Sometimes, I can’t believe what I’m writing about. What do you MEAN there’s a magical girl horse racing gacha game available on Steam and Mobile platforms? Why does this look fun? Why am I suddenly now a fan of Umamusume: Pretty Derby? The premise is wild. The graphics are quite impressive. But most of all, why did it take me until today to hear about this? It’s such a goofy concept, and I love everything about it. Typically, I’m not the biggest fan of gacha games. But this is one of the most interesting concepts I’ve ever heard about, and it may be time for me to finally dip my toes in. Or should I say “hooves,” in this particular case? Wait, do these anime girls have regular feet or hooves? What is HAPPENING? Why do I love this?

‘Umamusume: Pretty Derby’ May Be The Weirdest Concept I’ve Ever Heard of, But I’m a Fan of Whatever The Hell is Going On Here

Okay, so after doing a bit of research into what Umamusume is all about, it’s still just as confusing as it ever was. Apparently, Umasmusume are racers inspired by legendary racehorses. Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a game all about befriending these literal horse girls, training with them, forging friendships with the other girls, and then racing against up to 18 other Umamusume. Oh yeah, and of course there’s live commentary so you know exactly where Mejiro McQueen is going to place in the race.

The whole concept is just incredibly ridiculous, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t at least a little intrigued to try this one out. Watching some of the gameplay clips, it looks like a fair bit of fun. The production value is a lot higher than I could have expected for something like this, and it looks rather flashy. Plus, I need to know something. Do the Umamusume sleep in dorms? In stables? What do they eat? Are they in constant pain, being a horse inside a human’s body? There’s so much I don’t know yet, but I’ll be learning soon enough.

Oh yeah, speaking of gacha games, Persona 5: The Phantom X also launched today. But we all know where the real gamers are going to be. They’re going to be putting their money where their mouth is when they approach the starting line of Umamusume: Pretty Derby. I’ll see you all on the track.