The End Is Nigh

it pains me that none of my friends have played this

hate this frog skull dudes fr

Feels like Super Meat Boy but even smoother. Not too many fancy mechanics, just platforming perfected. No level select allows them to hide secrets in more interesting places and makes for a seamless experience. Backtracking can be a bit rough but warps and the fact that the levels are much easier when you're not going for the collectibles means it's not too bad. Plus the map indicates the order of the pieces and which ones are missing. My main gripe is actually with the music. Most of the classical pieces the soundtrack is arranged from are 10 or 20 minutes long, but each track is only a couple minutes long, so they end up being just an excerpt repeated over and over, which gets grating. Possibly if you're not familiar with the source material you won't have an issue though.

It definitely is the evil version of Meat Boy. Where Meat Boy is addictive in the right way The End Is Nigh, especially if you want to 100% the game, is the epitome of the sunk cost fallacy. You'll lose hours of work trying to find mega tumors because they didnt have a section select and backtracking is a ♥♥♥♥♥ if you don't immediately clock where they all are or have a walkthrough to keep you company. It feels like you can tell that Edmund is at his breaking point when making this game because what meat boy perfected this game kinda failed at. At least it doesn't have an achievement that encourages you to do a perfect run /sarcastic. Might've actually cured my addiction to precision platformers by showing the ugly tediousness that comes along with it.

A pleasantly tough platformer with a really good amount of levels that don't feel repetitive. Lots of little secrets and bonus content that the game suggests you to eventually get (via progress marks), but doesn't require it. The highlights for me were the classical music tracks remade for a more Ridiculon-y metallic feel and the very variedly bleak atmosphere. Probably the biggest of Edmund McMillen's smaller projects.

This game makes you miserable but you never want to stop playing