The Meating Review

Genres: Platform game, Puzzle

Developer: Mega Cat Studios

Platform: Nintendo Switch

Publisher: Mega Cat Studios

Initial release date: August 29, 2024

The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle was published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989. This was a puzzle platformer in which players controlled Bugs Bunny to navigate areas and dodge obstacles in order to reach the exit. It was distinct from Super Mario Bros. in that the player could not hop and instead relied on teleporters and elevators. These were harmless but ultimately boring platformers that were more bothersome than enjoyable.

Crazy Castle became a series for the developer Kemco, who released four sequels. It was a formula that appealed to needy children who received gifts from uncaring parents. Someone at Mega Cat Studios must have been one of the unhappy children that grew up playing Crazy Castle, because they now want to inflict their anguish on everyone else.

Is The Meating more than a Crazy Castle with a unique character? Is it possible to improve on what Kemco established back in 1989? Probably. It wouldn’t be too difficult to outperform a NES game created in the 1980s, but what if The Meating was made specifically for NES hardware?

The Meating is a weird NES game about a minotaur who is killed and his ghost seeks revenge on the butchers who cut him up. The tale is played for laughs, and the pixel art is moody-as-hell, with a significant emphasis on dark shadows that resembles the looks of a real NES game. This is because The Meating is a genuine NES game released in 2024 and converted to Nintendo Switch. It also includes a Game Boy Advance version.

The makers aimed for authenticity while also ensuring that it was devoid of the flaws typical to NES games. The Meating features no sprite flickering, no slowdown, and a very precise collision. While not quite as spectacular as Little Samson, the images are generally well-drawn and animated. The artwork depicts the dankness of numerous components of the meat packing process, including hanging gutted animal products and dripping blood.

The lone visual letdown is Kon, the protagonist’s sprite. He’s intended to be a spirit bull of some kind, but all he gets is a head and a horrible excuse for a body that looks like a slug. The character’s design is too intricate to implement with NES specifications while remaining scaled to match the dimensions of a single tile. It feels like you’re playing as a logo rather than a character.

The Meating looks as good as a NES game from the 2020s can be. The gameplay is designed similarly to Crazy Castle games, with players needing to find a key before proceeding to the exit. Unlike Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker, Kon can jump and have ghostly skills. The skills provide much-needed variation because there aren’t many ways to make a key unreachable, and The Meating contains over 60 levels, which is unprecedented for most NES games.

Ghost skills such as possession and telekinesis get a lot of use, while others are overly situational. As entertaining as the ghost powers are, Kon’s core movement and controls feel overly airy. While this makes logical given that he is a ghost, it doesn’t feel right while playing. Controls feel a tad sluggish, particularly Kon’s charging assault.

The Meating features a decent adversary variety, albeit you wouldn’t notice it at first. The game is so long and spread out that it takes a while for players to encounter the other enemy types. Stages are quick to accomplish, but after a while, the game becomes white noise, and each level blurs together.

Except for bosses, the steps to achieve the goal will vary depending on the level, but the aim will always be the same. Each stage always contains a few screens, and the solutions are simple enough to find out quickly. Most of the time, games will have solved the stage in their brains and will have to go through the laborious process of playing it out gradually.

The Meating is a monotonous game that manages to be entertaining thanks to its strange and dark graphics. Being a real NES game is only worthwhile if players look for the NES cart and play it on the original hardware.

Playing The Meating on a recent system removes the game’s lone originality. This is only for lovers of Crazy Castle who wish the protagonist could jump and do other things. Everyone else will be bored to tears.

Review Overview

Gameplay: 88%

Controls: 85%

Aesthetics: 90%

Content: 83%

Accessibility: 78%

Value: 84%

Overall: 85%

TERRIFYINGLY MEMORABLE!

Summary:

The Meating immerses players in a dark and frightening survival horror game that blends atmospheric visuals with a stressful tale. Despite its shorter runtime, the game’s compelling narrative and graphic style set it apart in the horror genre. The controls complement the exciting action, though accessibility options might be expanded. An excellent choice for anyone looking for a frightening yet engaging horror adventure.