I saw this little masterpiece on sale for 800 points (1200 being the usual) on the XBLA, and after playing through the trial, couldn't resist. Super Meat Boy is a fast paced platformer, having little to do with story or depth, and a lot to do with fun. This game is very simple and very addicting. With only three controls: move, sprint, and jump, it is a platformer in the purest sense.
Modeling the incredibly complex depth of plot lines from the Mario series (sarcasm), your girlfriend is kidnapped by a villain, and you must traverse treacherous landscapes to save her. Replacing an Italian plumper, a cube of meat, replacing the princess, a bandage, replacing the turtle/dinosaur/dragon, a fetus in a tank complete with suit and top hat. Odd, yes. But what can you expect from developers teamed with New Grounds?
The art style of the Super Meat Boy is reminiscent of Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers. It is cartoony and juxtaposes cute and disturbing images, a bit of gore here and there, all done in a humorous fashion. While the plot, control scheme, and title are modeled after Mario (Super Mario Bros… Super Meat Boy… get it?), the action is quite different. The game is divided into worlds, each containing twenty levels and a boss. The levels themselves are very short, ranging from 7 seconds to 1 minute playtime, the goal for each being to reach your girlfriend through a mess of obstacles, including spikes, saws, homing missiles, lasers, lava, salt, needles, and many other meat-killers. You are able to slide on and jump off of walls in order to make your way to the pink cube awaiting your rescue.
As you move from level to level you can unlock various things. There are four warp zones hidden in each world. These warp zones transport you to an 8-bit retro version of the game, each zone having three levels and three lives for each level. Some special warp zones allow you to unlock new characters from other series, such as Commander Video from Bit.Trip, or Tim from Braid. Hidden in the levels are also collectable bandages. As you collect more, more characters are unlocked. The characters are not just visually different, they each have their own ability, such as floating, gliding, or sticking to walls, and allow the player to make it through levels that may be more difficult for Meat Boy.
Another cool feature of Super Meat Boy is the inclusion of the “Dark World.” In the dark world, you replay all of the levels of the “Light World”, but there are added obstacles, and the difficulty is significantly upped. This doubles the content of the game and adds an optional challenge for skilled players!
There is a section of the game called “Teh Internets” which is made up of 20 level worlds that are in the retro style. This addition is on the XBLA version only. New content will be added to “Teh Internets” from the developers for free!
Super Meat Boy is very addictive and fun, but can be quite frustrating. Some levels are incredibly difficult and require precise timing. However, there are no lives or Game Overs to worry about (except for the retro warp zones), and the levels are very short so you will not find yourself having to redo large chunks of the game because of a death. Also, only 17 of the 20 levels are required to be beaten to progress to the next world. Once you unlock a world, all levels are available to you so that you can skip a level if you are stuck on it.
There isn’t much to gripe about here, the game is very well done! Thanks to addictive gameplay, fast paced action, creative level design, lots of unlockables and extra content, Super Meat Boy is a must-have! So get out there and save that Bandage Girl!
9.0/10
9.0/10
