The article reflects on a pivotal moment in the horror game Horses by Santa Ragione, where the player discovers an incomplete fence repair and slips through, effectively breaking out of the game’s intended simulation boundaries. This act symbolizes a deeper thematic exploration of the game’s critique of control and representation, particularly how film and game technologies can discipline and brutalize bodies. The game uses its mechanics and narrative—such as sabotaging a giant film projector—to highlight these ideas, though the simulation itself doesn’t immediately collapse, suggesting a tension between symbolic rebellion and the persistence of game structures.

The author celebrates the joy and subversion of going off-map in videogames, where breaking free from designed constraints offers a rare sense of genuine freedom and unpredictability. Beyond the fence in Horses, the environment becomes surreal and unstable, revealing the artificiality of the game world and its boundaries. While it’s unclear if this escape was an intentional design choice or a glitch, the experience stands as a metaphor for resisting and transcending the limitations imposed by game design, leaving the player in a liminal space where conventional rules no longer apply.