Having already broken the brains of various conservatives and “Won’t someone think of the children” types with his recently released, devil-humping video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”, Lil Nas X now seems prepared to break the internet’s wrists, too. Uh, not in a weird way—although kind of in a weird way—but through the release of his new browser-based video game Twerk Hero, released to help promote the sexually charged single.
And, as occasional critics of digital entertainment, we thought we’d take a crack at reviewing Twerk Hero, a four-level exploration of the various themes touched upon in Lil Nas X’s video. (This is a joke; it’s a video game about twerking, whereas the thematic shit going on in “Montero” has taken the online music community weeks to unpack.) The actual form of the game (developed by Roni Games) is a sort of rhythm game, where you must slam Lil Nas X’s digital butt around, blasting “temptations” while “Montero” plays. There’s a little meter at the top that tracks your progress, and the goal is to twerk as perfectly as possible. Anyway, enough preamble: Let’s review.
Graphics: 8/10
Most of the game’s visuals are taken straight from the “Montero” video, although the digital Nas seems to be a new asset. The jiggle physics on the butt, obviously a primary focus, truly show the lengths to which the Unreal Engine can be stretched.
Sound: 10/10
The audio is just “Montero” on repeat, but “Montero” is a banger, so…yeah.
Gameplay: 4/10
We hate to be harsh here, but the hit detection of Lil Nas X’s ass slamming into the temptations feels pretty shoddy, and the game doesn’t give you a great deal of feedback in how to improve your play. Also, the segment where you’re twerking at Satan in order to get close enough to (presumably) snap his neck and usurp control of Hell goes on for a little bit too long.
Fun Factor: 7/10
The first hundred or so times you twerk Lil Nas X’s butt, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without the experience. Eventually, though, the novelty fades, and you’re left with the core gameplay loop of seeing if you can stretch his butt so far that it screws up the physics system and breaks off from his body. But you can’t. Game’s still fun, though.
Final Score: The average of the above numbers, probably.
You can play Twerk Hero here.