King of Meat Review

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Initially, King of Meat appears to be a multiplayer game with strong potential, simply based on its concept. It combines elements of a third-person dungeon-crawler and a platformer, and is designed for up to 4 players to cooperate in PvE (player versus environment) adventures. King of Meat has been promoted as a mix of lively multiplayer party games like Fall Guys and more demanding, combat-focused games. And, for the most part, it lives up to that promise, offering enjoyable and captivating gameplay in dungeons created by both the developers and players. However, after playing for a while, it becomes clear that the core idea isn’t substantial enough, and King of Meat quickly loses its appeal.

After spending a good amount of time with King of Meat, the main question many players will likely have is the same one I kept asking myself: who is this game actually *for*? The fighting isn’t very deep or challenging – it’s mostly just repetitive button-mashing with a small number of weapons. The platforming is equally simple, lacking real obstacles. It feels like the game’s dungeon-building feature within King of Meat doesn’t live up to its potential and could have created much more engaging and satisfying dungeons for players to explore.

The game King of Meat is structured to keep you playing, encouraging you to finish dungeon after dungeon. However, the dungeons themselves aren’t very different from one another, and each one has a limited number of things to do. This causes the gameplay to quickly become repetitive. While King of Meat can be enjoyable whether you play alone or with friends, its flaws become apparent too quickly. With so many other excellent multiplayer games available, it’s hard to recommend this as a must-have title.

Despite Being Billed as ‘Fall Guys Meets Dark Souls’, King of Meat Brings Big PS2 Energy

King of Meat combines fast-paced action with the unpredictable fun of multiplayer platformers, and many people have compared it to a mix of Fall Guys and Dark Souls. However, its roots actually go back even further in gaming history. While it doesn’t have the same level of complexity as those two games, King of Meat feels like the quirky, experimental titles we often saw on the PlayStation 2. A better comparison might be Capcom’s Maximo, a game that many modern players have probably forgotten. The key difference is that, unlike Maximo, King of Meat doesn’t have a compelling story or connection to an established series (like Maximo‘s ties to Ghosts ‘n Goblins) to keep players engaged once the gameplay becomes repetitive.

Focusing heavily on multiplayer, King of Meat doesn’t bother with a detailed story. Instead, it offers a simple setup to explain the basics: your reason for being there, what King of Meat actually is, and so on. The game draws inspiration from Running Man, presenting a dangerous series of challenges – a deadly obstacle course – where contestants compete for fame, all while being watched by a bizarre world that mixes fantasy and technology, including, of course, television. Once that initial explanation is over, the game begins, but the interesting idea behind King of Meat quickly loses its appeal when you actually start playing, particularly when experiencing the combat and platforming sections.

King of Meat is Fun Enough While It Lasts, But Lacks Variety to Keep Players Engaged Long-Term

Following the comparison to PlayStation 2-era games, the gameplay in King of Meat feels surprisingly simple when compared to more recent games that combine platforming and fighting. The controls are loose and don’t feel very accurate, registering hits can be unreliable, and weapons don’t feel powerful. What’s more, all weapons use the same button presses, no matter how heavy they are, what attacks they perform, or how much skill is needed to use them effectively. Although you might be willing to overlook the simple gameplay if each attempt to clear one of the game’s many dungeons was enjoyable and unpredictable, you’ll quickly discover everything King of Meat has to offer – usually within just a few hours.

Every playthrough in King of Meat feels like a TV show. A single trip through a dungeon is considered an “episode,” while bigger, multi-stage challenges are like “seasons.” You start in a central area where you can talk to previous King of Meat winners, who all have roles like shopkeepers, people who give you tasks, or those who track your progress. After you’ve spent any gold you have and chosen your preferred dungeon setup and team, you can start playing and either tackle pre-made dungeons created by Glowmade, the game’s developer, or try levels designed by other players.

No matter which option you choose, the basic way the game plays stays consistent. Dungeons are divided into different types depending on what’s inside – like “Puzzle”, “Combat”, “Platforming”, or the general “Dungeon” – and they all present similar kinds of challenges. Rooms will test you with tricky platforming sections (like dodging giant swinging blades or avoiding spike traps), battles against waves of enemies, puzzles (where you’ll need to work with your team to activate switches and move platforms), or a combination of everything. While the environments might change, the enemies, how you move around, and the difficulty level always stay the same. The game asks you to maintain an “approval rating” to earn better rewards, but eventually, the repetitive nature of it all makes even a lot of unlockable items not worth the effort of playing through the dungeons again and again.

Even With a Dedicated Multiplayer Group, Your Mileage With King of Meat May Vary

Luckily, the multiplayer aspect of King of Meat adds some fun and funny moments, as players can accidentally (or on purpose) mess with each other during a game. What felt like a chore when playing alone becomes much better with a friend or two, making King of Meat a game that, while playable solo, really needs a group of friends to truly enjoy. However, even those fun, spontaneous moments with friends can’t completely hide King of Meat‘s underlying flaws.

The dungeon creation mode in King of Meat adds another layer to the game, and it’s likely one area where the game will maintain player interest for a while. Players who enjoy games like Minecraft or Super Mario Maker will find King of Meat’s creation tools offer a lot of choices and are pretty straightforward to use. However, similar to the main game, this creative mode doesn’t have the same level of detail or complexity as those other titles, so it might not hold the attention of creative players for very long. King of Meat isn’t a bad game, but with so many amazing games released this year, it unfortunately feels a bit forgettable.

King of Meat will be available on October 7th for PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X/S. We at Game Rant received a PlayStation 5 code to review the game.

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2025-10-03 09:05