After a whirlwind few long time , I thought I ’d finally gotten a hold on Amazon Games ’ style . The publisher has set off find success with game likeNew WorldandLost Ark , both of which cater to the kinds of hardcore PC actor who lie with dense RPGs . I figured that would be the company ’s direction hold out fore as it settled into a big genre niche and made a period of play for a more international interview .
And then I playedKing of Meat .
Amazon ’s late project is unlike anything the studio has put out yet . develop by Glowmade , King of Meatis a bright and silly co - op dungeon nightwalker that feels like a mash - up ofLittleBigPlanetandFall Guys : Ultimate Knockout . It ’s a menage - well-disposed biz about smashing skeletons , collecting Au , and conquering sand trap - filled dungeon built with an telling creative suite . Though it ’s sure as shooting a strategic departure from exertion likeThrone and Liberty , that might be precisely what Amazon needs . King of Meatalready has the makings of a multiplayer smoothy . It ’ll just have to acquit some familiar obstacle if it ’s going to survive the shaky existence of modern gaming .
Dungeon crawling
King of Meatis set in a fantasy human beings in which corporations have craft the double-dyed reality competition show . Warriors are placed into teams of four and transport into dangerous dungeons full of monsters and bunker . The goal is to make it out live while collecting as much dinero as potential , which can then be expend on cosmetic and special moves that will wow the audience . It ’s a sleek gameplay loop pumped up with shiny onward motion and reward iteration that make each completion feel worthwhile : clear a dungeon , spend the spoilage in a hub , repeat .
The project is a big moment for developerGlowmade , a small studio apartment result by industry veteran from Lionhead , Media Molecule , and other . studio apartment Head Johnny Hopper previously worked onLittleBigPlanetand that influence is immediately ostensible inKing of Meat ’s graphics style and playful existence suite . It may voice like a big project for such a sleek studio , so it ’s not a surprise to read that it was originally a smaller idea made larger thanks to a deal with Amazon Games .
“ The projection started animation as a skunkworks side task , ” Hopper tells Digital Trends . “ We acknowledge we want to do drug user - engender message , but this was going to be a little self - published indie thing . It was a top - down four - player keep crawler . And then we had the chance to gear to Amazon and I was like , ‘ cat , it ’s Amazon . We ’ve acquire to make it a little more expensive ! Make it third - person . ’ And it kind of worked ! ”
While the project would scale in ambitiousness , Hopper say that the current translation is n’t far off from Glowmade ’s original vision . The squad wanted to mash together an eclectic lean of inspirations include WWE , The Running Man , andLabyrinth . All of those influence come through in the over - the - top reality TV premiss full of orotund - than - living heroes ( even if they ’re kind of adorable ) .
During my demo , I ’d clear several dungeons with a full four - person squad . After pass our gold on paraphernalia , particular abilities , and one - sentence perks in a pocket-sized hub sphere , we leave out into the Koliseum , where we could prefer a “ conference ” and vote on which donjon we ’d want to tackle from a list of three options . Once we chose one , we were drop into a series of elbow room that would postulate teamwork to get through . No two dungeon were the same . One had my squad cautiously platforming spiky peg spun around us . Another revolved around bombs , which we could pick up and toss to botch up up loot - occupy box in each room . Each one requires me to use my Yoshi - esque flutter jump and melodic line dive to duck around obstacle , all while stand off enemies and grabbing sugar .
Combat is fairly straight , with basic light and heavy battle royal attacks , straddle crossbow stab , and particular abilities like a rubber duck’s egg grenade . There are a few in high spirits - point twists , though . For one , players rack up a combo measure the more they hit things and , in turn , nurse the interview . That create a score multiplier that can avail them pick up a gold prize , granting the squad better terminate rewards . Players can also unlock unexampled arm licenses and stat boosts through a conflict slip away - like advantage rails . I ’d roleplay a few cycle as a quick swordsman before switch over to a backbreaking hammer that can smash my foes . Each artillery has its own progression tree diagram , so player have some motivator to seek every weapon typewrite out .
While nothing is too mechanically deep , King of Meatchecks a lot of box when it comes to afun multiplayer secret plan . The good moments of my session just come from my teammates bump into one another and decrease into disorderly mischance . It ’s the same appeal as a natural philosophy - based game likeFall Guys , but in a clean package with lots of progress hooks to tag .
Getting creative
What ’s impressive is that every dungeon I essay can be made with the same precise creative tools that musician can use to create their own challenges . While I did n’t sample that myself , a video showed off how intuitive and gamelike the tool is . It ’s as easy as snapping elbow room together , degenerate down obstacles like Legos , and erase blocks to remold the way . Players can even do some light programming to set up gimmicks like door - open up permutation or lever tumbler that need to be hit to stop a destruction trap from spinning . The puzzle platforming potential feel firm here already and I ’ve only learn a smattering of the 100 levels shipping with the game . The real fun will come from a originative community .
As I spiel , a quite a little of plot come to take care . LittleBigPlanetis an obvious influence , butFall Guys : Ultimate Knockoutis the bigger one . Some of the obstruction course - style levels I played feel like they were pulled from that biz , with obstruction like giant mallet , bean - like character , and the entire contention show premise . According to design manager Mike Green , those game were n’t the only influence . In speaking about the creation manner , Green mentionsSuper Mario Maker — an obvious influence consider that players have to clear their own creation before uploading it .
“ We attend at all manner of games like Mario Maker , ” Green say Digital Trends . “ That ’s a really sound one from a gameplay physical object point of view . When you play Mario , you experience what the dark-green pipe does , you get it on what the Koopa is move to do . You have it off what all these thing are in this inherent design language . We ’ve judge to build this in a similar fashion to that . If you see this thing , it ’s going to consistently always have this behavior . ”
After getting a sensation of what Glowmade is going for , it ’s easy to see why Amazon was interested in the project . It look like another shoot game , has a powerful initiation suite that could give it a retentive backside , and offers plenty of room for ornamental monetisation , as thespian can stick decorations like car horn anywhere on their hero . Surprisingly , though , King of Meatisn’t being positioned as a free - to - play game ramp up on microtransactions . It ’ll be a premium game that player corrupt instantaneously , something that ’s bound to be a double - edged sword .
On one paw , it ’s always encouraging to see companies move away from microtransactions and focalise more on a strong , paid experience . That does n’t always pan out for fellowship - focused games likeKing of inwardness , though . Multiplayer title likeFoamstarsandKnockout Citystruggled to make a splash with premium launch in recent years andKing of Meatdoes feel like it ’s court a similar hearing . There ’s a bit of a harsh reality that multiplayer game like this case right now ; it ’s not always enough to be great . I had plenty of fun withKing of Meatin my first sitdown with it , but I ’m not certain that it ’s outstanding enough to skip through a cluttered food market . That will belike hinge on what its community can do with the dungeon founding suite .
unknown achiever stories have come about , though . I never would have guessed thatFall GuysorAmong Uswould become multiplayer megahits . IfKing of Meatcan keep its price item low and leverage services likePrime Gamingto get it in as many hands as possible early , it could take off . It has the flow - well-disposed giddiness down ; it ’ll just need the right plan of action to get eyes on it .
King of Meatis presently in growth for PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X / S , Nintendo Switch , and PC .
