One of Inscryption developer Daniel Mullins’ earliest games is now free to keep on Steam for a limited time. Pony Island is free on the platform until Oct. 12, 2026. The timing of this giveaway makes quite a bit of sense: the game has a sequel scheduled for early next year, and it’s currently October, the perfect time for everything scary and strange.
Pony Island is a 2016 meta horror game that starts as a 2D endless runner about unicorns before taking some unexpected turns. It takes players through multiple genres as they try to free themselves from a cursed arcade cabinet. It received excellent reviews for its experimental design and postmodern storytelling. Mullins followed up Pony Island with The Hex in 2018, which focuses on six characters, each tied to a unique gameplay genre.
In 2021, Mullins released his most well-known work, Inscryption. It’s another meta horror game, but one focused on card game conventions, escape room challenges, and roguelikes. It was praised for its deckbuilding mechanics, visuals, and atmosphere.
What do we know about Pony Island 2?
Pony Island 2: Panda Circus was announced at The Game Awards 2023 in an eye-catching trailer. Like its predecessor, this sequel seems to follow a lost soul trying to escape the world of a video game. “Pony Island 2: Panda Circus is a phantasmagorical voyage through time, myth, divinity, and video games,” the Steam description reads. “You were a young nomad who would have gone on to conquer the world… until an early death doomed you to The Earth Prison. Now you must escape the lordly deities of the underworld with your soul, and your sanity, intact. This is not a game about ponies.” The most recent trailer implies that the trapped soul in question is none other than Temujin, better known as Genghis Khan.
If the previous titles from Daniel Mullins Games are any indication, Pony Island 2 will most likely be a bizarre and memorable ride. Mullins previously said the game will incorporate disparate genres, and its trailers have already shown real-time strategy, first-person exploration, command prompts, and 2D action sequences. There is a lot going on. We’ll learn everything that Pony Island 2: Panda Circus has in store when the game releases on April 27, 2027. In the meantime, the game has an ongoing Steam playtest that’s still accepting applications.
