In case you have any curiosity within the platformer style, you already know that probably the most beloved and seemingly troublesome titles in latest reminiscence is the Tremendous Meat Boy sequence. Beneath the lovable but gory presentation, it is a franchise that pushes gamers to their absolute limits with a typically borderline anger-inducing expertise.
Though Tremendous Meat Boy and Tremendous Mario Bros. share the identical SMB acronym, the 2 actually could not be extra completely different in design and total talent required. Meat Boy is a recreation the place you’ll positively die tons of, if not hundreds, of instances. However that is the purpose. The degrees are quick and the target is to discover a option to full the journey from level A to level B safely and shortly, however that is simpler mentioned than achieved right here.
I personally love platformers of all types and have all the time admired Meatboy’s hardcore. The “do that room as many instances as you need” strategy works very properly, as is finished in different difficult platformers comparable to Celeste and Bionic Bay. Meat Boy itself has by no means been in my high 5 total platform sequence, however I like the texture of it.
Nevertheless, seeing Tremendous Meat Boy go into 3D nonetheless utterly caught my eye. what’s that Actually What does that imply with regard to this specific franchise? Was the intention to offer the fluffy little hero a Mario 64-like second, or was it going to be a totally completely different strategy?
I lately obtained to play via eight ranges of Tremendous Meat Boy 3D. As quickly as the total recreation is launched, I am prepared to depart, ready for extra phases, failures, and deaths. No, this is not going to be a recreation for individuals who did not just like the sequence earlier than, regardless of the change in perspective, nevertheless it nonetheless appears to have the chops to be one other nice entry into the powerful platformer catalog.
Including a brand new dimension
Tremendous Meat Boy’s arrival in a 3D area felt like a giant change on the time of the announcement, and I instantly began questioning what this might truly imply for the sequence. In my head, I envisioned a world with a totally controllable digicam in a 3D area, with collectibles and a semi-open world to discover.
In actuality, SMB 3D does not work that approach in any respect. There are not any digicam controls, and also you primarily management Meat Boy from an isometric-like perspective, permitting him to maneuver in all instructions. I feel this can be disappointing for some individuals who noticed the sport’s reveal and had been anticipating a standard 3D platformer expertise with free exploration.
…bringing unprecedented freshness to the sequence.
However in case you’re a long-time fan of the sequence and know what it is about, I do not suppose one of these “3D” is a nasty factor in any respect for this recreation. It really works properly, and controlling Meat Boy from a top-down POV with extra motion choices than simply left to proper works properly with the sport type. Word that you do not truly get a full Mario Odyssey-ized Meat Boy right here.
There are extra exploration choices than ever in 3D, however usually on this demo, veering off the trail and efficiently reaching a distant floating island solely earns you the appropriate to be sliced ββin half by a group of bear traps earlier than beginning the extent over.
3D merely opens up new instructions and technique of fixing platforming challenges. I feel it is a nice alternative. I really like difficult platformer as a lot as the following individual, however I additionally suppose there’s solely a lot you are able to do from a 2D sidescrolling perspective, particularly with Meat Boy. We’re already climbing partitions and maneuvering round tons of noticed blades in uncooked 2D area.
Now, with extra freedom in path of motion, issues appear to be getting much more attention-grabbing. Bringing unprecedented freshness to the sequence. some sections do It nonetheless typically strikes within the horizontal scroll path, nevertheless it’s not locked into left-to-right motion but. Even when the aim is shifting on one airplane, Meat Boy can transfer up and down the ground to beat obstacles and leap onto partitions.
In the end, it will be attention-grabbing to see what folks consider this isometric-like strategy in motion, and whether or not it is actually what they anticipated once they heard their favourite cubes of meat could be taken to a brand new dimension. It really works very properly for the eight ranges I demoed, however once more, concentrate on what you are moving into.
shiny flesh
In fact, the presentation coupled with bringing Meat Boy right into a 3D area additionally adjustments the general environment fairly a bit. All of the previous Meat Boys had been restricted to a flat 2D side-scrolling perspective. The artwork type of the earlier recreation continues to be intact, however I do not suppose it is notably stunning.
It is actually attention-grabbing to see the distinction in design in 3D. Meat Boy appears identical to a tiny DreamWorks character as he flies via visually much more numerous biomes and worlds full of forests, trash, poisonous waste, gun-toting squirrels, and an ever-wider number of saws and sharp, harmful objects.
In its present, early state, it is not a title that wows me by way of graphical constancy. There are additionally some efficiency enhancements to be made, comparable to frequent texture and object pop-ins. In the meantime, pre-rendered cutscenes look unbelievableSo I am excited to proceed seeing extra of them as the sport continues.
Present minor visible points apart, I am actually having fun with the general look of this. This will get the job achieved, and it is enjoyable to see Meat Boy in such a vibrant 3D area, with little animations occurring within the background, like a robotic lumberjack or a squirrel chase, for a really energetic change.
And it would not be Meat Boy with out nice music. The mix of steel guitars and catchy synths I skilled proper from the beginning of the sport’s most important menu set the stage for me to shortly settle into the skilled platformer mindset. It is fantastic.
Excessive precision platform you need
Now let’s transfer on to the precise gameplay expertise. Once more, I’ve solely been in a position to take a look at 8 ranges, however this must be mentioned. It is nice enjoyable. Meat Boy has all the time been about very quick, difficult-to-conquer rooms, and the identical pattern continues in 3D.
There’s nothing notably groundbreaking right here, not less than from what I used to be proven, however that does not imply it is not insanely attention-grabbing.
The loop of attempting and retrying ranges over and over to get a greater time or scale back the variety of deaths recorded continues to be very sturdy right here. After finishing a degree, I instantly discovered myself attempting the extent once more. I knew I may get higher and I had a need to show it to myself.
In complete, I ran all the demo 3 times in a row without delay. I feel it is a nice signal. As a result of I simply did not need to cease taking part in. There’s nothing notably groundbreaking right here, not less than from what I used to be proven. However that does not imply it is not insanely entertaining.
The management scheme is as typical straightforward to know. Along with shifting, sprinting, leaping, and dashing, you can too wall climb and wall run to proceed your progress. As for this 3D area and controls, I might say it is nonetheless good to maintain Meat Boy from performing easy wall climbs while you actually need him to run, nevertheless it’s protected to say that is only a matter of talent till you study the controls extra effectively.
Tremendous Meat Boy 3D feels completely correct.
The premise continues to be the identical: you begin a degree, get to the top to rescue Bandaged Lady, however find yourself having her taken away (in varied hilarious methods) by Dr. Fetus earlier than you may transfer on to the following, tougher degree and take a look at once more. You may as well get collectible bandages in some ranges, however the reality is that you simply nonetheless have the “get to the top” components that we knew and beloved from the previous Meat Boys.
Meat Boy has a toggleable crimson ring touchdown area you could activate to all the time know the place he will land. It is a nice high quality of life characteristic as you re-adapt to this loopy, quick, kinetic, floating platforming type.
Total, Tremendous Meat Boy 3D feels good precisionwhich is most essential for one of these platformer. Sure, the degrees will probably be troublesome. However when you’re locked in, the controls are so easy and dialed in that you simply all the time know that any failure or ensuing loss of life is your individual silly fault, and that is precisely what one of these recreation must be profitable.
I am not an enormous rage gamer, however you’ve gotten my consideration and my dedication to overcome no matter you throw at me, so long as I do know failure is a matter of talent and never simply dangerous dealing with of the sport. That is the place Tremendous Meat Boy 3D appears to come back into play. I am actually excited to see extra of the sport (and the promised boss fights) every time the workforce is able to showcase extra, so I can proceed to check my precision platforming abilities in much more instructions this time round.
convey all of it collectively
There isn’t a particular launch date for Tremendous Meat Boy 3D but, however it’s at the moment scheduled for launch in early 2026. Based mostly on the time I’ve performed the sport, it already feels and runs nice, so I am hopeful it achieves this aim.
Within the meantime, you may all the time wishlist the sport on its Steam web page to maintain up with future updates because the title progresses in improvement.
Tremendous Meat Boy 3D will probably be out there on PC, PS5, and Xbox. That is one to look at in case you’re in search of one other entry within the sequence that challenges your limits from extra angles.