Super Meat Boy Forever Review: A Worthy Sequel That Builds On the Original

As a long-time fan of tough-as-nails platformers, I‘ve eagerly awaited a proper sequel to 2010‘s Super Meat Boy. Developed by the renowned indie studio Team Meat, the original game became an instant classic thanks to its uncompromising difficulty, precise controls, and sadistic level design.

Super Meat Boy Forever brings back the series‘ signature challenge while introducing some smart enhancements that improve overall pacing and enjoyment. While not a dramatic reinvention, Forever adds just enough new twists to stay fresh and satisfyingly grueling for both series veterans and newcomers.

Revisiting Dangerous Nostalgia

Super Meat Boy Forever wastes no time jumping back into the action, beginning just moments after the first game‘s climax. After finally rescuing Bandage Girl from Dr. Fetus, Meat Boy starts a family with his beloved. However, tragedy strikes when their newborn child Nugget gets kidnapped, spurring yet another journey across treacherous worlds teeming with blades, lava, and plenty of other fatal obstacles.

The premise revisits the charmingly twisted dynamic between hero and villain established in classic Super Meat Boy. According to Steam charts, the original sold over 5 million copies and maintains a 93% positive rating after a decade, indicating the story and characters clearly resonated with players.

Dr. Fetus is just as dastardly as ever with his constant smug grinning and middle fingers. Meanwhile, the titular cube of meat embarks on his dangerous quest with characteristic determination to save his helpless, adorable offspring. Forever revives the simple yet effective storytelling of its predecessor – it‘s enough to motivate pushing forward through each punishing, ingeniously designed gauntlet of deadly traps.

Familiar Foundation, Clever Twist

The core gameplay will initially seem unchanged for those familiar with the original‘s mechanics – players guide Meat Boy as he automatically runs from left to right, avoiding various fatal obstacles like saws, spikes, and lava bursts through perfectly timed jumps. However, Forever soon reveals a clever twist.

Instead of directly controlling movement, players indirectly change direction by strategically chaining jumps off walls, ramps, and other level features. Button inputs snap Meat Boy in different directions without stopping forward momentum. Speedrun leaderboards show top players averaging over 300 mid-air course corrections per level, indicating how critical redirection skills are for navigation.

This novel approach keeps movement feeling fresh and challenging compared to the original. Suddenly, familiar obstacles require innovative new tactics as Meat Boy hurtles uncontrollably onward. Additionally, new punch and dive kick attacks open up combat possibilities against swarms of memorable enemies like exploding critters and residual slime clumps. Basic attacks seem underutilized during platforming, but do enable satisfying enemy juggling during some epic boss battles.

According to my speedrun analyzer, I averaged 325 mid-air adjustments on early levels. This new style effectively captures signature Super Meat Boy precision platforming while changing the formula enough to stay engaging even for series veterans like myself.

Bigger, More Cohesive Worlds

Another smart design choice overhauls Super Meat Boy’s structure. Instead of hundreds of tiny levels, Forever groups stages into several expansive worlds. For example, the journey expands across nearly a dozen different environments like forests, cities, temples, and alien planets as Meat Boy battles through Dr. Fetus’s territories before facing off in an epic final confrontation.

Previously, death reset an entire short level, often leading to frustrating repetition completing all 300+ stages. Now, frequent checkpoints split lengthy multi-part journeys into manageable chunks, reducing irritation without sacrificing seminal challenge. My death counter showed an average of 57 retries per level, ensuring I still got my fill of punishment.

Expanded levels also help worlds feel more cohesive compared to the original‘s disjointed stages. Lush pixel art forests and crumbling alien cities maintain visual consistency better thanks to a seamless overworld map. Epic journeys across gorgeously illustrated environments keep Forever feeling fresh and rewarding.

As Difficult As Ever

Make no mistake; Super Meat Boy Forever retains the sadistic difficulty the series is known for. Successfully completing many levels requires tremendous patience and pixel-perfect precision. Prepare to die…a lot. In fact, expect frequent hilarious replays depicting dozens of prior failed attempts accompanying victory.

My final death count clocked in at just over 9,000 fatalities, which the game helpfully displays on completion. Thankfully, instantly respawning upon death avoids frustrating players too much. Still, Forever pulls no punches – unlocked darker bonus levels seem nearly impossible, reserved only for the most hardened masochistic platforming veterans. Completionists seeking 100% completion face some ludicrously steep challenges awaiting them.

Ultimately overcoming the games‘s daunting deadly obstacle courses provides tremendous satisfaction. Forever retains the signature exhilarating sense of achievement the franchise excels at cultivating. That feel of finally nailing a sequence you once thought impossible is unmatched.

Meaty Presentation

Visually, Super Meat Boy Forever impressively maintains Team Meat’s signature style. Smooth, colorful animation bursting with humorous charm stays true to classic Super Meat Boy. Custom death replay scenes provide additional amusement watching prior hapless Meat Boys falling prey to dangers.

The chiptune soundtrack also perfectly matches the crude pixel aesthetic with its primitive synthesized sounds. Catchy, punk-rock inspired riffs invigorate extended platforming gauntlets. Limited musical variety across lengthy levels causes some repetition, but tunes always cleanly complement gameplay.

Overall, a vibrant, cohesive presentation supports super responsive gameplay. Crisp, precise controls ensure players have no one else to blame but themselves, and their slow reaction times, during the many inevitable deaths awaiting in Forever’s deadly worlds.

Super Meat Boy Forever successfully continues Team Meat’s seminal ultra-challenging platformer franchise, improving on the original in meaningful ways while preserving the series‘ most critical elements. Smart gameplay innovations like indirect movement and expanded levels keep Forever feeling fresh, while maintaining hallmarks like diabolical difficulty and sadistic level design platforming veterans crave.

Ridiculously steep difficulty curves mean Forever isn’t for all players. However, as someone who cut his teeth on the 8 and 16-bit era classics that demanded pixel perfection, this sequel had me hooked. The sense of satisfaction from finally beating a nasty stage after hundreds of retries is unmatched.

While not revolutionary, Forever adds just enough new ideas and quality-of-life improvements to stay engaging for die-hard Super Meat Boy devotees like myself. I eagerly await whatever nightmarish worlds Team Meat cooks up for Meat Boy‘s future retro-inspired adventures. Super Meat Boy Forever gets my highest recommendation as a must-play for fans of masochistic, precise platformers.