Have a look under! Workforce Meat’s sadistic meat mascot lastly jumps into the third dimension in Tremendous Meat Boy 3D. Scheduled for launch in early 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Collection, and PC. It is a daring step ahead for a sequence that initially began life as a Flash-based side-scroller in Newgrounds, translating the bloody, exact platforming that outlined the unique 2010 cult traditional into a totally three-dimensional house. After taking part in round with the newest preview construct, I can confidently say that this is not simply any outdated Tremendous Meat Boy. As an alternative, it is formed to be a considerate reimagining that captures the essence of why the sequence is so beloved, whereas embracing the brand new prospects that solely 3D can supply.
For these unfamiliar with the sequence, Tremendous Meat Boy is a fast-paced platformer that follows the adventures of a skinless protagonist as he makes an attempt to avoid wasting his girlfriend, Bandage Lady, from the villainous Dr. Fetus. A literal fetus in a bottle with an everlasting grudge. Not like the unique sport and its 2020 sequel, each legendary for his or her grueling issue and lethal velocity, Tremendous Meat Boy 3D feels much less gratuitously brutal and extra about it. Chill Among the harder challenges stay for these trying to recapture the sequence’ hardcore platforming roots in 3D.
The preview construct on Steam opens with an attention grabbing menu, and the interface is straight away useful and appears clear. One fast faucet of the A button in your controller will begin the motion inside seconds. Nevertheless, if you happen to keep in the primary menu somewhat too lengthy, you may end up getting misplaced within the sturdy settings menu. Right here, accessibility choices and nice flexibility are revealed, that are additionally fairly complete within the graphics division. For instance, it is cool to have the choice to toggle on a floor distance helper that initiatives the place you may land within the air. There’s additionally a replay character slider that determines what number of occasions the ghost model of Meat Boy seems in post-level replays, permitting you to see replays of recorded runs alongside a number of failed makes an attempt for as much as 100 of the little guys.
The controls translate Tremendous Meat Boy’s responsive actions into 3D with shocking grace. Jumps, sprints, wall runs, and dashes all really feel crisp and exact on the Xbox controller. Meat Boy has a barely buoyant nature within the air that took him a number of untimely deaths earlier than he obtained the cling of it, however his air sprint capacity (mapped to X by default) permits him to appropriate errors in his trajectory on the fly. This is a vital addition given the elevated complexity of navigating 3D house. Wall working and wall leaping perform equally to the unique wall slide, permitting you to hop between vertical surfaces to succeed in increased platforms. Curiously, the preview construct lacks the punching talents talked about within the management scheme and does not characteristic any fight in any respect, making me marvel if enemy encounters will play any position within the last launch or if it’s going to stay a pure impediment course platformer.
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The extent design successfully makes use of verticality in a method its 2D predecessors could not, and its multi-layered construction lets you bounce off partitions, sprint throughout gaps, and slam vertical shafts into the bottom to keep away from falling spiked balls. Floor Slam (mapped to B) proved extra helpful than initially anticipated, permitting you to descend shortly to keep away from hazard falling from above. Environmental obstacles embrace traditional platformer staples like buzzsaws, bear traps, crumbling platforms, and industrial crushers, but in addition new physics-based challenges just like the aforementioned spike ball. Spike balls fall into chutes in particular positions the place you need to first keep away from different obstacles and descend on the proper time to outlive.
True to sequence custom, demise comes usually and gruesomely. As you may anticipate, Tremendous Meat Boy 3D’s cubes of uncovered muscle tissue are vulnerable to encountering numerous flying edges, and respawning immediately in the beginning of a degree with a timer reset. The blood trails Meat Boy leaves behind on each floor he touches draw more and more creepy patterns throughout the pastel-colored setting with every try, and the transformation of a pristine meadow into against the law scene is darkly comical. The sound design enhances this with jittery, sputtering audio that remembers Splatoon’s ink-based aesthetic, whereas ambient sounds such because the whirring of noticed blades and the mechanical grinding of a crusher create an appropriately cartoonish but menacing audio panorama.
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Efficiency is measured purely by completion time and variety of deaths, and you’re given a letter grade primarily based on how shortly you attain the tip of every degree. A+ rank requires finishing the race throughout the goal time and with none deaths, a tall order that requires memorization and excellent execution. There is no scoring system or collectable forex, only a race in opposition to your self in opposition to time and your individual mortality. We discovered a collectible Band-Assist hidden in a secret space behind a destructible wood wall, however its objective stays unclear within the preview construct. Who is aware of what content material, costumes, and bonus ranges will probably be unlocked all through the sport?
Talking of post-game content material, the post-level replay system stands out as one in all Preview’s most attention-grabbing options. Upon finishing a stage, profitable runs are performed again, with a number of ghost variations of Meat Boy making an attempt the identical route, however most meet a grotesque demise earlier than one mirror picture can comply with the precise path to finish the course. It is each satisfying and hilarious, turning a hard-won victory right into a spectacle of small failures. With the Max Replay Character setting, you’ll be able to take this to the following degree and fill the display screen with fateful meat cubes.
Who’s the boss?
What’s much less clear is the scope of the complete launch. The preview construct included no boss fights (though a cutscene confirmed what gave the impression to be a large robotic), no multiplayer choices, and no theater mode, which remained inaccessible. Whereas the story’s setting – Dr. Fetus kidnapping Meat Boy’s important different as soon as once more, this time showing to be Bandaged Lady resulting from her pink livery – suggests a return to acquainted story beats, this sequence has by no means prioritized plot, and from what we have seen to date, that pattern will not change with the primary 3D installment. The linear degree construction and lack of serious exploration or secret exploration might go away gamers anticipating extra Metroidvania-style development disenchanted, however this has at all times been Tremendous Meat Boy’s MO: a pure, distilled platform problem with out extra baggage.
Tremendous Meat Boy 3D’s reasonably difficult and sometimes enjoyable gameplay loop settles right into a Zen-like movement state when you embrace the trial-and-error nature of turning into proficient in its colourful world. That is really a βpodcast sport.β It permits me to focus and focus whereas listening to different issues. By the point I ran the preview construct 5 occasions, I could not assist however take into consideration how excellent this may be for Steam Deck house owners who wish to sneak in a play session earlier than mattress. That is not essentially a criticism. There’s worth in video games that do not require full emotional funding, and that is undoubtedly a kind of video games. It is a disgrace that no Change 2 model has been introduced right now. I am solely half joking!
nuts and bolts
Whereas the problem is current, it did not fairly attain the soul-crushing heights that the sequence is infamous for, not less than in its early levels, however so long as the ultimate model gives sufficient of a problem for followers of the sequence, it is not too unhealthy for attracting a wider participant base. It stays to be seen whether or not that may present up in later worlds, or if Workforce Meet has softened the problem for broader attraction, however I hope it is the previous.
Graphically, Tremendous Meat Boy 3D strikes a nice stability between the sequence’ cartoonish aesthetic and trendy rendering methods, making for an more and more atmospheric expertise as you progress by way of the degrees. The preview construct already showcases sturdy graphics choices, together with a powerful record of anti-aliasing strategies, post-processing results, shadow high quality, international illumination, reflections, and foliage density. Though DLSS remained greyed out on my construct, the sport ran easily at practically 144fps on the RTX 4070Ti, with nice optimization even at most settings on an ultrawide 3440×1440 show. The setting stands out with its visible character. The primary grassy space transforms right into a forest with burning rotating noticed blades embedded in charred timber, then a dirty industrial space crammed with crushers, spike droppers, and swimming pools of poisonous waste. Every thing maintains the high-contrast, fairy-tale-meets-nightmare high quality that characterised the unique, however with added geometric complexity and environmental element not attainable in 2D.
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Comparisons to different trendy 3D platformers are inevitable, however perhaps somewhat unfair given the scope that Tremendous Meat Boy 3D is tackling. Nothing we have performed to date lacks the creative motion mechanics and character-driven appeal of Astro Bots, the liberty of exploration of Mario Odyssey, and even the number of degree design of Crash Bandicoot 4. Quite, Tremendous Meat Boy 3D feels extra like Ghost Runner’s fast-paced, die-and-retry philosophy combined with the geometric verticality and graphical model of Pac-Man World II. And from there, it is additional distilled into one thing a lot smaller and tighter, just like the little cubes of meat crammed right into a comfort retailer freezer. There are not any rings or cash to gather right here. Simply use brutal platforms. This reinvention runs easily sufficient to really feel satisfying even after working the identical preview content material a number of occasions in a row.
With every run you enhance your expertise and attain extra A+ ranks as your muscle reminiscence develops. Not less than the addictive “yet another strive” high quality that characterised the unique model is absolutely current right here. The query is whether or not Workforce Meat can preserve its momentum all through the sport, and whether or not there will probably be sufficient content material, selection, and surprises in retailer within the last launch to justify the transfer to 3D.
Tremendous Meat Boy 3D exhibits promise as a devoted translation of the sequence’ darkish comedian ebook comedy appeal into three dimensions, with responsive controls, sturdy performances, and degree design that embraces verticality whereas sustaining the tight problem loop that made the unique particular. However not less than at this level within the improvement cycle, critical questions stay concerning the scope of content material at launch, the texture of the motion throughout fight, what hidden collectibles will probably be unlocked, and whether or not this tight formulation can keep contemporary all through the sport.