![\"Super](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_291847958-9a80.jpg\")
\n\t\tSuper Meat Boy 3D \u2013 try and try again (Headup Games)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tSuper Meat Boy 3D \u2013 try and try again (Headup Games)<\/p>\n
One of the most beloved indie games<\/a> of the Xbox 360<\/a> era finally gets a new sequel, as Meat Boy enters a new world of pain in the third dimension.<\/p>\n It might have been the 40th anniversary<\/a> of Super Mario<\/a> Bros. last year but somehow we find it more terrifying that the original Super Meat Boy<\/a> is 16 years old this year. Originally released for the Xbox 360, at a time when indie games on consoles was still a relatively new concept, it was part of a wave of 2D platformers, that included N+<\/a> and VVVVVV<\/a>, which demanded split-second timing and offered absolutely no margin for error.<\/p>\n This was all happening around the time of Demon\u2019s Souls<\/a>, as FromSoftware\u2019s ascendence helped cement a new era of difficult video games<\/a>. Surprisingly, none of that really helped Super Meat Boy. The whole genre was later eclipsed by the peerless Celeste<\/a>, and it wasn\u2019t until 2020, and the deeply disappointing Super Meat Boy Forever<\/a>, that any kind of sequel arrived.<\/p>\n Forever was beset by all sorts of horrible new ideas, including randomly-generated levels and auto-running, in what seemed to be a carefully calculated attempt to create the most frustrating and unenjoyable game possible. We can immediately reveal that Super Meat Boy 3D is not that bad, but there\u2019s still a lot of issues to chew on.<\/p>\n The original Super Meat Boy did not have a complicated premise. You played as the titular cube of meat, trying to rescue your girlfriend Bandage Girl, in a series of 2D platform levels filled with saw blades, grinders, lasers, and all manner of other devices designed to kill you instantly. When that happens (and it is a case of when, not if) you have to restart, with only a trail of myoglobin, that you constantly drip behind you, to aid you in pointing out where you went last time.<\/p>\n This new game uses the same premise, except now with 2.5D levels faintly reminiscent of something like Super Mario 3D World<\/a>. This alone is an almost insurmountable problem for the game. The original was ruthlessly difficult but it was fair, with pin-sharp controls that never let you down. The inherent uncertainty of 3D movement makes this all but impossible here, even with a locked down camera and limited control options.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tExpert, exclusive gaming analysis\t\t\t<\/p>\n Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter<\/a> for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n It\u2019s not as if the controls are awful but in a game where you\u2019re desperate to blame anything but yourself for repeated failure any inconsistency is disastrous. The biggest problem is judging depth, as you move into and out of the screen, where it\u2019s far to easy to misjudge exactly where you are in 3D space and thus end up with a homing missile in the face.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worse when you\u2019re in the air, where you\u2019ve got less to judge your position against, and while the game tries to help, by showing a little red circle to indicate where you are, it just isn\u2019t instinctive enough and you never fully trust either yourself or the game. By default, there\u2019s also an option to use purely digital controls, so you can only move in eight directions, but it\u2019s just another fudge that doesn\u2019t entirely work.<\/p>\n Slightly more successful is Meat Boy\u2019s new air dash move, which is most useful for altering the angle of your movement while in midair. To what degree it was intended to be used like that we\u2019re not sure, since its primary purpose seems to be in shaving precious seconds off your completion time, but it\u2019s useful all the same.<\/p>\n These problems are a shame, but the whole game is built around precision platform and it just\u2026 isn\u2019t precise enough. But there\u2019s also something off about the level design. It\u2019s fine, in principle, but the level themes are mostly just a forest and a series of largely interchangeable industrial areas. The platform construction is okay, but nothing ever feels quite as clever or surprising as it should do.<\/p>\n Working out how to navigate a level through trail and error can still be fun but while it\u2019s satisfying to overcome a stage that, at the start, seemed literally impossible the thrill quickly dissipates across the course of the game.<\/p>\n Super Meat Boy 3D remains a speedrunner\u2019s dream game but adding an extra dimension has done nothing but take away from the appeal of the original. The central conceit, of making a 3D version of a 2D precision platformer just isn\u2019t a sensible idea and while the implementation is flawed the biggest problem is that it just wasn\u2019t a very good idea in the first place.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tSuper Meat Boy 3D PS5 review summary\t\t\t<\/p>\n In Short: Super Meat Boy in 3D seems to be an inherently flawed concept and while this does its best to make navigating the third dimension feasible, the end result feels frustratingly imprecise.<\/p>\n Pros: It\u2019s better than the last game and speedrunners will appreciate the challenge, with plenty of rewards for skilled play. The digital control option is an interesting idea.<\/p>\n Cons: The controls just aren\u2019t precise enough to replicate the original, even with a suite of gameplay aids and fudges. Level design rarely stands out, with some fairly dull level themes.<\/p>\n Score: 5\/10<\/p>\n Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X\/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC \t\t Email\u00a0gamecentral@metro.co.uk<\/a>, leave a comment below,\u00a0follow us on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n To submit Inbox letters and Reader\u2019s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our\u00a0Submit Stuff page here<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this,\u00a0check our Gaming page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow
Price: \u00a319.99
Publisher: Headup Games
Developer: Team Meat and Sluggerfly
Release Date: 31st March 2026
Age Rating: 16<\/p>\n![\"Super](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/SEI_291847881-b219.jpg\")
\n\t\tNot a prime cut (Headup Games)<\/p>\n
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