The original Super Meat Boy, developed by Team Meat, is one of the greatest indie platformer of all time. Their combination of reckless defiance and delightfully wacky characters made for an experience like no other. When we were told there was going to be a sequel we were crazy to know what the developers at Team Meat could achieve. Perhaps we should have lowered our expectations, however, because after spending a few hours at this new rate we feel that there is a lack of chicha to be up to the task.
After what happened in the first SMB, Super Meat Boy presents Forever Meat Boy and Bandage Girl as a family. they also have A daughter named Nugget. This strange little creature looks like a cube of baby meat wrapped in a pink rabbit bodysuit, and of course, shares the same curiosity and concern as its parents. Everything is going well for the meat and dressing family until Dr. Fetus (who immediately reminds us that he is anything but a doctor) appears on the scene to kidnap the little girl because his only aim is to cause immeasurable damage to the characters in the most absurd and creative way. So far everything we expected from the series.
In contrast to its predecessor, SMBF is Auto-runner-type platforms. That said, you’ll face a lot of impossible jumps in his brutal platform sequences, but this time around you can be less creative as it’s impossible to stop Meat Boy running without a brake. You can jump, slide, punch or kick, propel yourself, and even ricochet off walls with just two buttons, as most of the movement is already underway once the game starts.
The difficulty As an autorunner, it has a bit of weird peaks as some sections are quite easy to complete and almost no challenge while others are the kind of challenge you will find in your worst nightmares. And now comes the weirdest thing of all: the cause of the differences in difficulty is that the levels are generated randomly based on how you were given the previous levels.
The idea seems awesome, but in the end it’s a pretty different design and capable of giving you near-impossible cards if you’re a Super Meat Boy god, or the opposite if you casually touch the platforms. In my personal experience the levels are neither too easy nor too complicated, but they fluctuate between incredibly challenging areas and parts where there is no challenge, which creates a very … weird dynamic.
In a more positive sense, the level design and the different locations you pass through are top notch once again. Each level is unique and comes with its own challenge style or visual appearance to make it refreshing. Whether you find yourself in the woods of Chipper Grove or the clinic ruined, the worlds are always entertaining, if somewhat creepy.
Of course, obstacles, spikes, traps or the void are not your only problems as you will also have to deal with enemies. There are creatures like blue flies, for example, but given the auto-running design, enemies are not a big problem and are mainly used as a method to get a second impulse attack to cover large swaths. On the other hand, the bosses are quite original and require patience and strategy to defeat them. Strangely enough, this is where the idea of autotuning gets a little more interesting, as you can’t stop assessing the situation – you have to keep walking.
Fans of the original Super Meat Boy will be pleased to know that SMB also includes Forever the dark world with particularly complicated levelsas well as multiple unlockable characters to add an extra touch of personality to the game. In all honesty, these extras seem very necessary considering that the five main worlds only have seven levels each. Ok they are no walk in the park and so many are going to drive you crazy SMB style, but it is something to consider.
Personally, my two favorite aspects of Super Meat Boy Forever are the music and the visual design. This game looks lovely on screen and the cartoon art direction knows how to keep brutality up in weird ways (I promise I’m not a psychopath) but then the soundtrack elevates everything like never before. Its heavy metal is perfect for getting you in the mood like Doom is, and it increases your heart rate, although not as difficult a game as its predecessor is to keep you motivated.
In fact, Super Meat Boy Forever isn’t a bad game when you look at it as a whole, it’s just that it doesn’t go where we expected it or match the efficiencies of the original. We know the comparisons are hateful, but the first Super Meat Boy became an instant classic, and while you can’t ask about it, Forever leaves the feeling that the autorunner design wasn’t nailed down. As much as it should be mostly for mobile devices, it’s now available on all main consoles, and after waiting a decade we’re allowing ourselves to ask for a little more.
Super Meat Boy Forever is available for just under 16 dollars. It’s a very fun indie title to get your adrenaline pumping and test your platform skills. His art and music are the bomb, and his gameplay works quite well, considering that you can’t stop running and remove some weird variations in difficulty. Keep in mind that if you expect this meat to be on par with Super Meat Boy, it can leave a worse taste in your mouth.
