Super Meat Boy Forever

Image Credit: Team Meat

Super Meat Boy Forever is an unconventional sequel that removes the traditional controls of a 2D platformer in favor of an auto-run two button approach. It looks and sounds like the original, but initially it could not feel further from it. Super Meat Boy Forever introduces the ability to punch and slide to traverse levels which compliments the new auto-run mechanic. If you’ve never played an auto-runner, like Super Mario Run, you are typically only in control of your characters verticality. Horizontal motion is automatic and you primarily change your direction by jumping off of a wall. This mechanic is generally found on mobile platformers and is commonly seen as a downgrade from traditional controls, but Super Meat Boy Forever challenges that opinion.

Though the controls sound simplified, Super Meat Boy Forever is far from simple and in some cases is more challenging than its predecessor. Super Meat Boy Forever excels at creating a new challenge for experienced players due to the new character controls that require a new lens on level design. Team Meat could have easily fallen into the trap of just releasing new levels that would be more akin to DLC and slapping Super Meat Boy 2 on it, but they didn’t. Instead, they challenged what a Super Meat Boy game is, and this challenge has not been received with open arms.

Many fans point to the depth of control felt in the original game as the series defining factor, but I believe that the heart of a Super Meat Boy game is found in its level of design and the satisfaction found after completing a near impossible stage. There are few games that have provided the same level of gratification as the original Super Meat Boy and Super Meat Boy Forever preserves that tradition. The level design is just as grueling as you remember in the best way. At first, I felt that the simplified controls reduced the players' options for creative approaches, but I was wrong.

About halfway through the story you start to see the creative language of the level design and you begin to feel a confidence to improvise more. This is due to the introduction of new mechanics to the series similar to power ups that can only be used once upon acquisition. These power ups range from time slowing, teleportation, direction changes, and even shooting a laser powered fist. These additions heighten the level of difficulty while feeling genuine to the series extreme attention to detail. The most significant change to level design is that Super Meat Boy Forever uses procedural generation.

This is a drastic departure from the original, where each level felt meticulously curated and designed. Unfortunately, beyond a replayability factor, I feel like the procedural generation does more harm than good in the end. Playing Super Meat Boy Forever in the launch window resulted in bugs for me and many others that did not allow for completion of certain stages. These bugs might not even be tied to the procedural generation, but knowing that this system is in place reduced my confidence in the level design. After encountering this bug, I began to question perfectly working but difficult stages. I was having a hard time completing them. I have a hard time determining why procedural generation was needed for Super Meat Boy Forever. Additionally, this feature results in a more isolated and difficult playthrough due to you not being able to consult friends on how to complete levels because their's are different. Most players might not even notice the procedural generation addition, but it did have an unintended effect on my playthrough.

Those issues aside, Super Meat Boy Forever is a worthy successor and it simply requires an open mind and some patience for the learning curve to enjoy. If you are a staunch hater of auto-run games, this may not be right for you, but if the auto-run door is even cracked for you, Super Meat Boy Forever will enlighten you to the potential of the mechanic. The cut scenes are beautifully animated and are frequently accompanied by grueling but satisfying boss battles. At a release price of $20, the value was clearly there for me. There is plenty of meat to sink your teeth into. The base story took me roughly 6 hours, but in Super Meat Boy tradition there are 'dark world' variants to the base levels that will keep you occupied hours longer. Super Meat Boy Forever may not be the sequel we envisioned, but it is worth a playthrough. Busch League Gaming gives it an 'enjoyable' 7 out of 10.

One code was provided by Team Meat for this review and the other was purchased by Busch League Gaming.

Buy this game if you enjoy:

• Super Meat Boy

• Super Mario Run

• Grueling 2D Platformers