Super Meat Boy 3D (2026)

I appreciate the attempt to move to 3D to keep things fresh. In the early levels it feels mostly okay but it felt harder to read as I went on and determine where in the space some platform or trap was.

I also really don't like the look. It feels so generic and lackluster, as if it was just a bunch basic placeholder assets.

Had very fond memories of the original, I played with my wife and we passed the controller every few deaths or so.

This seems like a natural progression and the same feelings of wonder, rage, relief and achievement returned.

I was a bit hesitant with the controls, adding a third dimension to a game that requires pinpoint precision platforming, speed and timing could be a recipe for disaster if not done well. Thankfully, for the most part, the controls felt great. There are a few oddities like sometimes I wasn't sure which direction to go and occasionally the reticle that showed where I was going to land in a 3d space felt misleading.

Aside from that, this is one hell of a platformer.

It's hard as nails and not for the faint of heart. I hit the end credits on the light world, but not after thousands of deaths and an equal amount of swear words elicited. You have to be prepared to die, a lot, particularly in the last few worlds. Each stage was a trial and error and sometimes I was shaking my head at how challenging it was. However the level design and hazards were always interesting, never boring or repetitive. Sometimes I'd die 70 times or more on a single level, but when I finally cleared it, the relief and satisfaction hit so hard. The emotions highs were absolutely worth the lows.

Wall jumping, air dashing, sprinting and scouting felt like I was fighting a nondescript enemy every second. The boss fights were absolutely brutal, they kicked my ass as hard as any level (save for the end boss oddly enough).

No chance I'm doing the dark world, or going for A+ on every level, or bandages. That's a level of masochism I'm not willing to attempt.

Great stuff overall but I'm looking forward to a more relaxing game next. This is about my limit!

This week, I tried the new Super Meat Boy 3D demo - It's maybe 9 or 10 levels. 2/3rds are the first world and the last 3 are in a (much harder) toxic waste dump. In all, it took maybe ~30 minutes, though experts can prob. do it in 5 minutes or less.

For fans of the original, this one does a good job of capturing it in 3D! The levels are quick and require a high degree of precision, the controls are good and the visuals are simplistic, clean and well done.

If there is one thing I that didn't work though , it's how the levels & camera obscure what is coming next. For instance, in the toxic waste are holes that you need to jump into (with blades running up+down naturally)...but you realistically have no way of knowing where the next platform is till you jump in. In these cases I died not for lack of reaction, but because I just didn't know whether I needed to be jumping into the background, foreground, left or right until it was too late. Mercifully, the levels are still short (< 45 secs) so you bounce back quick.