Super Meat Boy is an old-school 2D platformer difficult enough to make you beg for mercy and fun enough to make you beg for more.
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Story & Themes
Super Meat Boy is a bit of an homage to old-school platformers, so there isn't really much of a story. Meat Boy has a girlfriend named Bandage Girl. They love each other. No one loves Dr. Fetus, so Dr. Fetus hates everyone. Dr. Fetus beats Meat Boy up and kidnaps Bandage Girl, and Meat Boy is determined to get her back. None of the characters are voiced and the cutscenes are brief. In most of them, Meat Boy catches up to Dr. Fetus and attempts to save Bandage Girl only for Dr. Fetus to place some obstacle in Meat Boy's way, foiling his rescue attempt. It's kind of reminiscent of old Sonic the Hedgehog games in that way.
Save Points
Super Meat Boy features short levels, most of which can be completed within 30 seconds on a successful run. Your progress is saved whenever you complete a level.
Difficulty
Super Meat Boy is known for being difficult, like many old-school platformers. It is often compared to the Mega Man series, which is renowned for its difficulty.
Heads Up!
Violence From the ESRB: "This is a platformer game in which players help an animated cube of meat (Meat Boy) rescue his kidnapped girlfriend. Players run, leap, and cling to walls throughout each maze-like level to avoid a variety of hazards (e.g., meat grinders, spinning buzz saws, propellers). Meat Boy leaves behind gooey red liquid when he lands on these hazards, causing him to disappear in a red spray of blood. Some cutscenes also depict instances of violence: Meat Boy is blown up by a rocket, resulting in cartoonlike blood; a girl stomps and dances on a character named Dr. Fetus, causing puffs of blood to appear."
In other words, there is gore, but it is so cartoonish that it doesn't feel explicit.
Strong Language In one scene, Dr. Fetus flushes a toilet that he is sitting on. The camera follows the pipes beneath it to a small chamber. The doors of the chamber open and out walks a brown version of Meat Boy. A farting sound effect is played.
One scene depicts a character who sticks out their middle finger.
The humor in Super Meat Boy is mostly of the crude variety, but it's fairly tame.
Discrimination Strictly speaking, the story of Super Meat Boy does depend heavily on the damsel in distress trope, featuring a helpless female character who must be rescued by the male hero. However, Super Meat Boy is difficult to take seriously, and it feels more like satire than anything. This is also another way in which Super Meat Boy imitates old-school platformers.
Conversation Starters
- Why do you think girls are more likely to be kidnapped in video games than boys?
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