I mentioned before that I now have a list of Steam games to go back to or start playing. Today, I'm taking on a game that I actually have a good amount of progress in, but never finished for whatever reason. BACKGROUND:
Super Meat Boy is a game that, I think, needs no introduction. Its notoriety as an incredibly difficult platformer made it one of the most well-known indie games ever (at a time when indie games weren't as popular as they are now), so it wouldn't surprise me if a good number of you have heard of it. I myself heard a lot about it during the early 2010s (which is when indie games slowly but surely started to take off), and eventually got the game during a sale a few years later. I recall enjoying my time with the game the first time I played it. According to Steam, I logged in five good hours in this game before I stopped. Checking in on my save file, it turns out I didn't make a lot of progress in the story, but instead have gotten really close to completing the first two worlds 100% (I get a little fastidious when it comes to completion, so this is definitely in character for me). I don't know exactly why I stopped; perhaps I had gotten busy, or I got distracted by some other game (entirely possible given I had to have gotten this game in 2017, and Hollow Knight came out that year). Nevertheless, I am here to tie up this loose end. PLOT: Meat Boy's girlfriend Bandage Girl is kidnapped by the evil Dr. Fetus, and he must now chase the bastard across the world to rescue her. That's it. That's the story. Basic-ass plot from 1985 aside (which, to be fair, is meant to be an homage to video game stories from that time period), the way this game presents itself is rather humorous. The brief animated cutscenes are incredibly goofy, over-the-top, and quite referential (with a lot of the scenes calling back to much older games like Ninja Gaiden or Castlevania). As you go along, the scenarios get increasingly absurd, as Dr. Fetus's schemes start to escalate. There's also a sense of irreverence throughout the story, as there's no shortage of cartoonish violence, occasional toilet humor, and Dr. Fetus's penchant for flipping the bird. It's not a style of comedy for everyone, but I found it sufficiently amusing in some instances. PRESENTATION: Super Meat Boy's visuals in gameplay are relatively simple; much like the plot, it's meant to be reminiscent of the "retro" era of 8-bit and 16-bit visuals, but this game does feature a lot more detail and polish to it compared to actual retro games. The same can be said of level aesthetics; while a lot of them call back to classic video game level tropes (the forest world, the lava world, etc.), they all have a unique flavor to them that sets them apart. The music is, as you may expect, also an homage to the retro soundtracks of yesteryear, with many of them sporting a chiptune sound, but still having the polish of more modern OSTs. Most of the music is incredibly upbeat and complements the gameplay really well, with a few having a techno vibe, and others featuring intense guitar riffs. There are even a few tracks that feature vocals. What's interesting is that you also have the option to listen to an alternate soundtrack (which is the one used for later versions of the game). Most of these tracks sound completely different from the original, and generally have a different style (the new OST feels more instrumental than the original). I don't have a strong preference, but I did enjoy both soundtracks. The cutscenes are super simple animations that are exemplary of the Flash cartoons that used to be popular on the Internet in the mid-to-late 2000s. Edmund McMillen's art style here (something I'm quite familiar with thanks to my time with Binding of Isaac) consists of thick, bold outlines, flat colors with little to no shading, and character designs that walk the fine line between cute and kinda grotesque. I found these cutscenes amusing, but it's probably not for everyone. GAMEPLAY: Super Meat Boy is a 2D platformer. Run and jump to the end of the level. It doesn't get any simpler than that. The only other skills Meat Boy has in his repertoire is a wall jump and a dash, and these will be enough to get you through the levels. The controls take a bit of getting used to, but Meat Boy's behavior when moving is more or less consistent, which is important for a game like this. Now, what makes this game famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) is that most of its levels are incredibly challenging. The level designs feature all sorts of hazards that kill you instantly on contact, and they are often placed in spots that require a lot of finesse to avoid. A lot of the levels demand an almost unreasonable amount of precision, near-perfect execution, and pinpoint accurate timing. There is very little margin for error, especially in later levels. If your movement is off by one pixel, or you time it one millisecond too late, or don't react quick enough, you're dead. Very rarely are there levels that grant some semblance of leniency, so you pretty much have to execute a clean run to progress most of the time. Getting through a level first try is pretty rare as well; most of the time, it's a war of attrition involving a lot of trial and error. Suffice to say, this game doesn't fuck around. Nevertheless, it is incredibly satisfying to clear a level, especially one that took you many tries to beat. The game helps add to this feeling by showing a replay whenever you beat a level that overlays all your attempts; you see all your failures, but at the same time, you also see the one run that succeeded. There's a metaphor in there somewhere. The game offsets the difficulty in a number of ways. For one, many of the levels are short, so you actually don't have to survive a grueling onslaught of horseshit to get to the end. For another, death isn't really punishing, as it just resets you at the start. There aren't any lives or game overs; if you die, just try again. Although it can certainly get frustrating at times (especially in moments when you're so close to the end), dying is actually somewhat rewarding, as you slowly acquire the muscle memory to get past obstacles, and if you manage to progress past the point you were stuck in, you get to scope out the rest of the level. Lastly, each level is independent from one another (i.e. beating 1-1 isn't a prerequisite to reach 1-2), so even if you manage to get stuck in one level, you can just try your luck in a different one. There are seven worlds in the game, and each of them (except World 6) contain 20 levels each. You can tackle the levels in any order you like, which makes progress less frustrating on the account of you having the freedom to choose what you find least difficult. Each world (except World 7) also has a boss that you must beat to unlock the next world, and to unlock those boss levels, you have to beat a certain number of normal levels in the given world. Granted, you still have to beat a significant percentage of a world's levels to unlock the boss, but the fact that you don't have to beat absolutely all of them is somewhat forgiving if you're just looking to finish the main story. The boss levels are generally longer than most regular levels, and are structured slightly differently. Some are still your typical "get to the end" levels, but now they've been altered to be chase sequences or a race against time. A few of them are structured like fights, but as opposed to actively attacking the boss, you're just deftly avoiding their attacks and luring them to their own demise. Although dying is slightly more punishing due to the length of each boss level, I enjoyed the ridiculous settings and mechanics of each boss. In terms of level mechanics, there are too many to mention, but they make things challenging in their own unique ways. Many of these level elements are pretty intuitive (pointy saws = death, for example), but game does pretty well when it comes to introducing players to new mechanics. A lot of these mechanics are exclusive to a specific world (e.g. conveyor belts are only really a thing in World 3), but they're used quite well in terms of both creative and challenging layouts. Though some of them are a little finicky, none of the mechanics involve any randomness at all; they all have consistent behavior, so you don't have to worry about some random bullshit killing you. Of course, it's still on you to figure out exactly what to do. If the 100-something levels aren't enough, there's an entire Dark World featuring remixed versions of every normal stage in the game. These Dark World levels are significantly more difficult, requiring a level of skill (or persistence) that even the hardest levels of the Light World don't ask of you. To make things more challenging, unlocking the Dark World version of a level requires you to clear the time trial of its corresponding Light World counterpart. As somebody who went out of their way to beat a good amount of these time trials, let me tell you: beating a level is one thing, but beating it quickly is another thing entirely. If even an entire Dark World doesn't satisfy you, there's more. In many of the levels, there are collectible bandages in out-of-the-way places. These things are a pain in the ass to collect, as not only are they in places that are difficult to reach, you have to actually beat the level for them to register as collected. Despite the added challenge, these bandages are worth getting, because you can use them to unlock other playable characters. Said playable characters have their own unique gimmick that changes your approach to beating levels, so they're worth unlocking if you want to try your hand at beating levels with slightly different abilities. Aside from bandages, you can also find Warp Zones off the beaten path in a good number of levels. Entering these warp zones takes you into levels with overtly retro visuals. What makes these levels challenging is that, like the games of old, you only have a limited number of lives to beat them, which makes them a bit tougher to beat. Thankfully, the game is a little more lenient when unlocking these; once you find the Warp Zone, it will be always accessible in the level select, allowing you to retry at your leisure. There are also what's called Glitch Levels, which are like the Warp Zone levels, except unlocking them is based on pure chance. I've only unlocked two of these purely by dumb luck, and I wish there were an easier way to unlock them. But if you're willing to grind it out for a few extra levels, there you go. If, somehow, you are still not satisfied, there's also something called Super Meat World in the PC version that allows you to play player-created levels. From the looks of it, it doesn't seem like you can upload new levels anymore, but a lot of what was uploaded before can still be accessed. There's even an option to play a randomly-selected assortment of levels, which is neat. Of course, this is player-made stuff, so the actual quality of the levels can vary greatly, but if you want even more levels to play, this is something to check out. Of course, everything outside of the normal levels is completely optional. They're only there if you want to play absolutely everything or want as much challenge as you can get. The only real thing that's locked behind these extra levels is an alternate final boss (unlocked by beating 85 Dark World levels, of which there are around 120+ in total), but you don't really get anything out of it other than another level to play through. VERDICT: Super Meat Boy is one of the most well-remembered indie games for a good reason. Its simple but incredibly demanding precision platformer gameplay routinely walks the line between "super difficult but still fair and doable" and "goddamn it, how the fuck do I beat this." I enjoy games that aren't afraid to provide a punishing challenge, and Super Meat Boy offers just that in spades, both in terms of its level design and the plethora of levels there are. Along with a story and visuals that have a weird charm to them and enjoyable music, Super Meat Boy was a hell of a time for me. This is absolutely not a game for everybody. I don't know many people who actually enjoy games that are designed to be difficult, and Super Meat Boy is certainly one of those games. If you're more of a casual player, or you're not adept at precise, execution-based games, you may be better off avoiding this game. It will likely frustrate you/piss you off, and if you don't have the patience for persistent trial and error, most of this game might just end up completely inaccessible to you. As much as I want to encourage people to play challenging games like this (because I want them to feel the satisfaction that I do when I beat them), I completely understand if they skip over this one. Super Meat Boy's reputation is not at all hyperbolic; I am well versed in games like this, but I still faced the occasional struggle in a fair amount of levels. Unless you're a glutton for punishment like I am, please spare yourself the frustration. Go watch some speedruns of the game if you wanna live vicariously through someone else. In the event that you do give this game a chance, I implore you to stick with it. You don't have to sink 12 hours of your day attempting a level, but keep trying. It may take a while, but you'll get better at the game. Check out Super Meat Boy on Steam. Don't say I didn't warn you: https://store.steampowered.com/app/40800/Super_Meat_Boy/ Listen to the original soundtrack on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1a4TATTxo7fdfqYxn2uMFN - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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