I don't often write reviews, but I thought I would with this game since I do foresee this review section being mostly negative. As someone who actually really likes this game, I thought I'd give my perspective.
(Also, if you're curious about my playtime; I bought this game on it's EGS launch day and have completed it 7+ times since then).


Super Meat Boy Forever is... polarising. That's definitely the word. The biggest (and most infamous) change with this game, is that it's an autorunner. There is no manual left or right movement - Meat Boy is constantly moving in some way or another. People will read that and envision a game like Geometry Dash, but this game is nothing like Geometry Dash or anything of the sort. When I played this game, I was actually surprised at how little the autorunning affected the creativity, scale, and difficulty of the level design, especially with Meat Boy's new move set. Meat Boy can now punch and slide, on top of his typical jump. Punching also serves as a 'dash' manuever. The levels aren't just Meat Boy constantly moving left to right, occasionally jumping or sliding whenever something comes towards him. There's verticality, timing, precision and focus required with each jump. Exactly how it was in the first game.

Another big difference is how levels are generated. Each level is made up of 'chunks'. According to the developers, there are over 6000 different chunks that the game can make levels out of. Every single one of these chunks are hand-crafted by the designers - no random generation, all hand-crafted, polished, play-tested and given their on par-time to beat. These chunks are then put into their own specific pools, and when you go to play a level for the first time, the game will take around 8 of these chunks out of a specific pool, put them together (in a surprisingly seamless manner), put checkpoints at the beginning of each one, add the par-time for all of the chunks together as the overall level par-time, and voila. You have a Super Meat Boy Forever level. Most of these chunks, while not exactly Edmund-level, are actually quite well designed. Very rarely do I see a chunk that is just plain bad. 95% are very well put together, and are fun to figure out even while you're getting your arse walloped.

Now, why did they do this? Well, for replayability. Each level has about 100 chunks in their pool of which they can be drawn from. Which means that when you finish a level for the first time, there are about 90 chunks you haven't seen. Apply that to the 70+ levels in the game, and that's a lot of content you're missing out on! When you start New Game +, the game remembers the chunks you have seen, removes them from the pools, and draws JUST new ones for you to play. According to the developers, you can NG+ a save file around 8-10 times before the algorithm starts re-using chunks you've already seen. Chunks are typically the size of a regular Super Meat Boy 1 level - around 10-30 seconds long.

Each and every single level introduces some sort of new mechanic. In the early chapters, it's usually just the typical saws, dirty syringes, fans - things that Meat Boy fans are all too familiar with. In the later chapters however, the game starts to go in its own direction and Meat Boy is given whole new abilities that change his move set. The levels go into slightly a more puzzle-y direction as the chapters progress. They're still very platform-y, however.

Clunky segue but it is partially related to level design; the boss fights and warp zones - they're fantastic. Both are a HUGE step up from the first game. I think we can all agree that the boss fights were by far the weakest part of Super Meat Boy 1. They were way too easy, forgettable, and lacked charm. They're still a little easy in Forever once figure out their gimmick (and there are still unfortunately no dark world versions of the bosses), but they're still fun to fight on subsequent playthroughs. And warp zones... I don't really want to spoil the warp zones. You know a warp zone is nearby when the screen starts to glitch out. Just find them and enjoy. They really caught me off guard.

Yet another big difference is, of course, the art style. The first Super Meat Boy game had a very Newgrounds-influenced art style, with very "blocky" looking environments. It still looks great and definitely has a unique charm to it, but it does look rather dated. Forever's art style takes a more cartoon-y approach. While it may not be quite as "unique" as the art style of the first game, it still looks beautiful and no two levels look the same. The cutscenes are sublime, too. Everything is so bouncy and lively, it's able to be humourous without a single word of dialogue, and there are a lot of details that I don't notice until I watch it for the up-teenth time that just make me smile and appreciate the effort that went into these. Team Meat hired professional animators and artists to make this game's visuals, and it shows.


This game is difficult. VERY difficult, at times. I have come across a handful of chunks that have honestly given me more trouble than even Super Meat Boy 1's hardest levels. Is it harder than the first game? Well, Forever takes on a slightly different approach to it's predecessor's "trial and error" style of difficulty. In the first game, more often than not, the camera was zoomed out so you could see the whole level right as you spawn. You can plan out the path you need to take, it's just actually executing it is where you'll have your difficulties. Whereas with Forever, it's almost the opposite. The camera is quite zoomed in, so you can't map out the full chunk right off the bat. You will have to dive in head-first into a lot of these obstacles to get an idea of what you're supposed to do.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing on it's own, but there is also a collectable required for 100% where you have to beat the whole level without dying. This, and the "die to learn the level" approach this game took, it becomes more of a memory game than anything else. And with how many obstacles you face in each level, you will inevitably forget *something*, and you have to restart the whole level just because the game expects you to memorise literally EVERYTHING. It's quite unfair, and has honestly discouraged me from going for max completion. These levels were just simply not designed with deathless in mind. EDIT: Turns out there are also achievements that have you complete all six levels in a chapter in a row, without dying. So there's that. Doesn't matter if they're "for a challenge" - these achievements were BS on OG Meat Boy, and are even more BS on this one.


Questionable 100% completion and minor nitpicks aside, Super Meat Boy Forever is really solid. To quote an article, "...it does more with 2 buttons than most games do with 14." In a lot of aspects, this game is actually an improvement on the first game. It does sadden me that most people wrote off the game as soon as they heard that it's an autorunner. Games like Temple Run or Mario Run (games that Forever annoyingly gets compared to often) are NOT representative of what an autorunner can be - this game is, and it does a hell of a job at it.

There is a question I often ask myself; is Forever a step forward or a step backward from the first Super Meat Boy game? Well, I don't think it *needs* to be a step forward. I can't really call it a step back either since it still does absolutely everything it sets out to achieve with flying colours.
I'd consider it more of a step to the side. I don't think it tried to 1-up the first Super Meat Boy - it just merely built off it, and spun the gameplay into a different direction. For better or worse? Well, that's up to you. But just be sure to go into it with an open mind. You will definitely be surprised.