Recent reviews by LEATHERSBIAN NATION

NOR is it developed by play publishing, NOR released in 2017! (the publisher is however, correct)

this is the original pony world, also known as pony world deluxe and minun oma poni (finnish release), developed by anawiki games in 2007. (2006? specific dates in databases vary slightly)

the assets, characters, and gameplay are the exact same as in pony world deluxe, all they did was add a 2 into the title screen. which is odd, because a real pony world 2 does exist! the video on the store page is from pony world 2, but the screenshots and actual game itself are pony world deluxe. this store listing is wildly inaccurate, please fix it.

this steam listing is not only inaccurate, but buying the game here does not support the original developers! the publisher uploaded pony world deluxe under the name pony world 2 in order to profit off of the game, without having to pay anawiki games, the original developers. at least, that is what i am assuming has happened here, after having reached out to anawiki.

please consider supporting anawiki games directly instead, their website is at anawiki.com (not anawikigames(.)com, that is not owned or operated by anawiki)

errors of this specific listing aside, i have very fond memories of pony world deluxe, or as i know it by the finnish title, minun oma poni. it was my favorite game wayyyy back around 2009, i borrowed it from the library constantly, and would frequently find my saves still intact after i had returned and then borrowed it again.

i had been looking for information about pony world deluxe for over a decade, until recently when i stumbled upon a video on youtube showing this steam listing and gameplay of this, which i instantly recognized as being pony world deluxe, and confirmed after doing some quick research on the two titles.

i was fairly convinced pony world was lost media until then, as i only knew the finnish title and am only aware of two libraries in the entire country still having discs of it. happy to know the english copy is still around, although this specific listing is erroneous and the title screen is modified. (i dont know whether this counts as plagiarism or smth???? either way, leading consumers astray for sure at the very least)

im still going to give a genuine review of the game itself, as it does seem to be intact and functional in the end. being from ~2007, pony world deluxe is fairly difficult by modern standards, especially for younger audiences. its very rough starting with just 1 pony in particular, unless you follow a clear strategy, manage your funds and work, and know how to quickly get money in a pinch. your pony will very quickly become sick, stinky, and very unhappy, and being sick is very expensive, taking all of your starting daily income, and then some. you need some amount of persistence in order to do well in the game. but seeing as i did it time and time again as a 7 year old, having entire generations of ponies, its certainly not impossible!

the controls and ui are, well, aged. appropriately so. but they do work! the slight early 2000s jankiness adds to the charm, imo. it can be confusing, annoying, or very lovely and nostalgic. depends on whether thats your cup of tea or not. im of the latter opinion personally. the same can be said for the graphics as well, i do adore the style too.

the gameplay loop is quite simple in the grand scheme of things, and interacting with other ponies and the world is fairly minimal. making friends with other ponies boils down to selecting from a handful of topic options, and then seeing if the other pony likes the topic or not, which is indicated by an emoji on the top of their head. there isnt any reaction displayed on the actual models, which is a tad boring, and less glamorous compared to many other life simulation titles.

similarly, many places listed on the map are not actually places you can "go" to, rather send your pony there and not have to see them for a set amount of time. this serves as a way of allowing you to focus on your other ponies in the meantime, but if you only have 1 pony, it very quickly becomes a repetitive cycle of work-eat-sleep-bathe-repeat, where many of the interactions that sound interesting are little more than a loading screen and a subsequent rise and fall of the status bars of your pony.

if you are able to hammer your way through the monotony of life as a single employee of a workplace you dont get to enjoy, and manage not to blow your funds by getting terribly sick time and time again, you are rewarded with some money for your efforts, which you can use to decorate your home! this was always my favorite part of playing pony world deluxe, i would spend ages gathering money, and then using a whole bunch of it to make everything oh so pretty. though in hindsight as an adult, the decoration options are a bit limited as well.

there are a lot of life simulation games out there, especially now in 2025. but if you want a glimpse into the early 2000s of the genre, give pony world deluxe a go by all means! there definitely are still things to enjoy about the game to this day, and the concept of sickness in particular is something that tends to not show up as often, particularly in more cutesy, young audience intended titles, and the harsh consequences of becoming sick on your financial stability, particularly in a less paying position, mirrors reality in ways that many life sim games dont.

although i have a lot of positive things to say about pony world deluxe, my review for this listing specifically is going to stay negative.

thank you for reading my insane rambling, i utterly lost my mind after finding this game after a decade long search. oh man

if you have any information on either pony world deluxe, pony world 2, this specific listing, the developers, or the publishers, please do reach out to me, or leave a comment!

i would love to say this game is phenomenal, but the more you play, the more glaring the issues become. there are quite a few bugs, and many features are in need of quality of life updates, but i am unsure if such are on the board, as the last update was in december 2024 (as of writing this)

that being said, i still do very much enjoy it, and the bugs aren't particularly game breaking. more of a minor annoyance, and they don't hinder me or my enjoyment of the game personally. as a huge paleontology nerd, the characters mean so much to me, and i'm utterly in love with the setting and story. this has very much become a comfort game for me.

i do hope that eventually some of the bugs will be fixed, and that this game receives some more polish, as i sincerely believe that is all it needs to truly shine. it's a lovely take on chill town management and crafting games, and it's refreshing to see more cutesy takes on dinosaurs in videogames. i would be sad to see such a promising game be left essentially 70% done.

i think in the end, if youre like me and particularly love paleontology and character design, that will do much of the heavy lifting for you in enjoying this game. but if you're less enthused about that and/or tend to be bothered by minor indie game jankiness, then it might be more difficult to like. bit of a 50/50, if im honest.

dlc of a dlc...................................................................................................... 9,99€

looks awesome, feels awesome to play, and the setting is incredibly interesting, but the racism is annoying as hell.

I love this game but I cannot in good faith recommend it, especially without pointing out how awful the appropriation and misrepresentation of indigenous cultures is. I feel they did try to be at least somewhat respectful, but it still relies so heavily on offensive stereotypes and terminology, the effort is half-assed at best

i havent been this obsessed with a game in a long time. i love this to bits and pieces and couldnt recommend it enough to anyone with even a vague interest in factory building games and space. absolutely amazing <3

horse :]

its pretty good