Super Meat Boy is an entertaining indie game developed and released by Team Meat in 2010 (Xbox Live Arcade, Steam). Super Meat Boy tells the story of a little Meat Boy whose girlfriend was kidnapped by the evil and malicious Doctor Fetus. Abused and insulted, the Meat Boy sets off in pursuit, striving to intercept the villain and reclaim his beloved. However, Doctor Fetus turned out to be much quicker than his opponent and managed to escape far away. To reach his enemy, Meat Boy must undergo a whole series of diverse levels, solve countless puzzles, and defeat numerous foes.
The game has received many various awards and honors, and its popularity served as a catalyst for the development of the indie genre worldwide. Developers sought to release projects that were even remotely similar to Super Meat Boy, and many succeeded in doing so. Nevertheless, Team Meat's game held its position in various rankings for a long time, and the total number of copies sold quickly surpassed one million.
In Super Meat Boy, you can find five chapters, each consisting of twenty different levels. It’s not necessary to complete them sequentially; you can skip several levels at once and then return to the problematic section. At the beginning of the journey, it is quite easy to play, but then the gameplay gradually becomes more complex—new traps, new enemies, and other troubles appear. The most interesting part is that the player cannot move on to a new chapter until all twenty levels are completed. Only then will a separate mission unlock in which you must defeat a boss. Once the player successfully completes all five chapters (100 missions) and defeats all the bosses along the way, the sixth chapter with five additional episodes opens up. It is here that Meat Boy must confront his main opponent—Doctor Fetus.
For fans of extreme difficulty and hardcore gameplay, a seventh chapter is available, which offers two dozen additional levels. In this chapter, you do not play as Meat Boy, but as his companion Bandage Girl. Moreover, after all the hours of adventures, you can replay the game but with doubled difficulty.
During his epic journey, Meat Boy can find bandages that should be collected to unlock new playable characters. Additionally, the main character encounters special warp zones that offer to participate in various mini-games. At this moment, you cannot change characters; you have only three lives for it all.
Super Meat Boy is not only a fun and unique game but also extremely challenging. Completing even one moderately difficult level on the first try will not be possible, which again is a reference to happy childhood gaming. A single puzzle can stall your progress for several hours, leading to bloody calluses on your fingers and gray hairs on your head. For those who can complete Super Meat Boy from start to finish, a monument can indeed be erected.