The End Is Nigh

A frustratingly difficult game that I couldn’t get enough of. [10/2017, p.59]

The End is Nigh is a complete success. Not only does it bring back memories of Super Meat Boy but it also speaks a new language. Outrageous replay value, precise controls and impressive level design deliver a new platforming masterpiece from McMillen and Glaiel.

The End is Nigh is a platforming experience at least as amazing as Super Meat Boy was in 2010. Flawless level design, difficult jumping and addictive gameplay for one of the best indie games we have seen in 2017.

A great platformer, challenging, with a lot of content and a perfect control. One of the biggest surprises of the year.

If you've loved the versatility of McMillen's first two works, you can not miss this title.

Brutally difficult and thrilling 2D platformer with Metroidvania innuendos, a crazy scenario and motivating learning curve.

This game will not become the new Super Meat Boy, but it is an excellent hardcore platformer you will love through hate.

The End is Nigh ultra precise platform challenges will make you throw you controller at the wall with frustration. Still, you will return to its charismatic, intelligent and well designed world in a masochistic loop that reminds us of its elder brother: Super Meat Boy.

If you couldn’t get enough of Super Meat Boy and have spent the past seven years fiending for more punishing platformers, than The End of Nigh is something you should immediately inject into your veins. If you are usually iffy on super-challenging platformers, but curious if this is the one that will turn you around, keep on walking.

Despite making players run the same levels multiple times, The End Is Nigh is a worthy successor to Super Meat Boy. It offers the same ludicrously hard and satisfying approach to level design and spices it up with some substantial changes. Its interlocked world introduces some fun exploration, even if it can be a pain to backtrack through brutal gauntlets time and again. But if you’ve found the platform genre a little too lenient in recent years, The End is Nigh will give the fix you’ve been looking for.

Anyone who enjoyed Super Meat Boy is likely to have a good time with The End is Nigh. Both games are very similar, with the latter being a somewhat more mature and thought-provoking platformer. Ed McMillen knows how to make his games hard and addictive and that has not changed here. Sometimes the unrelenting challenge can lead to fatigue, yet at the same time that sensation of being worn out and battered is extremely fitting considering the portentous atmosphere in the later sections. There really is no other talent like McMillen working in the industry. The man crafts simple and easy to pick up games that are extremely difficult, yet at the same time combine sardonic wit, dark humour, and a foreboding solemness.

The End is Nigh is as brilliant in exploration as Super Meat Boy was as a plateformer. More and more challenging through the entire game, it offers a great feeling of accomplishment once finished properly.

There's a lot to like in The End Is Nigh, and seeing the Super Meat Boy formula tinkered with and experimented on is really interesting. The game suffers somewhat as a result, but damn, it's still a lot of fun to play.