Super Meat Boy is renowned for its brutally challenging, pixel-perfect 2D platforming, where repeated deaths are part of the learning curve and even celebrated through simultaneous replays. Naturally, there’s been much anticipation about how this precision-based gameplay would translate into a 3D environment. Unfortunately, based on an early gameplay demonstration, the transition appears to be less than ideal.
My preview session explored the game’s initial stages, encompassing tutorials and a few more extensive levels riddled with traps and obstacles. To its credit, Super Meat Boy 3D successfully captures the essence of what players expect from the series. You once again control a gooey, blood-red slab of meat, racing through treacherous stages to rescue your beloved Bandage Girl from the nefarious Dr. Fetus. Each stage concludes with you reaching Bandage Girl, only for Dr. Fetus to whisk her away, prompting the iconic replay showing all your failed attempts in a chaotic, yet fitting, summary of your struggle. The game’s characteristic irreverent humor is also fully present, even down to subtle nods to its Super Mario Bros. inspirations.
[A video featuring the ‘Super Meat Boy 3D Announcement Trailer | Xbox Games Showcase 2025’ was originally embedded here.]
While players have complete 3D control, the early levels I experienced primarily guided movement along eight cardinal directions. Like its predecessors, Super Meat Boy 3D encourages rapid progression—the dash button is introduced early and is crucial for most jumps. This directional emphasis likely aims to keep the initial stages digestible and prevent players from being overwhelmed by too much freedom too soon.
However, this approach isn’t quite sufficient. The environments are surprisingly cluttered with overgrown brush, winding vines, and tall grass. Later levels shifted to murky sewers filled with rusty pipes and scaffolding. The original Super Meat Boy thrived on its minimalist, easily discernible level designs, which allowed for its rapid pace and unforgiving traps. In contrast, Super Meat Boy 3D‘s busy visuals often cause hazards to blend into the background, leading to frustrating, unavoidable deaths that feel less like fair challenges and more like oversights. While ‘learning-by-dying’ is a series staple, these particular deaths often feel unfairly attributed, especially when the same obscure trap claims you repeatedly.
Adding to the frustration is Meat Boy’s rather floaty and imprecise movement. It’s a nuanced criticism, as the original game also featured a light, air-steerable protagonist, allowing for incredibly precise mid-air adjustments. But when applied to a full 3D space with more freedom, this identical physics model doesn’t translate effectively. It seems the 3D adaptation clung too closely to its 2D roots without adequately adjusting to the unique demands of a three-dimensional environment. The new wall run ability, a seemingly natural fit, also felt difficult to chain smoothly with other jumps, contributing to the overall sense of imprecision.
[An image depicting Super Meat Boy 3D gameplay is shown here.]
Interestingly, Super Meat Boy 3D shines brightest when it temporarily abandons its 3D aspirations. The camera frequently adopts a traditional 2D side-scrolling perspective, following Meat Boy’s horizontal movements and occasionally delving into the 3D planes. Moments where you sprint forward, scale a wall, and then deftly jump between spinning blades effectively recreate the original 2D platforming experience within this new dimension. In these instances, the mechanics align with the classic 2D version, and the game is significantly better for it.
Super Meat Boy 3D is currently slated for a 2026 release, which leaves ample time for the developers to refine and optimize the gameplay. If they can tweak this 3D installment to achieve the satisfying feel of the classic 2D platformer, Team Meat might still have a remarkable game on its hands. For now, however, the experience remains as messy as Meat Boy himself.
[An image gallery titled ‘The Best Side-Scrollers Of All Time’ was also featured here, but is omitted per instructions.]