Super Meat Boy released on the PS4 and PS Vita a few short days ago, some years after the original outing on the Xbox 360 and PC platforms. As part of October’s PS Plus offering, Super Meat Boy was frowned upon by some as being a cheap release, but that’s certainly not the case.

Super Meat Boy is Super Mario Bros. with gruesome death, harder levels and a skinless princess; it’s Super Mario Bros. for grown ups.

Don’t be fooled by the game’s simple presentation; it’s nowhere near as easy to play as it is on the eye. It’s platforming in its purest form, where timing is everything and one wrong jump will doom you to a meaty death, causing a restart of the level. Yeah, it’s hard.

Super Meat Boy’s goal is simple; rescue Bandage Girl whose always stuck in some castle of sorts. Again, it’s very Super Mario Bros., except there’s no mushroom headed goon to cry and tell you to move on to the next level.

Thankfully, the controls are as tight and responsive as you could wish for in a platformer, so for the first few levels you’ll be breezing through without a care in the world. It’s only when you start coming up against the more difficult levels that you’ll most likely turn the air blue. Expect to die, and expect to die a lot. Unlike other games where death is a hinderance and stunts the flow of the game, Super Meat Boy’s demise is often quite comical. I tried in vain to jump from one wall to another, only missing out on saving the damsel by mere pixels before plummeting down to the sawblade below, splattering his gooey self all over the show.

I’ve not yet managed to finish the game, and in truth, I don’t think I’ll ever manage to. But I’m alright with that, the fun is in the challenge and with a mate or two sat around to watch me fail, it’ll be providing the laughs for quite some time.

Summary

If you’re looking for a decent platformer that will really test your skills as well as your patience, Super Meat Boy is your, er, boy. It’s available all month for free as part of your PS Plus subscription, so go ahead and give this one a shot. If you’re not a PS Plus member, you’ll have to pony up a few quid, but even then it’s well worth its price. It’s truly a timeless classic, again, just like the NES side-scroller it takes its inspiration from.

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Disclaimer: Not really needed, but this review was conducted using the PS Plus download of the game.