Super Meat Boy Forever – Nindie Spotlight – Run, Forever, Run
When Team Meat announced Super Meat Boy Forever back in 2017, fans of the original had extremely high hopes, as Super Meat Boy is considering one of the pioneers of modern indie games. To many fans’ surprise, Super Meat Boy Forever changes the pace from a wildly difficult platformer to a wildly difficult infinite runner, and this changed the game wonderfully!
My name is Jason, and this is your Nindie Spotlight for today: Super Meat Boy Forever!
Super Meat Boy Forever
Super Meat Boy Forever takes place a few years after the events of Super Meat Boy. Meat Boy and Bandage Girl have been living a happy life free of Dr. Fetus for several years, and they now have a wonderful little baby named Nugget. Nugget is joy personified, and she is everything to Meat Boy and Bandage Girl.
One day while our heroes were on a picnic, Dr. Fetus snuck up on them, beat Meat Boy and Bandage Girl unconscious with a shovel, and kidnapped Nugget! When our heroes came to and found that Nugget was missing, they knew who to go after. They cracked their knuckles and decided to never stop until they got Nugget back and taught Dr. Fetus a very important lesson. A lesson that can only be taught with punches and kicks.
Team Meat stepped it up tremendously this time with the story, and one of the lovely surprises throughout Super Meat Boy Forever is how they combine multiple stories that ultimately come together in the end. The cutscenes alone are worthy of praise, and the ending sequence is a tear-jerker. It is an exciting journey that expands upon the universe and its characters, but there are a couple things about this lovely title that deserve extra attention.
New Formula, Same Ol’ Meat Boy
The change that scared Meat Boy fans initially ended up being the change that the series desperately needed. Super Meat Boy Forever is a unique infinite runner, which means you do not have control of the joystick or directional pad in the game to dictate which direction Meat Boy or Bandage Girl goes. Instead, they will run constantly in the direction they are heading, and you have to use the face buttons to jump, punch, and wall jump (Which changes direction) your way to victory.
Most of the format is relatively the same, and tons of the instruments of death used to kill Meat Boy in the original game are back to do the same. Thankfully, there is so much more than that, though, as Super Meat Boy Forever boasts lots of new items, enemies, and mechanics to mix things up and challenge the player in ways never challenged before.
In addition to all of that, hidden pacifiers are spread out through the entire game, and these are extra challenges that make certain sections even harder than normal, as you need to retrieve the pacifier and reach the checkpoint without dying. Sounds easy, but it’s not. Thankfully, you unlock lots of characters for collecting these, and just like the original title, some of these unlockable characters are fan-freakin’-tastic!
The Bosses
Another area of concern initially for Super Meat Boy Forever was how they were going to do bosses. Well, in ways quite similar to the original, the bosses are within certain boundaries that you have to figure out exactly how to hit them without getting touched, because remember, Meat Boy and Bandage Girl die in one hit. That means there is a lot of wall jumping in these boss fights, and figuring out the timing in some of the battles is insane but also tons of fun.
Applying the new mechanics as well as the ass-kicking attacks that the pair are equipped with in Super Meat Boy Forever, boss fights genuinely feel like fights this time around. Meat Boy and Bandage Girl can do flying punches and kicks, as well as down-diving attacks that make them formidable opponents. Gone are the passive ways of defeating bosses and in are the ways that give our heroes a chance to show Dr. Fetus who’s boss once and for all.
The other thing that makes these boss fights feel so special is that they are all so different in how they play. Team Meat did a fantastic job finding multiple ways to make “infinite runner” boss fights interesting, compelling, engaging, and challenging. This may truly be the greatest accomplishment of the game, as it takes something seemingly limited and gives it limitless power.
Super Meat Boy is an absolute gem in the indie gaming world, and it is undoubtedly one of the most influential indie games of the modern era. That means a lot was riding on Super Meat Boy Forever, and honestly, Team Meat knocked this one out of the park.
In addition to the content mentioned, Super Meat Boy Forever boasts unique stages that are custom for each new playthrough, which ultimately makes the game beyond replayable. On top of that reality, there is a Dark World that adds even more gameplay and challenge, so for the masochistic player who enjoys dying hundreds and hundreds of times, this may be the perfect game for you.
So get ready to get mad at Dr. Fetus and save your lil’ Nugget! Because Meat Boy and Bandage Girl mean business, and they are not stopping for anyone until they get their baby back. Won’t you help them?
There is your Nindie Spotlight on Super Meat Boy Forever. Check back again next time for a look into another great Nindie title. What are some of your favorite indie games? Let us know in the comments below! Thank you for visiting Nintendo Link. Happy gaming, everyone.
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