I can't wait to slay my opponents as drag queen royalty in Drag Her!
Let's go girls
This year's Xbox Games Showcase Extended featured games from the ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program, and without it I would never have known about Drag Her!, a fighting game featuring drag queens who've competed on RuPaul's Drag Race and The Boulet Brothers Dragula. The queens turn up in their finest looks and sharpest winged eyeliner, and then proceed to beat the shit out of each other. It's brilliant - if you don't believe me you can play the demo right now.
The demo features one playable character, Lemonade, but the final game will include a roster of 7 fighters: Alaska 5000, Asia O'Hara, BenDeLaCreme, Kim Chi, Laganja Estranja, Landon Cider, and Manila Luzon. There's also one assist in the demo, Jiggly Caliente and her massive, meaty lollipop, and other assists planned for the game include Tammie Brown. Dragula contestant Meatball provides commentary.
Every fighting game has its own speciality. Soulcalibur has its weapons, Mortal Kombat has fatalities, and Drag Her! has camp. Lemonade trots around in her massive heeled bots as she flicks her hands and legs in combos, while an assist is stylised as "A-sis". My favourite move is called Closer to God, where Lemonade kneels down and slams her wig into the ground, though grabbing a massive hammer from under her skirt is in the running too.
Drag Her! is full of campish and frivolous fun throughout. Knockouts are referred to as K-HOs, which Meatball delightfully announces with a huge round of laughter. Each round isn't even called a fight, it's referred to as a spat.
This game is queer, it's extravagant, and I am here for it. Anyone who watches Drag Race will certainly be pleased playing Drag Her! because it channels the energy of the show perfectly.
In an interview posted on Xbox Wire, developer Fighting Chance Games said they're planning to release the game in beta in August, ahead of its release in early 2024.