The warp zones in the original Super Meat Boy provided an entertaining detour from the main levels. They would be hidden within regular levels, and you need to jump your way through them to get access. Doing so would open up a retro-styled challenge with limited lives to complete multiple levels, with you going back to the beginning if you fail.
They were challenging and enjoyable, and Super Meat Boy Forever brings them back with some twists. One of the warp zones that you can jump into is about halfway through the Turn Your Head level in The Clinic. You will know that it’s close when the bars and screen will start to glitch out.
It requires some well-timed jumping and dashing to reach and dive at the end, but it shouldn’t take long to get to. As there is some procedural generation to levels, it may also look slightly different to you.
The level that you will be taken to from the Warp Zone is a homage to the Test Your Might bonus stages in the Mortal Kombat series, but with a Meat Boy twist.
It’s called Test Your Meat, and what awaits you is a deviously difficult platforming section. Your task is to gain enough power to reach the threshold to break through the material in front of you. But unlike its inspiration, mashing buttons quickly will not work here.
Instead, you will see a miniature Meat Boy in the meter with platforms to navigate and a bar to reach within the time limit on screen. The controls for this are not obvious, so you will need to learn what to do quickly. Pressing and holding jumps are required to maximize height at every opportunity.
It feels very much like a standard level, but with the speed required to reach the objective, you need to use the platforms to gain momentum on the way up. You can also press jump in mid-air to propel yourself to the opposite wall very quickly like regular levels. It takes some time to acclimatize to the space available, but once you have worked out a pattern for getting around and up the stage, you should be able to make lighter work of the target.
For the section where the gap is in the middle, you will need to jump at around the same height as the platform below, preferably from the right wall to allow you access to the left side of the gap.
Once you reach the target, your “Meat Boy” character in the middle will chop through the material. Failure to reach it will simply show you failing.
There are three obstacles to chop through, with Wood, Diamond, and then a circular saw. If you fail at any point, you will go straight back to Wood to start again, and if you fail on the Saw stage, you will be treated to your own Fatality.
If this happens, you will be transported back to the main map screen. Simply enter the Warp Zone to try again.
Keep finding patterns of jumps to climb the meter and once you have reached the target for each of Wood, Diamond, and Saw, you will have completed this Warp Zone challenge.
