It’s hard out there for new multiplayer games. There have been plenty of examples in the past few years of how tough it is for online live-service shooters to thrive, but the same is true of any game that intends to keep a dedicated group of players around for the long-term. A new wave of silly co-op games have been among the most successful multiplayer titles recently, as a counterpoint to struggling player-versus-player games, making the case that new multiplayer releases need a strong, original premise to survive. In developer Glowmade’s new King of Meat, published by Amazon Games, that premise is a violent but wacky game show to participate in with your friends, and while there’s a lot to recommend it already, it’s hard to imagine it becoming my co-op game of choice for very long.
Before you get to the platforming and combat that define King of Meat, you first need to settle in for a lengthy bit of table-setting. The game takes place on the set of a new competition show that challenges entrants to survive gauntlets of enemies and deadly traps, earning points for how entertainingly they get past it all. That world is set up through a series of cutscenes mostly resembling the aesthetics of a late-night Adult Swim cartoon. King of Meat goes all in on a lighthearted, jokey tone, poking fun at pro wrestling, reality TV, and video games all at once, and for the most part, it works. There were times in playing when I just wanted to get to the actual game rather than sit through more minutes of setup, but the humor in King of Meat lands more often than not, giving the game more of a personality than your typical brawler.
