Team Meat has a bit of a reputation for difficult games. They came out swinging with Super Meat Boy, and later dropped its sequel Super Meat Boy Forever. The meat makeover of Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine is no exception, even with the addition of Headup Games as the developer. I’d even argue this is harder than the platforming predecessors.
Calling a game difficult in this day and age rings a bit different than in the aughts. However, Dr. Fetus’ Mean Meat Machine is very different than the ever popular and inescapable Soulsborne genre that’s known for its difficulty that started in 2009. For anyone unfamiliar with the game that inspired this one, it’s a puzzle game following Sonic’s nemesis Robotnik where two different colored “blocks” are dropped together, and they can be placed as desired. Connect at least four of the same color and they will pop, making room for more combinations. In Dr. Fetus’ game, you’ll need to complete a set amount pops to progress, with levels usually increasing in difficulty as you fill the completion meter.
What this game does is different from most within the genre. While you’re still aiming for a high score and fast completion time, you’re not doing so unobstructed or against a computer opponent. Each level has its own obstacles straight from the Super Meat Boy legacy. While matching colored meat clones that evolve as you progress (ending with Meat Boy himself), you’ll be dodging saws, ghosts, lasers, rockets, and bosses. For those that can’t stand the challenge and wish to see all the levels, there are a couple modifiers available: game speed and invincibility. The point of the game is avoiding the traps while creating combos, and there’s so much accomplishment that is robbed when using these modifiers, although I can admit I wouldn’t have beaten the game without them.
There are a few different types of trouble you must avoid. In addition to being killed on contact, there are also ghost blocks that will mess up your strategy. These can either be dropped at random, or they’ll result from electric lasers hitting the meat cubes. If you’re using the invincibility modifier, the lasers will be your worst enemy, because they’re the main thing that will affect your experience. The other thing is the existing cubes being destroyed – while death of a cube you’re moving starts you over at the checkpoint, once a set is placed, death doesn’t matter. And there will be plenty of death as you progress. However, even without the modifier, you’re able to acquire invincibility by creating combos – the bigger the combo, the longer the invincibility. This is basically required for some levels.
The boss levels provide the most difficulty, especially the final one (obviously), but they are also some of the most satisfying to figure out. I’m honestly surprised there hasn’t been more attempts to enhance this genre of puzzle game – the hazards seem to fit so well. One of the biggest problems I had with the game was the soundtrack. A standout part of the original game was Danny’s tunes; I understand things happened that resulted in composer changes, but I’ve never cared for the replacement music. The same goes for this – I found myself muting it as I got more and more frustrated from the constant deaths. The game doesn’t offer anything in the way of multiplayer (as of writing this at least). I could definitely picture fun ways to implement it, but there’s plenty of content as is, and the challenge of getting an A+ on all of them will keep players plenty busy. It’s important to note that getting an A+ isn’t possible with modifiers activated, which is how it should be. Allow players to experience the game as desired, but block off certain achievements if used.
If Super Meat Boy ends up breaking out into different genres with excessive difficulty, that’d be just fine with me. I’m ready for the SMB Metroidvania as well as the Jump and Shoot series. Dr. Fetus’ Mean Meat Machine is one of the strongest (and easily most difficult) puzzle games I’ve ever played, and I’d challenge anyone with a love for Puyo Puyo games to say otherwise.
9 out of 10
Pros
- Amount of Levels and Variation
- Bosses
- Accessibility Options and Consequences
Cons
- Soundtrack
Dr. Fetus’ Mean Meat Machine was developed by Headup Games in conjunction with Team Meat and published by Headup and Thunderful Games. It is available on NS, PC, PS4, PS5, X1, and XSX. The game was provided to us for review on PS5. If you’d like to see more of Dr. Fetus’ Mean Meat Machine, check out the official site.
Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.
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