More recently, players throughout the US and Europe have been picking upUmamusume, mostly due to its absurd premise, but more often than not, they’re impressed by what they find beneath the surface. Many of them have wound up sticking with it far beyond the time they expected to invest in it, and if you’re interested, here’s why you should check it out, too.
What Is Umamusume Pretty Derby?
What It’s Actually About
The premise ofUmamusumeis that, whenever a racehorse achieves greatness on the track,they have a chance to be reborn as an anime horse girl after they die. These Umamusume (which literally translates to “horse girl”) can continue to participate in races for prizes and glory, which also end in idol concerts.
You play as a trainer, employed by Tracen Academy to lead your Umamusume to victory. There are several game modes, including a story mode and an episodic career, but the gist is the same: you select other, more experienced Umamusume to mentor your team members, and can determine which of their stats they work on during their training courses.
Umamusume is decidedly more of a strategy game than a racing game.
You’ll have to manage their energy, mood, and demeanor, as well as the unique conditions of each track, to lead your Umamusume to victory. It’snot unlikeFire Emblem: Three Housesin its focus on training and time management.All the gameplay is done off the track;Umamusumeis decidedly more of a strategy game than a racing game. Your sole input is how you develop your characters, after which they run the races automatically.
That said,Umamusumeis a gacha game, and it does play intoa lot of the genre’s pitfalls. There are microtransactions, time-limited events, banners and characters to pull for. Progress is slow if you don’t pay to boost it, and you can easily lose to RNG. Even so, these mechanics aren’t terribly disruptive - you can definitely enjoy the game without paying for it.
Why Everyone’s Playing Umamusume Pretty Derby
Lightning In A Bottle
Umamusumehas garnered a pretty impressive player count for its relatively niche premise. At the time of writing, it’s got about 47,000 consecutive players onSteam, which is close to its all-time peak, and an Overwhelmingly Positive rating with more than 8,000 reviews - and that doesn’t even account for all the players on mobile. More people are playingUmamusumethanElden Ringright now.
More than anything else, I thinkthe premise ofUmamusumeis what lures a lot of players in. Many popular Twitch streamers, like Northernlion and Vinesauce, have picked it up, which has helped bring it into the spotlight.
Once they download it, though,many players are impressed by its simple, yet satisfying strategic depth, and its unabashed portrayal of a ridiculous universe.Umamusumedefinitely knows what it is, and it portrays its characters with an appropriate degree of humor and heart - but it doesn’t sacrifice excitement in that pursuit. It’s easy to get invested in your training regimen, and to root for your Umamusume as they run for the finish. It’s genuinely thrilling when they win, and heartbreaking when they lose.
The amounts of money poured into it, the horses' strong personalities, the stakes involved in winning or losing, are endlessly interesting.
Most of the characters inUmamusumeare based on real racehorses, which has sparked renewed interest in the history of equine sports in Japan. Gold Ship, a stallion known for his delicate temperament and often disastrous antics on the track, has become a fan favorite. It’s such a fascinating subject to delve into - the amounts of money poured into it, the horses' strong personalities, the stakes involved in winning or losing, are endlessly interesting.
Its status as a free game has definitely elevated its player counts, but at its core, it’sUmamusme’s unique and fun premise that keeps players coming back. You literally have nothing to lose but your time by trying outUmamusume: Pretty Derby- so what are you waiting for?
