Super Meat Boy 3D is an overall tight adaptation of the iconic Team Meat platformer into the squishier third dimension. The visual style loses some of its unique Flash edge in the transition to 3D, but the stages themselves retain the teeth-clenching challenge and goofy humor that made Super Meat Boy so beloved.
I’ve enjoyed Super Meat Boy’s various forms since the original Flash game dropped on Newgrounds in the late 2000s, and between a platformer, an endless runner, and a falling-block puzzle game, I’ve felt pretty well-fed. Along comes Super Meat Boy 3D, which seeks to translate the intense challenge and tight platforming into 3D. I wasn’t sure how this would go, but I’m happy with the outcome overall.
The many levels of Super Meat Boy 3D are well-designed and delightfully challenging for the most part. Though the game definitely has a slower start in getting the difficulty rolling, once it starts swinging, it really starts swinging. I had upwards of 50 deaths on some levels, but just like with Super Meat Boy, getting back into the action after losing is so quick that you never feel too discouraged. Plus, being able to see all your deaths at once after beating a level is as satisfying as it was in 2D.
I was surprised by how well the mechanics of Super Meat Boy have carried over to Super Meat Boy 3D, with wall-running and the weighty yet smooth jumps feeling completely natural in 3D. The levels still require you to use these skills with precise timing and sharp reflexes, so it doesn’t come off as substantially different from the feel of the original game. I also dig that the playable characters have different properties and skills, as this adds even more ways to take on stages. If you play as Meatball Boy, you’ve got to work around him bouncing up and down constantly without input, while the Bridge Constructor Truck goes quicker than most. There’s a surprising amount of characters to unlock, too, so you’ll be pretty frequently rewarded with new ways to play.
Super Meat Boy 3D also has content to appeal to pretty much any type of platformer fan. Completing the levels alone is satisfying, but beating them within the tight A+ time, playing all the Dark World levels, collecting the usually pretty well-hidden bandages, and finding the secret levels and characters will test your platforming skills in all different ways and add a lot of fulfilling length to the game. If you’re looking for a platformer that’s filled with consistently well-designed content, this is a more than solid choice.
Super Meat Boy 3D does lose some of the series’ memorable style.
A big part of what made the original Super Meat Boy stand out was its gritty Flash-drawn style, which sold how gross but endearing Meat Boy and his fellow weirdos were. It was very distinct and almost dirty-looking, so I was a bit bummed to see that Super Meat Boy 3D has lost much of that unique essence. Everything looks smoother and cleaner, making the game lose some of the edgy vibe that I love so dearly. Meat Boy still leaves a nasty trail, and the characters don’t look off-model or anything, but something was definitely lost regardless.
That being said, there’s still some griminess in the mix. The more you die, the more most of the characters you play as take damage, leading to Meat Boy and his kin looking absolutely ravaged on especially tough levels. The bosses also have cartoonishly goofy designs that fit the bizarre nature of the series’ existing characters.
The Final Word
Super Meat Boy 3D may lose a bit of its distinct look in the move to 3D, but the many tense and thrilling levels and the breadth of well-designed content make it a mostly worthy trip into the third dimension. I hope Meat Boy keeps getting weird and distinct new games going forward, as the little skinned fellow seems to have a lot of life left in him.
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