Years later, My Little Pony-inspired fighting game Them's Fightin' Herds gets a release date

Here's something you didn't expect to learn today: Them's Fightin' Herd's, the 2D fighting game inspired by the cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, is due out this month. After raising nearly $600,000 on Indiegogo in October 2015, it will finally release on February 22, according to developer Mane6. 

Them's Fightin' Herds is exactly what it looks like: a fighting game where all the characters are four-legged animals, a few of them ponies. Its "original universe" was designed by My Little Pony producer Lauren Faust, and it's billed as a spiritual successor to Fighting is Magic, a direct, fan-made adaptation of the cartoon which was shut down by Hasbro in 2013. 

It looks like a standard four-button fighting game at first blush, albeit with pony magic flare, but there is at least one novel system: juggle decay, wherein "opponents become gradually heavier during a combo." Between matches, players can also hang out in an online social hub. Plus its four-legged characters make for some interesting attack animations. Have a look: 

In a recent Indiegogo update, Mane6 announced a partnership with Humble Bundle. "Humble Bundle has provided us with the funding necessary to continue supporting Them's Fightin' Herds during and after we reach the final milestone of our promised crowdfund content," the studio said, referring to impending "Goat DLC and Goat story." 

There are also some Steam extras. If you own Skullgirls, BlazBlue Centralfiction or Guilty Gear Xrd's Rev 2 DLC on Steam, you'll unlock unique character skins in Them's Fightin' Herds. If you buy it on Humble's store, you'll still get the bonuses. 

Thanks, RockPaperShotgun

Austin Wood
Staff writer, GamesRadar

Austin freelanced for PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and has been a full-time writer at PC Gamer's sister publication GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover-up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news, the occasional feature, and as much Genshin Impact as he can get away with.