Them’s Fightin’ Herds

The cartoony competitive fighting game Them’s Fightin’ Herds is currently free, 100% free to keep, for Windows in a limited-time Epic Store’s giveaway. Don’t miss out, as Them’s Fightin’ Herds usually costs US$19.99!

Them’s Fightin’ Herds is an indie fighting game where a cast of female ungulate characters battle each other to determine who will receive a magical key that will protect their world from predators. It was developed by Mane6 and initially released on February 22, 2018.

Currently published by Maximum Games, it is available for Linux, macOS, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Them’s Fightin’ Herds has been generally well-received by critics, boasts thousands of very positive reviews on the Steam store and, on the Epic Games Store, it holds a 4.6/5 rating—at least at the time of this publication.

Contents

Trailer
Gameplay
About the game
Features
Trivia
Screenshots
More info and fighting
Get Them’s Fightin’ Herds

Trailer

Gameplay

The game uses a four-button fighting system: one button each for light, medium, heavy, and magic attacks, and includes basic maneuvers such as launchers, pushblocks, and cross-ups. The magic button does not perform special moves per se but consumes a magic meter unique to each character. Commands include traditional quarter-circle and charge moves, along with a three-tiered Super Meter that enables chained attacks as it fills up.

There are currently seven playable characters (deer, dragon, unicorn, cow, llama, lamb, and goat), with four more available as DLC. Each has a unique fighting style, ranging from fast and aggressive to slow and defensive, all emphasizing combo-based combat.

The game supports local and online multiplayer through a nearly isometric pixel-art lobby system, where players can customize their avatars with unlockable accessories. The online mode features an automatic matchmaking system and rollback netcode via GGPO, ensuring smooth matches. There is also the Salt Mines mode, a PvE experience where players battle AI-controlled enemies and collect resources to customize their avatars. Players who also own BlazBlue: Central Fiction, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, or Skullgirls on Steam will unlock special lobby avatars inspired by characters from those games.

Each character shares basic combos to ease players into the game, but as they progress, they can develop more advanced and strategic combos. The game offers a detailed tutorial that teaches fundamentals and allows players to train with each character individually, exploring their unique mechanics.

For those who prefer solo play, there are offline modes such as Arcade Mode, where players face off against AI-controlled opponents culminating in a final boss, as well as a Story Mode that blends exploration with a pixel-art aesthetic and even platforming elements.

Official Add-ons

Them’s Fightin’ Herds: Character/Stage: Texas (2022);
Them’s Fightin’ Herds: Season 1 Pass (2022);
Them’s Fightin’ Herds: Shadow Palette Pack (2020);
Them’s Fightin’ Herds: Shanty (2021).

About the game

Them’s Fightin’ Herds is a 2D fighting game starring an adorable cast of animals designed by acclaimed cartoon producer Lauren Faust. Beneath the cute and cuddly surface lies a serious fighter!

Battle in local or online versus mode with rollback netcode. The simplified combat mechanics combine accessibility and intensity to create a robust fighting system designed for both newcomers and veterans!

Features

Simplified Combat – A four-button fighting system, magic mechanics, enhanced super attacks, and juggle decay to prevent infinite combos.
Story Mode – An episodic adventure filled with exploration, combat challenges, mini-games, and boss fights!
Local Versus & Online Crossplay Matchmaking – Fight against offline opponents or battle players worldwide with GGPO’s powerful rollback netcode.
Tutorial & Training Modes – Master the mechanics with combo challenges and guided tutorials, practice combos in a data-rich training room, and review replays of your matches!
Pixel Lobby – Unlock accessories, customize your avatar, and explore a fully visualized hub with other online players.
Dynamic Music System – Battle music adapts to the characters, making each match feel like a clash between champions.

Trivia

Them’s Fightin’ Herds was developed using the Z-Engine.
The game originally started as My Little Pony: Fighting Is Magic, a fangame based on Hasbro’s animated series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. However, on February 8, 2013, the development team received a cease-and-desist letter from Hasbro’s legal department, forcing them to halt production. The team then completely reworked the game to remove all connections to the My Little Pony franchise. Despite this, Lauren Faust, the creator of Friendship is Magic, supported the effort and provided character designs for the new version of the game.
Mane6 was a nine-person development team and part of the adult fandom of the show. Fighting Is Magic originally featured the six main characters from the series and was initially developed using Fighter Maker 2D before later using sprites based on Flash animations.
The original fangame, Fighting Is Magic, emerged from a set of parody images for a hypothetical game titled “Marevel vs. Clopcom”, spoofing Marvel vs. Capcom. These images were created by Anukan, who later became one of Mane6’s developers.
The game’s development was completed through crowdfunding on Indiegogo.
Them’s Fightin’ Herds was supposed to be one of the four games used for open tournaments at the revamped online Evo 2020, which was ultimately canceled. Both Them’s Fightin’ Herds and Skullgirls were included due to their rollback-enabled online play via GGPO, alongside Mortal Kombat 11 and Killer Instinct, which were developed with their own proprietary rollback netcode.
Them’s Fightin’ Herds was released on February 22, 2018, for Windows by Humble Bundle, with a full release on April 30, 2020. It launched on Linux on March 25, 2021, and on macOS on October 28, 2021, both also published by Humble Bundle. The console versions arrived on October 18, 2022, published by Maximum Games on Nintendo Switch and by Modus Games (a subsidiary of Maximum) on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series.
A special edition of the game called Them’s Fightin’ Herds (Deluxe Edition) was released in 2022.
뎀스 파이팅 허드 – The game’s title written in Korean.