Umamusume: Pretty Derby is quickly galloping into the spotlight, and despite its odd premise, this addictive anime horse girl gacha game needs to be on your radar.
If someone told you that one of the most entertaining games of 2025 would be about training famous Japanese racehorses reborn as anime girls, you’d probably think they were joking.
In fact, that premise alone is enough to earn confused stares from your friends and worried looks from your family, but let me tell you now, it’s well worth the silent judgment.
Despite its strange premise, Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a surprisingly deep horse racing simulator with an anime girl aesthetic that is just as fun as it is absurd.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a must-play
The general gameplay loop will be familiar to sports sim fans – you’re tasked with managing your cast of colorful characters, and before every race, you’ll need to train your chosen horse girl by raising stats like speed, stamina, power, guts, and wit.
It’s during these training sessions that you’ll get to know each character, and you’ll learn about their likes, dislikes, personal insecurities, and their dreams of winning the ultimate prize – a first-place trophy at the prestigious URA Finals.
While I didn’t think I’d be that invested in the slice of life portion of Umamusume: Pretty Derby, having this playing out before and after each race makes for some fantastic drama both on and off the race track.
Whether it’s watching your rising star cope with setbacks, seeing them interact with other racers, and listening to their dreams, these everyday moments feed into the narrative of each race. They aren’t just a forgettable NPC that gets lost in the background, no, their journey to becoming a champion is front and center.
It’s these emotions that get tied to each race and every subsequent playthrough, which makes getting that victory incredibly satisfying, while every loss feels like a direct hit to the heart. The game’s community has also been reveling in this cocktail of emotions, sharing memes about their successes and heartbreaking losses.
During my first playthrough, I chose the incredibly upbeat and headstrong Sakura Bakushin O. After winning her debut derby and a slew of other entry-level races, it was clear the young idol felt like a true champion. She had even managed to cause an early upset by beating some fan favourites, which quickly led to her popularity skyrocketing amongst in-fans.
Soon, I was shouting at my phone like a Football Manager player who was on the verge of winning the Champions League final as Mansfield Town. I watched with bated breath as Sakura Bakushin O tore past 18 other horse girls, all while two Japanese commentators hysterically screamed through my phone’s speaker.
After trailing behind first-place for what seemed like an eternity, one of Bakushin’s special abilities kicked in, and she began gunning for that first place like her very life depended on it. She inched past her rival, narrowly claiming a career-defining victory, and I let out a noise I didn’t think I was capable of making.
It was at this very moment that my dopamine-filled brain realized this wasn’t just mere horseplay, it was peak cinema. While Bakushin didn’t go on to win the URA Finals, in the days that followed, I pored over YouTube analysis videos and delved into dusty Google spreadsheets that hadn’t seen the light of day since the Japanese release back in 2021.
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