Instead of free movement and a classic bouncing control like in the predecessor, it is an auto-runner. When the grinning meatball hero isn't resting against a wall, he automatically keeps running and recognizes only a few commands. Bounces and the punch attack are started with the same button, which often makes for incorrect inputs in the heat of battle.
So subtleties like the trajectory can only be influenced by holding the jump button or pressing down for diving via stomp and slash attacks. Not exactly ideal when so many traps are scurrying around in the way. In addition to blowflies and unmotivated mushroom creatures, there are of course again tons of wildly rotating saw blades, laser traps, rain showers of deadly syringes, and much more nasty stuff.
The drawings still possess a bit of trashy cartoon charm, but the plain backgrounds look even more dated today than they did in 2010. Since then, as we all know, hundreds of beautifully designed indie platformers have been released, and they haven't failed to leave a mark on the expectations of jump-n-run fans. The sledgehammer humor of the cartoon sequences also seems out of time. They revolve around a classic kidnapping story, in which Dr. Fetus steals the offspring of Meat Boy and Meat Girl.
At least you get a few minutes to breathe while the kidnapped mini-meatball decorates the mech of the enervated meanie. The rock-heavy soundtrack does a better job of keeping the adrenaline pumping.
The boss fights are also one of the strengths of the heavy continuous action: In front of a fortress gate leaning against Contra, for example, it's really fun to whiz through the air in circles to catapult rolling bullet crabs into the face of the cyborg doctor. Of course, before they crumble him, you have to figure out what exactly the hero has to do to do this in the first place. After the attacks, a wild escape from the rotating laser beams starts again and again - which of course only doesn't end fatally if you scrupulously stick to the appropriate rhythm. And afterward, a macabre little replay shows how often and in which places the poor meatball has been shredded.
Conclusion
This late return is more likely to make for disappointed fans of the juicy indie favorite. The auto-runner principle with randomly generated elements simply doesn't have the same addictive factor as perfecting the classic, better-designed levels in the original. In Super Meat Boy Forever, too many elements just don't seem polished enough for such a crunchy platformer, so the difficulty level fluctuates noticeably. The control scheme with its unnecessarily simplified button assignment also wears on the nerves. But the boss fights and optimizing the path through the puzzle-heavy passages are too entertaining for that.
