Super Meat Boy is one of the most challenging platformers ever made, and has become an icon of the maskcore subgenre since its launch in 2010. Even despite this status, not a single player over the past 15 years has managed to solve the difficult task of completely completing the game without dying. That is, it wasn't until last month when speedrunner Shredberg finally overcame a monumental challenge and earned praise from the game's original co-creator.
Immortality in certain parts of Super Meat Boy is not unusual – after all, the game has many achievements for completing individual worlds without dying. But completing the entire game, including all the bonus levels required for a total completion of 106%, is a completely different story.
Edmund McMillen, who created Super Meat Boy before moving on to certified roguelike classic The Binding of Isaac, was one of many who took notice of Shredberg's achievements. “Congratulations!” McMillen stated Twitterfollowed by the phrase “You're amazing” pointing to Shredberg, complete with a little smiley face for emphasis.
Super Meat Boy's difficulty is notorious, but considering the game's popularity among ultra-challenging platformer enthusiasts, it's pretty darn surprising that it took this long to finally get a full, immortal game. Challenging games usually inspire masochistic gamers to immediately tackle the most ridiculous challenges imaginable, but I think Super Meat Boy is truly too complex to be taken lightly.
