Late last year Mane6 confirmed development of Them’s Fightin’ Herds would conclude with the release of the final two DLC characters. This news was met with mixed reactions. Some were disappointed to see things come to an end; whereas others were mad the often promised story mode never expanded beyond the first chapter. Now that the final two characters, Nidra and Baihe, are available, is there any reason for newcomers to even check out Them’s Fightin’ Herds?
First and foremost, I can confirm the latest update does not include any additional story. Previously, Mane6 said they would “look for opportunities” to release things created for the second chapter, though the only thing confirmed was a stage called “Restricted Section.” Now that it is available we can see it’s a library location with a number of interesting background characters.
Fans speculate the library stage would’ve related to Oleander. This is partially due to her using a spell book, and an exchange that happens in the narrative about consulting “the Order’s library.” To our knowledge nothing official was stated, or revealed about it.
What a Fun Looking Location
Unfortunately, both the official forum, and Steam listing do not include notes for the latest version. Even checking less conventional sources, such as reddit, their official X page, and even both wiki pages lacked said information. In a last ditch effort I skimmed the official Discord, though that too didn’t seem to have it. For this reason we’re going to assume it’s strictly the aforementioned stage, and characters. As for both characters, they are a lot of fun, but also don’t feel complete.
For example, Nidra has one introduction where her comment doesn’t match her animation. On the opposite end, I am not entirely sure if Baihe has a second introduction. I finished arcade with her, and got the same exact opening every time. Even the sound mixing for Baihe sounds a bit off as it’s hard to hear some of the things she says after winning a round.
There is More, Right?
That aside, both characters are a lot of fun to play as. Nidra has a number of charming combos that are relatively accessible. In fact, Nidra’s moves really showcase the love that went into these characters. Something like her level three super is a stunning psychedelic dream sequence that is worth it just to watch.
Unfortunately, Nidra also has an infinite combo, and a glitch that can permanently freeze another player. Unfortunately, the freeze move is related to a specific attack combo. This means it can be triggered, though expect it to be banned in tournament play.
Baihe is a character many are already calling broken, and with good reason. She is fast, has considerable area, and even has a few long range attacks. This makes her an absolute blast to play because she effortlessly dominates, but she also sucks to play against for exactly that reason.
There are already several comments that playing against her online is an absolute nightmare. Some going as far as to say it forces players into extremely aggressive tactics due to her frequent ranged attacks, and considerable armor.
If that isn’t enough problems, Baihe also has an infinite combo. I’ve also read reports of game crashing bugs, though I can’t say I’ve ran into them, or attempted to trigger them. All of these things will likely result in her being banned outright from tournaments, to even being a frowned upon choice.
In the end this is just an unfortunate conclusion to Them’s Fightin’ Herds. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given rumors suggest the majority of Mane6’s staff were let go months ago, but it’s not an outcome anyone wanted. One that might not stop existing fans, but certainly won’t attract many going forward, or make it popular on the tournament scene.
