When ten years ago the Team Meat released Super Meat Boy on PC and consoles, the work immediately became a real cult for the independent market. At that time the market for these productions did not have the same current media scale, but some products still managed to impress themselves in the minds of gamers thanks to their captivating design and an enviable level design. It is therefore not surprising to know that the guys of Team Meat have realized the expected and discussed Super Meat Boy Forever which, to tell the truth, is the third chapter of the franchise. In fact, the original chapter was released as web game , back in 2008, on the popular website called Newgrounds.
A tribute to the entire medium
The new work of Team Meat begins, like almost all stories nowadays, with an opening movie. From here we can already see a certain increase in the budget invested in this project, given the presence of sequences excellently made, so much that it feels like watching a cartoon. The direction proposed here is treated in detail, resulting in the eyes of the user in high quality entertainment. The title even offers us a total absence of dialogue, focusing mainly on the art of mimicry if not for some occasional appearance of the narrator. The development team then gave more than one eye to the most avid gamers, since both here and in the gameplay sections we will find some clear references to videogame cult of the past.
The plot itself is very simple, although there are twists that are practically unexpected due to their complete absurdity. It's been a few years since the events of Super Meat Boy and our protagonist has by now a son along with Bandage Girl, now his wife. Unfortunately Nugget is still at an early age, thus giving the opportunity to the treacherous Dr. Fetus to kidnap him and set off a series of events, one more catastrophic than the other. The narrative is therefore not the strong point of the work in question but the events that compose it and the way in which they are told manage to offer excellent entertainment, never taking themselves seriously with very colorful characters and environments.
Similar but at the same time different
Although we are talking about a sequel, Super Meat Boy Forever does not try the easy road of "more of the same", but completely changes gender compared to the previous two episodes of the franchise. The player no longer finds himself in a platform based on the accuracy and patience of the player, since this adventure is told through the genre of Auto Runner Games. It is therefore not possible to control the movements of our hero and, the only keys that can be used in the levels, are the jump / attack and the one to make the slide. The game certainly comes back in one two-dimensional structure, with levels that are not procedurally created or infinite but with a level design studied in every smallest detail. The designers wanted to offer an experience that distanced itself from their previous creations and that, at the same time, kept their spirit in every aspect.
In a way, this playful structure recalls the initial nature of the product, given that at the announcement the team planned to launch it as a spin off for mobile devices. Over time the work directed by Tommy Refenes it has however evolved, thus leading to offer an experience that it manages to take the reins of the two original products in the best possible way. Indeed, in Super Meat Boy Forever the difficulty remained for which the series is known, but at the same time it focused on the frenzy and the structure of the level design, all without forgetting a art design very faithful and more alive than ever. The peculiarity of the game lies in the structure of each single level, which almost always manages to offer new and intriguing mechanics. One of the advantages of the product is precisely that of never be repetitive, also leading to a high replay value if the player gets too carried away.
The end is just the beginning
Super Meat Boy Forever story can be completed in about 3 - 5 hours, but in a sense it could be said that the real challenge starts after the credits. The game is indeed full of contents and secrets to discover, managing to immerse the player in an attempt to 100% complete the entire experience. In addition to the ubiquitous collectable, represented here by the pacifiers lost by the little Nugget, and the time trials present in each level, one of the most interesting features is certainly that of world of darkness. Once these are unlocked extra levels present in every single world, we will find ourselves in areas completely covered by darkness where the player will have to sweat the proverbial seven shirts to achieve their goal. We cannot then forget the portals which, once found, lead to a secondary boss freely inspired by some classic videogame of the past.
About the clashes with various main opponents, these result all different from each other without any kind of repetition. Given the nature of the game, even in these sections it is not possible to control our character at will. However, this does not mean that we are faced with straight lines in which every now and then beating a big enemy, but every fight manages to put the player in increasingly tedious but never impossible situations. We must not forget that, by completing all that the game has to offer, we will be able to access gods unlockable characters. The latter do not present any kind of difference in terms of gameplay, but they are still an incentive to complete this new Meat Boy and Bandage Girl misadventure.
Rock Time
As a consequence of all that we have just described, the player is faced with a play structure that makes the trial and error its backbone. This may not appeal to everyone and some users may find the experience frustrating at times, also because some sections they cannot be understood very well at first glance. Fortunately the user has it available endless lives in addition to a huge series of checkpoints in the most classic levels. The development team then looked for one greater accessibility compared to the previous episodes of the brand, however giving the right attention to the challenge offered in order to satisfy the veterans.
The soundtrack composed by the studios of Power Up Audio and Ridiculon curtains a lot on one shade Rock and Metal, thus resulting very apt for the atmospheres proposed by the work. As for the artistic side and the animations, Team Meat's product turns out as beautiful to look at as it is cared for. The optimization of the PC version of the work, the one we tested, is well done with no bugs or glitches whatsoever. The whole is compatible with both keyboard and controller, making it easily playable in both modes. At most we could complain about some problems in the management of the audio and in the reactivity to the commands, but nothing serious and can be easily solved with a future update.
