Meat Matching Nonsense: A Dr. Fetus' Mean Meat Machine Review

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, XBox, Nintendo Switch, PC

Dr. Fetus' Mean Meat Machine is something of an Action Puzzle game (yeah!) set in the Super Meat Boy universe. Team Meat, Headup, and Thunderful Games recently partnered to bring a game that manages to mix Meat Boy's insane difficulty and platforming with a standard match-four puzzle game in the style of Puyo Puyo to consoles and PC. Is this a mix of genres and styles that gel together well? Will you once again break your poor, expensive controller in frustration? And will Dr. Fetus create the perfect Meat Boy clone? Read on to find out! ... Oh, and also read on if you want to see if this game is for you!

The game opens immediately following the end of Super Meat Boy Forever. It turns out that Dr. Fetus planted cameras throughout all the levels and has spent his time since then analyzing the data in the hopes of creating a perfect Meat Boy clone. The problem is that his DNA sample isn't perfect, and the process has been creating countless failures along the way. Ever resourceful, Dr. Fetus decides that the best way to weed out the imperfect clones from the workable ones is to create a test course that will ensure that only the strong survive. The various clones are sent to clear this gauntlet in pairs, with the survivors slowly starting to resemble Meat Boy more and more as they succeed in Dr. Fetus' obstacle course. Seeing as these obstacles are reminiscent of the stage hazards that plagued the original Meat Boy, Dr. Fetus gets the joy of seeing countless Meat Boys get killed while he reaches his goal. You, on the other hand, get the sense of accomplishment for clearing over 100 brutally tough stages. Looking for more story? Well, this is a puzzle game so that's about all you're gonna get!

That's a lot of... salt...

A face only a mother can love.

Gameplay is where it's at with puzzle game, so let's dive into it. I have to say that while the core mechanic is the standard match-four, Mean Meat Machine reminds me more of something like the original Game Boy version of Donkey Kong. That comparison might seem weird, but it's what I thought throughout most my time with the game. Where GB Donkey Kong is a puzzle platformer with an emphasis on the platforming, Mean Meat Machine is something of a puzzle platformer with an emphasis on the puzzles. Each stage has an ending and your job is to match a certain number of like clones while dodging stage hazards with some (sort of) platforming mechanics. Going back to the puzzle gameplay, you match four, they disappear, and all other pieces fall into any empty space, and can even set off a chain reaction if you have it set up that way. The aforementioned stage hazards that you have to be wary of come in the form of missiles, ghosts, giant bugs, saw blades, and more. Touch any of these obstacles with your currently controlled clone pair and you instantly "die". When you die you go back to the most recent checkpoint. Each stage has three checkpoints that are triggered when you hit a certain number of clone matches. This is both a blessing and a curse as sometimes you might find yourself locked into a bad position you have to return to each time you die. This isn't too bad though as clones left on the floor are most often destroyed by the stage hazards in one way or another. You take your pairs of clones, dodge the traps, weave your way to some sort of platform you can land on, and quickly repeat the process until you hit a checkpoint and eventually clear the level.

Saw blades are the main stage obstacle.

Dodging missiles requires timing.

The game is divided into five areas, each consisting of twenty stages, the final of which is a boss stage. Boss stages usually take on a bigger version of the area's main obstacle. Even though the game has these boss stages, there often isn't any new gameplay mechanic introduced. Boss stages basically offer bigger versions of what you've already faced, and you're just tasked to complete your clone sets probably a bit faster than before. The speed of the game is probably its weakest point actually; everything can end extremely fast one way or another. You can find your careful progress wiped out by a stray saw blade, or see a cool combo you took time setting up no longer matter as the stage only needed one more set to clear. Gameplay moves fast, and there is little reason to go back to stages that are completed as there isn't much to unlock (unless you want trophies), and nothing really different to try in terms of tactics. This isn't helped by the fact that the game is one long stretch from beginning to end. You're not allowed to move to a different area or level, and each has to be completed before the next one is unlocked. This means that if you're stuck on a particularly annoying stage your only recourse is to keep at it until you beat it. Also, each save file represents one run through the game and there aren't any extra modes to try out outside of the main story mode.

Since there aren't a whole lot of areas to explore this means that it doesn't take long for you to see everything Mean Meat Machine has to offer. Actually, most areas overstayed their welcome and I found myself wishing that the level count, or maybe the areas themselves, offered more variety. A remix mode, a shuffle mode, or even stages that included more than one obstacle could've livened up the game a lot. Getting through some of the more monotonous parts of the game isn't helped by the high level of difficulty. Checkpoints are turned on by default, and you can even turn on invincibility if you wish, but being forced to continue the same stage dozens of times until you clear it might not be everyone's definition of "fun". I don't want to sound like what does work here is all bad though, it really isn't. Breezing through levels can be fun, and there is a definite sense of accomplishment after you beat a level that had been giving you a lot of trouble. It's just that these moments are few and far between and there's little to really keep gamers glued to the game if they aren't fans of Meat Boy. If you are a fan you'll probably want to see what the next area might be, what the music is like, and how the game itself ends. I never played Super Meat Boy though, so I didn't have this extra level of attachment to the game.

Random level clear screen. I played mid.

Like, what even is this?!?!

There isn't much to talk about when it comes to controls, but I'll try to outline what works and what doesn't. Controls are thankfully really tight as there are several tough spots where you only have a pixel or two to clear an obstacle. You can move your clones, rotate them, and even slow them down and speed them up. There are times when I feel that rotation flings them a bit too much to one side or the other, but this is probably intentional as it's best to always rotate carefully when in tight spaces. You can also dash to the left or right with the shoulder buttons, and this is important if you clear a trap and quickly have to move across the screen to dodge one directly beneath the first. Dash dodging is actually an important skill to master, though using it incorrectly will often get you killed as fast as not using it at all. That said, I wish there was a similar mechanic for dropping your clone as pressing down to accelerate never felt quite fast enough. Slowing down is extremely necessary, and I'm glad it’s included, but the opposite in-game acceleration function doesn't feel nearly as useful. There are times where speed matters, and you have to match clones quickly before a trap returns, but you are limited by how fast the clones can drop and spawn. A quick drop function, or even a down dash function similar to the side dashing, would've greatly helped this game. I still managed to complete all the levels in a relatively short amount of time without it though, so perhaps it isn't as necessary as I may have just implied. It definitely would've been welcomed though as it's a standard puzzle game action, and Mean Meat Machine's controls border on near perfect otherwise.

This first boss was actually my favorite.

I hate bugs.

Graphics are good for the most part, but the problem lies in how much the game has to offer. The clones look adorably ugly, and they even morph as the game goes on into even cuter crimes against nature. Traps, obstacles, and bosses all look equally great, and the animation is always fluid. Speaking of animation, the game has some cool animated scenes at the beginning and the end of the game that made me wish that more scenes like them would've been sprinkled throughout. The lack of variety is actually a problem with much of the game, as there isn't a lot of personality in the characters that are present. Everything looks great, but the levels, characters, even the premise, all somehow feel hollow. Also, since there are only a few areas to visit, the stage types and backgrounds can grow to be a bit repetitive. I actually found it a bit hard to choose screenshots for this review as too many of them looked similar because of the repeated graphic designs, and I didn't want to show too much from the later stages. I don't want to give off the impression that the graphics, or the game itself, are bad, they just are lacking a certain spark that could've pushed them over the edge to perfection. Lastly, Mean Meat Machine is available on PC and all major consoles, and I played it on the Nintendo Switch. Seeing as the Swtitch is usually the least optimal way to experience a multi-platform game, I must say that it ran perfectly. The frame rate never dropped, even when there was a lot of nonsense going on at once. Like a lot of Mean Meat Machine, how much you enjoy the graphics is probably dependent on how much you like Meat Boy itself and its unique graphic style.

HE HUNGY!

Look at this happy little guy!

The music in Mean Meat Machine is done by RIDICULON who did the music of Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac, and I think other games. I mention them rather loosely due to the fact that I immediately had to know who provided the music here, since it's all amazing. Putting it simply, music is the strongest aspect of the game and there wasn't a single track that I didn't like. Apparently some of the tracks are remixes of those found in Super Meat Boy, but seeing as I haven't played that game yet I can't really comment on that. I can, however, comment on how perfect the music matches the action, and it even ramped up accordingly when needed. I'll briefly cover sound effects here too since they are also spot on. The squishy splats of the meat clones being ripped to shreds were quite satisfying. Sound design just rocks here, and I think that I'm going to have to pick up this game's soundtrack later and suggest that you do so too!

Going from Mean Meat Machine's strongest point to its weakest isn't something I planned on doing, but we have to talk replayability. There are a bit over 100 levels in this game and it does indeed come to an end when you clear them all. You can return to them and attempt a challenge run by turning off checkpoints, trying for no deaths, or the like, but I can't see the average player ever doing that. For most people the 100+ levels are enough, and they probably aren't going to pick the game up again afterwards. It's sad because most puzzle games have at least some replayability due to the very nature of the genre, but this is where Mean Meat Machine's unique elements hinder it. The actual puzzle game elements, the match-four mechanic, is very bare bones and I imagine wouldn't be very entertaining if stripped of the stage dangers. Those stage dangers also make it impossible to create a truly "endless" mode as I'm sure they'd make sure that mode's end came quicker than usual. There's also no multiplayer modes to speak of. Part of the frustration I had with this game actually came from the fact that there wasn't anything else to do but go through the levels in a pre-determined order. I'd find myself frustrated with a level with nowhere else to do to relieve my frustration outside of playing a different game. A full playthrough will take people about 5-10 hours depending on skill, and there just isn't anything that is going to keep anyone around post-ending. What's here is not bad, but the game's worth really lies on how entertaining you find its core gameplay.

Levels like this can be so nerve wracking.

That's a lot of ghosts!

Taking all said into account, I still must admit that Dr. Fetus' Mean Meat Machine gets a recommendation from me, but one with a few qualifiers. The sticker price of $9.99 is quite low, and for what you get it's very much worth it, but I think one's enjoyment of this game is very dependent on if they're a fan of the Super Meat Boy game to begin with. It's definitely fun and unique, but I can't picture someone running out to buy this one if they weren't familiar with the game already. Its short length, and lack of game modes, also doesn't give it a lot of longevity. That said, it is an entertaining experience and I hope that maybe we see an update, or an expanded release in the future. It also has a free demo you can try out on Steam so you can get a taste if this is for you there. There definitely is the potential for a great puzzle game here, it just slightly misses the mark. There's always hope though, the game didn't fall into a saw trap at least!

For More Information on Dr. Fetus' Mean Meat Machine:
https://thunderfulgames.com/games/dr-fetus/

Grab Dr. Fetus' Mean Meat Machine on Steam!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2228030/Dr_Fetus_Mean_Meat_Machine/

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​Story: C
Gameplay: C
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: A+
Value: B

Overall: B-

Pros:
+ A unique mix of match-four puzzle, and ultra-hard platformer, gameplay elements.
+ The music stands out as one of the strongest points in this game.
+ Checkpoints and invincibility can make the unforgiving difficulty more accessible if you just want to pass a level.
+ Graphics, animation, and more look great.

Cons:
- The game can be EXTREMELY difficult at times, and some levels are an exercise in patience.
- There isn't exactly much on the puzzle game front as most levels are over in a minute or two if you know what you're doing.
- Replayability isn't really present as the game is pretty short and doesn't have much to do after you complete it.
- Could've been a great game if some of the more interesting parts, like the sectioned off stages, had been explored more.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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#DrFetus

See you this Christmas!