Super Meat Boy 3D

Despite the camera’s inability to deliver the same high level of accuracy that longtime fans crave, Super Meat Boy 3D is ultimately a well-made 3D platformer that stays true to its roots while trying to set the stage for the future of the franchise. Though the team may have struggled a bit with these 3D environments, I do want to recognize that Team Meat and Sluggerfly took a daring swing that compensates with great replayability, and that this effort was ultimately worthwhile.

The camera occasionally lets you down, and the bosses and opening sequence are a bit too easy for the series, but it's still a highly addictive game. The worlds are diverse, there are tons of characters to unlock, and the new air dash is both a good mechanic for mastering levels and a simplification that skips entire sections.

Super Meat Boy 3D may not be quite the same watershed moment for indie gaming as its respected predecessor, but there’s a lot to love about this one and would say that Sluggerfly and Team Meat have largely stuck the landing in the transition to a new dimension. Tight controls, tough, rewarding gameplay, and lots of replayability all stack up in its favour, even as frame rate and camera issues hold it back from being a flawless successor. If you’re looking for an addictive platformer that’ll push your skills to their absolute limit, I’d give this one a strong recommendation.

Super Meat Boy 3D is a return to form for the cube of meat brought to life. The levels are exactly what you’d expect: challenging platforming sequences that demand your maximum effort as a gamer. The gameplay is smooth, and Meat Boy himself is a joy to control, with the addition of a dash being particularly notable, while the wall run feels somewhat underwhelming. The transition to 3D works well, supported by a vibrant visual style and strong level design, despite a lack of musical variety. If you enjoy demanding platformers, Super Meat Boy 3D might be the perfect torture device.

Super Meat Boy 3D may not have the same chainsaw effect on 3D indie platformers that its 2D predecessors had, but that does not stand in the way of being a marvellous and diabolically fun trial and error platformer. With a level design that's just on the right balance between frustrating and motivating, sharp controls that correctly translate the player's moves, and a fun and competent audiovisual art and style, Super Meat Boy 3D does have occasional camera hiccups that can end badly, and its boss levels feel less impressive than the regular levels, gameplay wise. Still, the sheer intensity, comical violence and addictive nature mean that players will have plenty of reasons to try and try and try again, whether on the regular levels or the absolutely merciless Dark World levels.

Super Meat Boy 3D has brief moments of fun, but messy controls make it feel a lot more frustrating than was initially intended.

It is these elements that kept me from enjoying Super Meat Boy 3D as much as I’d like. Yes, it is still a fun platformer. But it is also the modern embodiment of why ‘just make it 3D’ is still as challenging today as it was back on the Nintendo 64. At times, Super Meat Boy 3D gets to do its own thing and focus on what made that original game a modern classic. Great controls with tight level design that encourage the player to replay it over and over again to get the best time and find the collectibles. Yet, too many times I felt like the meat was left cooking too long. It’s bent into very specific ways to adhere to that original game, instead of standing on its own two meaty legs.

Super Meat Boy 3D does some really cool stuff fantastically well, and it's incredibly satisfying, but unfortunately, the game is very unbalanced in this regard. It's a real shame, as with a bit of polishing, this title could easily be one of the best speed-based, skill challenge-style 3D platformers. For fans of Meat Boy, this game is a no-brainer; for others, it might be a little undercooked.

Super Meat Boy 3D is a game where the old Jurassic Park adage rings true: the devs were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should. It’s enjoyable enough at times, but it lacks the level of reinvention necessary for Meat Boy to make a meaningful leap to 3D. Instead, playing it constantly feels slightly off, thanks to the 3D, which, rather than building on the experience, comes across as more of a gimmick that diminishes the otherwise tough but fair principles that made its predecessor a classic.

So long story short, Super Meat Boy 3D comes across as a game that doesn't evolve the series but rather takes it down a different path it doesn't need to explore. The theme, the tone, the style, it all still comes across as authentically Super Meat Boy, but the gameplay has a slightly uncomfortable edge where it doesn't quite feel right for one reason or another. Super Meat Boy may be back but this isn't the character in top form.