The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Red Dead Redemption 2 are similar, yet very different. Both were highly anticipated creations from two of gaming’s most prominent developers with an emphasis on exploring an open world. Breath of the Wild, true to its status as a Nintendo game, takes a more fantastical approach and expresses itself through colorful stylization. On the other hand, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a more traditional sandbox game one would expect from Rockstar, but with a wild west theme.
Both Breath of the Wild and Red Dead Redemption 2 feature horseback riding. These games integrate the horses into their respective worlds and encourage players to view these animals as comrades. Their contrasting ways of implementing this concept demonstrates how a single concept can go a long way when driven by different visions.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
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Horses are common in the Zelda series, with Epona being introduced in Ocarina of Time. Epona’s does appear in Breath of the Wild as an amiibo bonus, but she is just one of the many horses Link can tame and explore Hyrule with. These animals are part of Link’s multifaceted journey of relearning his skills, and are part of the expansive “wild” its title refers to. They are deeply ingrained into the game’s worldbuilding, but are not one of the main features like in Red Dead Redemption 2.
That being said, Breath of the Wild’s horses remain mechanically important. Taming them is integral for effective traveling. It's faster to explore Hyrule if Link has a horse by his side, and he can call a horse to help if players end up getting lost.
Although these features are useful, horseback riding is rarely, if ever, an obligation in Breath of the Wild. Horses are a piece of the puzzle; they are, among many other things in the game’s world, ways of expressing oneself that Breath of the Wild encourages players to pursue. With the customizable journey that Breath of the Wild provides comes an endless set of possibilities. Horses can be used by Link, or the player can ignore them entirely - though beating strong enemies like a Guardian with ease is seldom possible without these companions.
Horses can streamline parts of the gameplay that some people might not have the patience to deal with. Beating tough enemies without having it take up a significant portion of playtime is one example. Fittingly, Breath of the Wild has some exploits that involve horses. While Nintendo never intended for a glitch like infinite horse stamina to be part of the Breath of the Wild experience, its presence is nonetheless to the player’s benefit.
Breath of the Wild’s horses are not a homogenous blob. The game treats these creatures more delicately than most enemy species throughout Zelda history. The horses do not only vary in stats, they have different designs, and variations of said designs with different color schemes. Some of them, like the Giant Horse, are direct references to Zelda lore. The hooved friends Link can meet are both useful for navigation and battles, and rewarding for players who become invested in the world.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Horses are also a Red Dead Redemption staple. Red Dead Redemption 2 takes Breath of the Wild’s reverence of horses and makes it central to its identity, unlike the fate reserved for other creatures that can tamed in the real world such as wild goats.
Being a game heavily themed around the wild west, Red Dead Redemption 2 makes horses an integral part of its gameplay. The end result is a horseback riding system that has far more depth than Breath of the Wild, primarily because the game’s premise allowed Rockstar to go all-out with the idea.
Like Breath of the Wild, horses have diverse appearances. The breeds don’t just differ in terms of appearance, they have specific properties and niches. These horse breed differences in Red Dead 2 are so prominent that they manage to be useful for various tasks. The needs they fill are more developed than Breath of the Wild’s horses, specifically because players cannot have a Red Dead Redemption game without horses.
Red Dead Redemption 2’s horses are more intertwined with the narrative than in Breath of the Wild. The animals’ utilitarian purposes are directly tied to the story rather than simply referring to backstories that devoted fans would notice. In Red Dead Redemption 2, the horses symbolize their owners’ journeys. By proxy, the player emotionally investing themselves in John or Arthur’s stories invest themselves in the lives of these characters’ horses. Breath of the Wild does not have such a counterpart, especially with how restricted Epona’s availability is.
Horseback riding does not only involve the player in Red Dead Redemption 2, and the game is aware of that. NPCs are also attached to their equine friends. Some of them are even posthumously avenged by their horses. This doesn’t appear to be a recurring element in Red Dead Redemption 2, but the fact that it can happen showcases attention to detail for one major mechanic.
Both Breath of the Wild and Red Dead Redemption 2 use horses and horseback riding to their respective tonal advantages. Due to these tones being different, the horseback riding in both games inevitably differ as well. Breath of the Wild's horses are one of many elements of the game's fantastical setting that players can choose to take advantage of. Red Dead Redemption 2's horses are one of its core features, and their depiction is more nuanced and realistic. Even enemies can perish under the right circumstances after their own horse dies.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now for the Nintendo Switch.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is now available for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.