Super Meat Boy PS4/Vita Forced to Drop Its Great Original Soundtrack

Super Meat Boy makes its PlayStation debut next week when it launches on PS4 and Vita. While it's still the same game mechanically that originally launched on Xbox 360 five years ago, developer Team Meat has had to replace its soundtrack--arguably one of the best parts of the game--with new music.

Gallery

Tommy Refenes, one half of Team Meat, revealed the news in a post on the PlayStation Blog today. It appears the intention was to include the original music, but the developer "couldn't secure the rights" to use the old soundtrack, which was composed by Danny Baranowsky.

"Now don't be too bummed because we had the opportunity to work with our favorite artists to re-score Super Meat Boy to celebrate its fifth anniversary," Refenes said.

Here's the rundown he offered:

• Matthias Bossi and Jon Evans, known the world over as Ridiculon (whose most recent work includes The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth), provided the bulk of the soundtrack. They took care of The Forest, Hell, The Rapture, and The End, as well as the intro music and title screen. They also re-scored all of the cutscenes and miscellaneous ditties. Their work is always stellar and Super Meat Boy is no exception. Ready yourselves for some devilishly gruesome guitar work, my friends.
• David "Scattle" Scatliffe of Hotline Miami fame used his unique moody style to create incredible tracks for The Hospital and the Salt Factory. His mastery will leave you wondering if the shakes you're having are from the intense levels or the creepy/industrial bliss your ears are soaking in.
• Laura Shigihara of Plants vs. Zombies renown scored The Cotton Alley in her style to give Bandage Girl's levels a gentle, feminine touch that provides a fitting counterpoint to the hardest levels in the game.

"That's a pretty slick roster of artists," Refenes added. "We were lucky enough that they were all friends of ours and fans of Super Meat Boy. Their passion and love for the game can be heard in the work they put into making the game sound amazing. We're honored to have them on the team for this version of Super Meat Boy."

You can listen to a sample track from Ridiculon below.

Super Meat Boy launches on PS4 and Vita as a cross-buy game; if you buy it on one platform, you'll also have access to it on the other system. Better yet, PlayStation Plus members get the game for free as soon as it launches on October 6, which is when the full Plus lineup for October will be available.

Team Meat has other projects in the works, too, including a mobile version of Super Meat Boy and Mewgenics. It's also possible we'll see a Super Meat Boy 2 in the future, despite what was said in the wake of the original game's release.