Varied, challenging and hilarious, this superb platformer is ridiculously fun and is not to be missed.
The controls are what really sells this game. They are so tight and responsive that after a few hours, you wont want to play any other platformer--they are really that good. You can run and jump with ease and soon you'll be able to wall jump and pull off some ridiculous moves that you didn't think was possible. So when you die--often abruptly and through some hilarious manner--its usually because you miss-timed your jump or attempted some braindead move. Patience, determination and finess will meet you with success and levels that may seem near impossible at first will eventually make sense after a few attempts. Super Meat Boy's challenge comes from the level design and not from fighting the controls and this is truly one of the redeeming factors of this game.
Speaking of levels, Super Meat Boy has hundreds of them, all of which are extremely well-designed and challenging. The simple premise is that Meat boy is trying to free his love, Bandage girl, from the clutches of the evil doctor Fetus and you'll breeze through these platforming snippets early on, but the difficulty eventually escelates. Super Meat Boy does a terrific job of introducing new dangers to the mix and there are plenty of boss battles that are really well thought out. From racing to collect keys, dealing with puzzles, to striving to reach the top as the level scrolls upwards, each level feels different from the last and the challenge always peaks at challenge and never boil over into cheapness or frustration.
Super Meat Boy also has an outstanding retro-vibe. The soundtrack is incredible and fits each world and theme perfectly. The humor is great too and every world has its own intro that clearly reference other platformers like Castlevania, Mega man and Ninja Gaiden. The visuals also feel very old-school but never simple and Meat boy is much of an amazing specimen and a beauty to behold when he moves and jumps with such smooth grace.
I should also point out the insane amount of content on offer There are tons of levels, hidden worlds, warpzones and bonus stages, along with unlockable characters and dark-world counterparts to each level when you meet the par time for them. The characters you unlock --either by collecting bandages strewn about some of the levels or completing warpzones-- are from other indie games and possess their own abilities and jumping techniques. The downer with this though is that the characters rarely come into use in the actual main levels. Save for the warpzones, there are no character exclusive levels to unlock and i rarely felt like Meat boy wasn't capable of tackling the many challenges that i was presented with. You can also save replays when you complete each level, but there is no way to share these amongst other players and the leaderboards have no functionality that allow you to watch how the most skilled platforming purists beat each level.
All in all though, there is very little disappointment to be had with this game. Super Meat Boy is the kind of game that knows its audience, and while the high level of difficulty may repel some players, platforming extremists will love every moment of this hilarious and incredibly well-designed game that has enough content to warrant a sixty-dollar pricetag. So jump right in, just be sure you have some good finger dexterity.
Pros:
+Tight and responsive controls
+Clever level design will test every ounce of your skills
+Tons of variety
+Charming humor and retro aesthetics
+Hours upon hours worth of platforming glee and content.
Cons:
-Unlockable characters rarely come into use
-No way to share replays of levels.
Game Emblems - The Good:
Sharp Control
Funny
Art House
Outstanding Gameplay
Just Right
Great Original Soundtrack
Sucks You In