I’m the pleased with proprietor of an achievement for the Xbox 360 launch of Tremendous Meat Boy the place the purpose is to finish a complete chapter with out dying. It’s one thing that I carry up at any time when doable, as a testomony to my talent and dedication to mastering one of the irritating (and satisfying) fashionable platformers of a technology.
So when the chance to hop right into a demo of Tremendous Meat Boy 3D arose at this yr’s gamescom, I needed to do it. Would this be a wonderful return to type for me, or a devastating fall from grace? Does this totally absurd, high-speed, high-stakes sport work as effectively in a three-dimensional setting?
The demo would have me consider that the reply is a convincing sure. Meat Boy’s plight is acquainted – he’s on a mission to save lots of Bandage Woman from the clutches of Dr Fetus, and every stage provides a slight uptick in problem as Meat Boy’s girlfriend is swept away every time.
Taking management of Meat Boy once more, even in his new, squidgy, 3D type, ignited the muscle reminiscence of driving a motorcycle – he strikes in a really related option to the unique sport and inside just a few ranges I used to be hopping, sprinting, wall-running and naturally, perishing like a professional. If these controls are lodged deep inside part of your thoughts, it’s going to really feel splendidly nostalgic, however don’t fret in the event that they’re not – every thing nonetheless feels intuitive and responsive, one other trick the unique pulled off.
Nevertheless, not like the unique, the 3D component provides new layers of depth to every stage – in addition to transferring up, down, left and proper, Meat Boy now strikes forwards, backwards, diagonally – having to contemplate depth notion at warp velocity virtually makes Tremendous Meat Boy 3D really feel like a completely completely different sport. Precision is totally key in these moments, however there’s a forgiving component – a circle beneath Meat Boy will mark the place he’s about to land on a floor, making these further dangerous leaps somewhat simpler to calculate.
Every stage is an impediment course, and your aim is to get from the begin to the top. Easy in idea, however there’s a brutal buffet of disruptive, violent boundaries between you and your misplaced girlfriend. It’s not simply tough jumps and avoiding falls – simply the opening ranges had me dodging chainsaw-wielding robots, big, poisonous cubes of slime stuffed with eyeballs, and Meat Boy’s well-known transferring wall saws, to call just a few. Whereas some hurdles felt seen sufficient to arrange for, others took me by whole, annoying shock (and killed me immediately). Getting your butt kicked and studying for subsequent time is what made Tremendous Meat Boy so rewarding to beat – and that masterclass is introduced again so that you can retake right here.
And whereas a few of that is new, it wouldn’t remotely really feel misplaced if it had been squashed down into 2D type and positioned inside the unique sport, which seems like a testomony to how developer Sluggerfly is preserving the authenticity of Tremendous Meat Boy.
Tremendous Meat Boy 3D additionally appears to be like nice, these environment – from dreamy inexperienced platforms to harsh industrial caverns – really feel acquainted in how they’re designed, however with a classy, fashionable aptitude. This new artwork model offers alternative for enjoyable new animation that basically brings the characters and environments to life – squirrels working round with weapons, lava spewing down partitions, and naturally, many extra visceral methods wherein Meat Boy can meet a swift finish.
All of the swagger and perspective of the unique Tremendous Meat Boy is current right here – and it feels as if Tremendous Meat Boy 3D is constructed to iterate on its predecessor, not outperform it. That mentioned, should you’ve by no means performed the unique, that doesn’t matter right here – the premise is obvious, and these opening ranges are designed to welcome newcomers into Meat Boy’s bizarre, unforgiving world, however the initiation gained’t be straightforward. The demo is respectfully saying “welcome again to Meat Boy”, however there’s sufficient new concepts right here to make it really really feel like a successor value taking part in, should you can deal with the frustration.
