meant to be 3+ and I can't comment on what is the appropriate minimum age to play really (as I couldn't get it working as above). But bear in mind your child will probably need basic reading skills if you want them to play without full-time supervision.

When my daughter saw me playing Red Dead Redemption 2 and also wanted to play a game where one's character rides a horse, this is the one we settled on. Compared to other horse games out there that we found, this one is the closest thing to RDR2 for youngins and higher quality than most.

This was a cute little game, the controls weren’t the best. But it was still a fun short game