Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 76 | 156 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 89% | 82 | 457 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 72 | 41 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 90% | 84 | 300 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Apr 14, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 280 total reviews in window · weighted 171.1 up / 19.1 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (85)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“Super Meat Boy 3D had a mountain of expectations to climb, and against all odds, it conquered them. While the autoscrolling boss fights are a frustrating misstep and the grotesque 3D art style will undoubtedly divide fans, the moment-to-moment gameplay is spectacular. Sluggerfly has successfully translated the unforgiving, blisteringly fast magic of 2010 into a new dimension. If you have the patience to die a few hundred times and the foresight to tweak the default control settings, this is a spectacular, bloody return to form., Flare”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Super Meat Boy 3D is a fairly careful reimagining of a hardcore classic. The concept survived the transition to 3D reasonably well, retaining its punishing difficulty and diverse mechanics.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“For the most part, the transition to 3D was successful - the new game is about as hard to put down as Super Meat Boy was in 2010. Sadly, in some levels you have to fight with the camera rather than the traps and hazards that Meat Boy encounters.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Super Meat Boy 3D is a game built on a simple yet brutally effective cycle of failure and progress. Each level is short but extremely intense, and every mistake immediately sends you back to the start without unnecessarily slowing you down. This creates a unique rhythm where constant failure becomes a natural part of the learning process. At its best, the game draws you into a smooth flow where you’re no longer focused on individual attempts, but only on the next precise jump. Even though it occasionally stumbles in terms of difficulty balance and some ideas feel underdeveloped, it still manages to create a highly addictive experience that compels you to try again and again.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Super Meat Boy 3D may not be quite the same watershed moment for indie gaming as its respected predecessor, but there's a lot to love about this one and would say that Sluggerfly and Team Meat have largely stuck the landing in the transition to a new dimension.Tight controls, tough, rewarding gameplay, and lots of replayability all stack up in its favour, even as frame rate and camera issues hold it back from being a flawless successor. If you're looking for an addictive platformer that'll push your skills to their absolute limit, I'd give this one a strong recommendation.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“By the time the credits roll on Super Meat Boy 3D, the overriding impression is of a project that is both bold and self-aware, one that respects its heritage while fully confronting the challenges of reinvention. This is not simply another sequel, but a deliberate reworking of the series’ core identity: an attempt to carry an almost flawless formula into a fundamentally different space, with all the risks that entails. What stands out most is the developers’ refusal to rely on past success. A safer, more predictable continuation of the 2D formula would have been easy to justify. Instead, Super Meat Boy 3D takes the more demanding route: evolution. That choice alone signals a clear intent to expand the series rather than preserve it unchanged. In gameplay terms, much of what defined the original Super Meat Boy remains intact, precision, responsiveness, and a relentless, failure-driven loop that rewards persistence and mastery. The core satisfaction is still there, rooted in overcoming difficulty through repetition and improvement. The transition to 3D, however, introduces unavoidable compromises. The immediate clarity of the 2D plane gives way to greater spatial complexity, with camera control and depth perception occasionally affecting readability. The result is not necessarily a worse experience, but a less direct one, more layered, less instinctive, and at times less “pure.” The challenge endures, but its delivery changes. Crucially, Super Meat Boy 3D does not replace its predecessor; it complements it. Where the original stands as a near-perfect expression of 2D platforming, this entry explores a broader, more complex direction. It does not always improve on what came before, but it offers something distinct, an alternative shaped by its own ambitions. Despite its shifts, the game retains a strong identity. Its irreverent tone, visual style, and uncompromising design philosophy remain consistent throughout. Even when the move to 3D exposes limitations, the underlying vision holds firm. Ultimately, this is a game defined more by its ambition than by absolute execution. It demands patience, adaptability, and a willingness to engage with a more complex, less immediate structure. It is not designed for everyone, but for players willing to embrace its demands, it delivers a challenging and rewarding experience. In the end, Super Meat Boy 3D stands as a bold, imperfect evolution, one that may lack the purity of its predecessor, but succeeds in carving out a distinct identity. It is divisive, occasionally uneven, yet undeniably purposeful, and for that reason, difficult to ignore.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Super Meat Boy 3D is the exact opposite of the unsuccessful experiment that was Super Meat Boy Forever. On the contrary, this new installment truly succeeds in bringing the series back into the spotlight without compromising its identity, emerging not only as a worthy sequel to the original but also as a solid 3D platformer that works perfectly even outside its traditional audience.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Super Meat Boy 3D is a surprisingly successful and respectful modernization of a brutal platforming classic, translating its speed, precision, and unforgiving level design into 3D with confidence. The camera and depth perception can occasionally make the challenge more frustrating than fair, but the tight movement, instant respawns, strong PC performance, and huge amount of replayable content make this bloody ride well worth the pain.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Super Meat Boy 3D isn’t Shakespeare, it’s main antagonist is named Dr. Fetus, afterall, but I found its platforming puzzles to be largely solid across the board and I was impressed by its adherence to the idea that the game will happily beat you down, but the way back up from that is through perserverence. Perserverence that it’s happy to show you that you posses by watching your level replays.”
read full review ↗ - 93
“For fans of brutally-tough platforming, this 3D incarnation of everyone’s favorite bloody glob of meat more than delivers, with plenty of variety, secrets, and maybe some periodic crying…”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Super Meat Boy 3D does some really cool stuff fantastically well, and it's incredibly satisfying, but unfortunately, the game is very unbalanced in this regard. It's a real shame, as with a bit of polishing, this title could easily be one of the best speed-based, skill challenge-style 3D platformers. For fans of Meat Boy, this game is a no-brainer; for others, it might be a little undercooked.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Super Meat Boy 3D stands as one of the boldest reinventions in the genre, successfully transitioning into a fully 3D experience and unlocking a level of potential that likely wouldn’t have been realized had the series remained in its original form.”
read full review ↗
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Patch history
- First Super Meat Boy 3D Update brings Fixes and Improvements!Apr 14, 2026significant · resets scoring window