Poll: Who the hell does Super Meat Boy appeal to?

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Stickill

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Jan 1, 2010
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The game is meant to be hard. But not in a unfair way.
Yes, lots of levels have some seriously precise jumping required, but it never was really impossible. There were also no random traps/monsters that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, you could always see them and predict their movements.

So if you die a lot, which you should, it's always the players fault.

And yes, the levels are indeed sometimes very long, with one trap after the other, but that is part of the hardness. And after all, when you do the start right after a few tries, you usually get the hang of it, making those first jumps easier to do, so you can focus on the other traps.

I personally found it a very fun game, good level design, funny story and smooth controls.
So it appeals to me at least.
 

Pat728

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Feb 21, 2010
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SMB is very legitimate and fair with it's difficulty. There's no suprises or tricks. Obstacles work the same everytime, nothing is hidden. There's no leap of faith gameplay, and the control is very well put together. The light world really isn't even that difficult anyways. The difficulty really only gets ridiculous in the cotton alley, certain warp zones, and the later dark worlds. And even then, it's still straightforward.
 

SoulSalmon

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Sep 27, 2010
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While I haven't played SMB, I thouroughly enjoyed getting the impossible badges on Kongregates flash copy of Meat Boy and the Map Pack ;)

I also enjoy the old Megaman games and played Battletoads:Battlemaniacs to death as a child, I am a gamer who likes difficulty, SMB is catering specifically to my demographic.

That said, I won't be buying it, I have enough on my plate as it is right now and there are plenty of games left on Kongregate that still have unearned badges on them...
 

IMakeIce

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Dec 21, 2010
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Hard game is hard; if you don't like having to push your reflexes, memory, and coordination to that level, then don't play the game. It's as simple as that. Super Meat Boy doesn't hold a candle to I Wanna be the Guy.

I have played most of the game, and have watched the levels I didn't play. There's nothing bullshit about any of the levels, they simply don't hold your hand through them. This complaint is a product of modern game design catering to the "I can't feel good unless I can easily beat this game in 1 try" crowd. I long for the days of Battletoads.

I suspect a more no-risk game experience is more what you're looking for. Ever tried Interactive Buddy?

By the way, the developers have been quoted in interview stating that some of the hardest levels in the game were actually made easier before release.
 

Cartman2nd

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May 19, 2009
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I paid 3,50 for it and had a blast in the first 4 light worlds and 3 dark worlds. The rest? To goddamn hard.
 

C117

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Aug 14, 2009
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lacktheknack said:
Did things pop out at random to murder you? Were all the obstacles laid out for all to see, or if they weren't, was it easy to predict what would happen where and when?

If the answer is no, yes, and yes, then the level design seems perfectly fair to me.

If it markets itself as a really hard platformer, then it better make me rage quit at least twice! Thus, I'm eagerly anticipating getting it, as you've only upped the appeal to me.
What are you waiting for? Get it! It's difficult and frustrating without ever becoming boring.

At least that's my opinion...
 

Nalgas D. Lemur

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Nov 20, 2009
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Internet Kraken said:
I don't get how people can enjoy a game that, statistically, you will not beat. As only 4.5% of the people who own this game have beaten the light world, according to Steam.

4.5% of all the people who bought this couldn't beat it. And I don't think it's because all 95.5% of those people suck at platforming games. I think it's because towards the end of the game the amount of bullshit overpowers the game's redeeming features.
If you look at the Steam stats for most games, most of them aren't too much different. Most people never finish most games they play for various reasons, whether it's too hard or they just lost interest. Under 10% of people have even lost a campaign in AI War, much less won one (which is under 6%), but it's easily one of my favorite multiplayer games of the past year, and it's trivially easy on the lower difficulty levels if you just want to win a game (but brutally hard on the higher ones). It just isn't a short game.

Anyway, I own Super Meat Boy, but I haven't started playing it yet. I kind of got sidetracked by Just Cause 2 for the past few days (which I bought against my better judgment, and then I discovered that it's surprisingly entertaining to just dick around making stuff explode and got sucked into that for a dozen hours), but this thread is making me want to try it out now. The last platformer I played was VVVVVV, and beating my head futilely against the Veni, Vidi, Vici challenge 300+ times in a row until I finally got it was one of the most satisfying things I've done in a game in a long time, even though I find stuff like that irritating a lot of the time. Sometimes it's just fun for some weird reason.
 

Smooth Operator

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Oct 5, 2010
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The game is punishing hard yes, but it is not unfair (no crappy leaps of faith, invisible/hidden traps,...), no cheap tricks just precise platforming.

But it is no joke balls hard, your teeth will grind and you may very well end up bald before you finish it.
 

C95J

I plan to live forever.
Apr 10, 2010
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It's called a hard game... if you don't like it don't play it in my opinion.

I love it as a challenge.
 

Fishyash

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Dec 27, 2010
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I think everything except bugs/bad controls or chance are fair game for level design.

I don't understand why just because you need near perfect execution to beat a level means that a game is bad. I personally believe that pretty much any execution-based game can be beaten with ease if you play it enough. The hardest level in the world could be beaten with your eyes closed (not literally) if you know it well enough.

Perseverance is an important test in the more difficult games in general, and generally execution challenges become easier the more you do them.

I think quite a lot of people are able to beat super meat boy, but just haven't bothered or gave up too early. Quite a lot of platform challenges seem to be deemed hard just because you haven't played them enough.

I personally have not gotten super meat boy, but it looks like fun and when I first saw it I considered buying it.
 

Jaranja

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Jul 16, 2009
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I saw a few levels of it on youtube and did not want it. It just looks shallow.
 

Harlemura

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May 1, 2009
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As much fun as dying and dying and dying sounds, Super Meat Boy is certainly not on my "To Get" list.
I enjoy just finishing games, that's why I play on easy mode all the time. Not knocking the people who enjoy a challenge, just saying I'm not one of them.
 

GeorgW

ALL GLORY TO ME!
Aug 27, 2010
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It appeals to masochists. It's really hard, and for hardcore players that want a challenge. I've only played the flash versions, but it really seems like a great game for those that like it. I didn't buy it, cuz I know that while I loved the flash game, once I payed for it I'd get frustrated. Maybe you should have realized what it was you bought?
 

Griphphin

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Jul 4, 2009
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I just got to 100% last night and I can say that it was so, so worth the price of admission. It's a hard platformer, with challenges that are clearly laid out and in your face about being challenging.
I love a good challenge, and Super Meat boy provides just that.
 

snave

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Nov 10, 2009
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Unfortunately, I'd agree with the complaint at the top with regard to a handful of levels. Some of the silhouette levels in particular are full of invisible shit, and not just the secrets. The repulsors and unmarked fans in a few stages are also are minor examples of dodgy design. Now, I played on Steam, so aside from that, wall clipping bugs and lag especially on the troublesome yet fancy silhouette stages and in most of the Hospital made parts just infuriating. Inputting the same commands twice identically though muscle memory and getting two wildly different responses? Those cases are not fair difficulty. In some cases, I was able to beat all the Dark World stages (bar the one still locked of course) with A+ but not one of the light world stages AT ALL due to bugginess.

The website says the developers are trying their best to patch this though, but still, gah!

The End and The Cotton Alley stages at the end are however examples of fine and fair level design that don't rely on cheap gimmicks. Kinda wish there were more like them earlier in the game.

Also, being forced to watch the intro animations for worlds and warp zones in particular over and over again was something I didn't exactly want to put up with. Same goes for the couple of infinite lives non-saving checkpoint parts of the game, such as the characer unlocks and ending.

Despite all this, I did thoroughly enjoy the bits I could play and I'd recommend it with caution. I wonder if and how my opinion would change if playing on a console?