During our ventures at PAX East 2023, as I made my way towards the Retroware booth, there was a game that was only shown via video, and even then, it was sandwiched between the Toxic Crusaders. When I asked about what it was, I was told it was called “Iron Meat”, and that we’d know more about the game at a later date. Of course, being the person that I am, I wanted to know more about it, now.
What did my internet crawling find about this upcoming game? Well, plenty. Actually. Iron Meat is a forthcoming retro Indie game that’s being developed by Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov (with music from Darkman007) and being published by Retroware. Iron Meat promises to deliver a unique gaming experience that combines challenging gameplay and amazing-looking Pixel Art visuals.
At its core, Iron Meat is a side-scrolling platformer game that puts players in the role of several characters, including a dinosaur, that’s trying to survive in a world overrun by a techno-organic mass, thus the name Iron Meat. The gameplay is fast-paced and intense, requiring players to jump, dodge, and shoot their way through a variety of levels and challenging enemies. The game will also support local co-op multiplayer but won’t feature any online components.
If you’ve been waiting for the next 2D Run and Gun game, you may find it with Iron Meat. The developers don’t hide the fact that they have ripped mechanics from several arcade and console classics. There’s a bit of Contra, Gunstar Heroes, and Metal Slug, this just might be it. Heck, the first stage in the video I saw, looked like it was plugged straight from the first Conta game.
Iron Meat is shaping up to be an indie game that’s worth keeping an eye on, that’s for sure. And while there’s no release date announced for the game, there is a short demo that this available to play on Steam. As for other platforms, well, that also hasn’t been announced as far as I am aware.
Based on the demo that I’ve played through several times, if you’re a fan of platformers or just looking for a fun and challenging game to play, Iron Meat is definitely going to be worth checking out, once it is released, that is.
