King of Meat Is a Bland Game, but With Potential to Positively Surprise

Finally, Amazon Games is trying to offer players something different than another MMO game. There's no denying that New World isn't doing well, so this time Amazon is trying its hand at a completely different genre.

When I got to the King of Meat show, I felt like I was looking at the most bland game ever made. The television show's convention, combined with an almost fairy-tale graphic style, seemed to be aimed at capturing the interest of the youngest audience. This impression was further reinforced by the appearance of the characters, which seemed to be a mix of Fortnite and Fall Guys, incorporating probably everything that was catchy.

Let's look at the pros: at least it's not an extraction shooter

I don't remember the last time I was so indifferent to the sight of a game. The trailer of King of Meat was essentially about nothing. It seemed to reveal the game's theme, but it didn't manage to generate any emotions. King of Meat was being publicly showcased at this year's gamescom for the first time and many potential players will be left with just this: a trailer and a few screenshots.

It's not enough to be remembered - and I know that from personal experience. Although it makes a rather mediocre impression, King of Meat is actually a pretty cool game, you just have to play it to find out. However, few people will be willing to give King of Meat a chance because it won't be a free-to-play game. Developers have described the title as "mid-price premium," so it will probably be priced at 30-40 dollars.

King of Meat, Amazon Games, 2024

I think the game would be more successful as a F2P, since it will have microtransactions, although they will be only cosmetic. In fact, a free distribution model would give the game a better chance of attracting players. Cross-play is expected to support both consoles and PC, which will definitely help in finding companions for playing together.

What is King of Meat about?

In the universe of King of Meat, this is the most famous television show, and we are trying to become its stars and win the title of "king of meat." King of Meat is a cooperative platform game that focuses on setting and breaking records, whether playing in a group or alone.

An important element is the leaderboard, where the best players are displayed on banners. You can check your statistics for each map and compete with other players. King of Meat will also feature a story campaign. However, the game focuses on multiplayer, alongside the creativity of the players.

As I mentioned earlier, despite a bland first impression King of Meat is a cool game. Our job is to complete the stages as quickly as possible, with the fewest deaths and the highest number of points. We earn these for collecting treasures, defeating enemies, not dying, and for the time it takes to complete the level. Based on the given map, one to four players can enter the battle, but the gameplay is by default designed for a four-person team.

The maps showcased featured a variety of enemies to defeat, platform puzzles, and traps - sometimes all at once. The level creation tools used by the Glowmade studio will be made available to players.

King of Meat, Amazon Games, 2024

Without this element, King of Meat would probably get bored quickly. However, creative people will have the opportunity to shine. Once a level is designed, players can test it, and if it gets community approval, it will be officially included in the game. Some maps may end up in Komstruct Koliseum, which is a place for ranked matches - if it will be popular among players, and its theme will match the main motif of a given season.

King of Meat's control is one of its greatest advantages. I used an Xbox controller during the tests, and the character's abilities and actions were mapped to buttons in a way that makes movement, jumping, dodging, and fighting feel natural. As I mentioned before, the game is heavily focused on platforming, so you don't really sense the weight of the weapons or the power of the special attacks (the devs attempted to create the illusion of this in two-handed hammer combat, but it still wasn't quite there). On the other hand, I didn't expect much depth from a game with nonserious atmosphere. However, the character's movement strongly reminded me of Fall Guys (you can similarly throw yourself forward during a jump). However, in King of Meat, the controls allow for greater precision. It's also very responsive: as soon as I pressed the button, I saw the action on the screen. The tests were conducted in a controlled environment, and it is unknown how it will perform with fully loaded servers.

All players meet in one place

Before we set off to conquer the underground, we need to prepare for the fight. Ironlaw Plaza is the main hub where we meet other players and buy necessary items and super skills, such as necromancy that heals the team or a shield that reflects enemy attacks. During the game, we collect many types of currencies - some for achievements, others for winning the gold cup at the end of a given map.

Furthermore, we will change the weapons in the hub, with a total of several different types. During the tests, we only had the opportunity to check the shield with a sword (quick attacks aimed at one enemy) and a two-handed hammer (slow area attacks). Additionally, we have a crossbow/grenade launcher, but the usefulness of extra long-range weapons is somewhat similar to The Witcher 3 case - it's very situational.

King of Meat, Amazon Games, 2024

Each of the main weapons gains experience, which allows their special attacks to deal more damage or have a greater range. So we are dealing with some progression of our character, but only in terms of weapons. The appearance is purely cosmetic and the new armor won't improve our statistics in any way. An interesting feature is the accessories that we can freely shrink and enlarge, allowing us to stand out even more in the crowd.

We can also purchase healing potions in Ironlaw Plaza that boost inflicted damage or reduce damage taken from traps/explosions. This allows the players to get ready for different maps - there are always three options to choose from, and the team votes on which one they prefer to play on.

My worries about King of Meat

King of Meat is still in the development phase, so some of my concerns may be addressed in the future, but at the moment it doesn't seem likely. I believe that cheaters will attack King of Meat quite fast. The game uses Easy Anti-Cheat, which, as we know, isn't the most effective.

Friendly fire is a more complex issue that can potentially lead to unpleasant consequences. In King of Meat we can throw our companions off the platform or inflict damage on them. I experienced it most on the level where another player and I ran down to battle the skeletons, while the rest of the team threw explosive barrels at the skeletons from a distance, which also caused us significant harm.

King of Meat, Amazon Games, 2024

Playing with friends is always fun. However, I am aware that playing with strangers online will be much less enjoyable. Friendly fire can be easily abused for griefing and can force someone to leave the team. This is connected to another issue, as the developers have revealed that they don't currently plan to automatically add players to ongoing missions. If we don't have a full team, it's a game over because some gate-opening buttons require four players. King of Meat is set to have a built-in system for reporting toxic players, but for now, we don't know how effective Glowmade will be in eliminating such people. Part of the moderation is to be automated, which of course has its pros and cons.

King of Meat's future is unclear

The previously mentioned player population is probably the biggest concern. King of Meat doesn't encourage you to buy it - chatting with other invited players at the show, I learned that I wasn't the only one with that impression. The gameplay demonstrated the game's potential, and the only thing it lacks for such an entertaining experience is a split-screen multiplayer mode.

To have someone to play with, you need to rely on finding people who are willing to buy the game. I think this will only happen when a larger streamer introduces King of Meat to a broader audience. In a different scenario, I don't anticipate success, even though I would definitely want to be mistaken. The game's marketing primarily highlights the humor of the gameplay.

However, if the promotion is well executed, the game will easily gain more popularity than New World. The greatest potential lies in the creative mode, which allows for creating new maps. If Glowmade continues to develop the tool for creating more elaborate and wild levels, it could capture the interest of speedrunners, who can use internal stat tables to compare themselves with other players.