Photos courtesy of "Indie Game: The Movie."After watching (and reviewing) the documentary, "Indie Game: The Movie," I set out to review the top three indie video games mentioned in the film: Super Meat Boy, Braid and Fez. Each feature very different spectrums of indie gameplay, and they all share artistic elements in their plot, animation and soundtracks. Introducing the first miniseries on Eye Candy, I will review each game in my next three posts. Up first, is the fantastically infuriating “Super Meat Boy,” available on Xbox 360, PC and Mac.
Encapsulating the life of Meat Boy from creators Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes’ previous flash game of the same name, Super Meat Boy tells the story of a boy, unsurprisingly made of meat, attempting to rescue his girlfriend, Bandage Girl, from the villainous Dr. Fetus (who is quite literally a small fetus controlling a robot body and wearing a top hat). Even though the plot is fairly dull, the gameplay surely makes up for the lack of story.
The art in the game is simple but intriguing. While Meat Boy himself is fairly straightforward in design, a mere square with some more quadratic details, his expressions are eloquent, if not caricature-like. This creates a fun, lovable hero, even if he is just a hunk of meat. Starting with a short animation sequence, the game instantly shows off its comical style with a hint of sarcasm. At the end, the title sequence appears with an “Insert Coin” command flashing just below it. This intro is eerily similar to the 1991 "Street Fighter II: The World Warrior" introduction and is the first of multiple parallels throughout the game.
Reminiscent of retro video game art of the late 80s and early 90s, McMillen and Refenes made sure to illustrate the influence their childhood favorites had over their modern product. In fact, almost every level intro pays tribute to world 
renowned game titles. From "Castlevania" (1986) to "Mega Man II" (1988) to "Pokemon: Blue Version" (1996), each animated cutscene creates an almost identical parallel featuring the Meat Boy characters. For old-school gamers, this nostalgia reminds them of the pixel art and 8-bit soundtrack featured in some of their past favorites.
With more than 300 levels (including hidden and bonus material), the game promises hours of frustrating puzzles and challenges. Every stage calls for an intricate series of moves and timing, forcing the player to recall previous levels in order to advance. I played the game on my friend’s PC where the controls were fairly simple once I realized you have to press “Shift” in order to run faster or jump farther. Even after taking too long to realize this key control, the game was very difficult. Every time I successfully passed a level, I was elated, which made the game’s payoff extremely emotional.
Another factor of the game is its replay feature. Showing the player’s every attempt at beating the level combined into one sequence, you watch as Meat Boy fails and fails until finally reaching his goal. Every once in a while, I passed a level in just one or two tries, but most of the time, the replays showcased Meat Boy meeting a demise seemingly hundreds of times, only making each success that much sweeter.
Provoking even more evocative thoughts, Super Meat Boy’s soundtrack, created by Danny Baranowsky, provokes many evocative thoughts by using the same techniques and 8-bit quality of old-school games. (Listen to it here.) With intense synth and a strong percussion beat, each song furthers the aggravation that comes with a loss, similar to old Gameboy or NES games. Very intense and almost aggressive, it makes players want to pass each level faster and better, improving on their game time as a whole.
Overall, Super Meat Boy is perfect for a gamer seeking a challenge. I highly recommend it for long-time players; seeing some of your favorite titles re-imagined in a new way makes for a fun, nostalgic experience. Available for purchase on Steam and Xbox Live Arcade, Super Meat Boy is well worth its cheap price of $14.99.
Contact me at adersch@asu.edu or @AlexDersch with questions, suggestions or comments. The more communication I get from you the better Eye Candy will be. Thank you!
