Lil Nax X—prolific Tweeter, former country music superstar, and current Lord of Hell—has released a new video game that celebrates his current chart-topping hit, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).”
Called Twerk Hero, the game stars Lil Nas X and directs players to use the mouse to move his jiggle physics’d booty to hit scrolling arrows called “Temptations” as “Montero” plays. Hit enough Temptations and you can progress to the next level. There are four levels in all, each recreating an iconic scene from the “Montero” music video, including the much parodied moment when Lil Nas X rides a stripper pole to hell.
Developed by Roni Games and apparently made with the Unity engine, Twerk Hero is a charming game with simple graphics and a catchy-ass soundtrack. It harkens back to the halcyon days of Flash games popular on Newgrounds.com while also managing to artfully deconstruct John Milton’s Paradise Lost. It’s a great fucking game made by a wonderful human being and you should all play it if only to see Lil Nas X ragdoll all over Satan’s lap.
Released on March 26, “Montero” is already number one on the Billboard music chart, with the music video amassing 3.9 million likes on YouTube and climbing. Since the song’s release, fans have created art of Lil Nas X as a Hades character and made him a playable character in Dungeons and Dragons. He’s currently being sued by Nike over the release of a custom pair of Satanic-themed sneakers.
I like Lil Nas X for some of the same reasons I like esports player Sonic Fox: both of them are committed to living their best lives as out, loud, and proud Black gay people unfettered by the rules of decorum white supremacist societies like to place on queer bodies. Despite what whinging conservative talking heads may say, queer Black children absolutely need to see someone like Lil Nas X thrive as he has. They need to see that it is possible to live a vibrant and successful life and that they don’t have to suppress any part of themselves to live it—a fear Lil Nas X himself confessed to having.
So thanks, Lil Nas X. The streets needed a twerking rhythm game anyway.
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