Comparison

Dead Cells vs Super Meat Boy Forever

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Dead Cells

Explore a sprawling, ever-changing castle as a failed alchemic experiment. Master frantic 2D combat with a variety of weapons and skills against dangerous foes. Death is not the end; learn from each attempt to progress through this roguevania action platformer.

Highlights
  • Roguevania exploration
  • Frantic 2D action combat
  • Nonlinear progression
  • Permadeath with learning
  • Unlockable weapons and skills
  • DLC content packs
Read full description

Death is not the end. Play as a failed alchemic experiment and explore the sprawling, ever-changing castle to find out what happened on this gloomy island…! That is, assuming you’re able to fight your way past its keepers. Dead Cells is a roguevania action platformer that will require you to master frantic 2D combat with a wide variety of weapons and skills against merciless minions and boss. Kill. Die. Learn. Repeat. First available on PC and consoles, the indie hit Dead Cells is now slaying foes on mobile! Main Features • Roguevania: The progressive exploration of an interconnected world, with the replayability of a rogue-lite and the adrenaline-pumping threat of permadeath • Frantic and Dynamic 2D Action: Learn your enemies’ patterns to stay alive, or prepare to be sent back to your cell before you can say “baguette” • Nonlinear Progression: Unlock new levels with every death, opt for the path that suits your current build, your playstyle or just your mood. Surely, the ramparts can’t be as bad as the sewers, right? • Play at your own pace: Will you explore every nook and cranny of the castle, or rush to the end? *Latest updates are available: Clean Cut & The End is Near* RETURN TO CASTLEVANIA DLC Time for some vampire slaying • New storyline - overcome the Ruler of Darkness alongside Alucard and Richter Belmont, • 2 new biomes - Explore Dracula's Castle and its outskirts • 9 new monsters - Werewolves, haunted armors, and medusas are waiting for you • 14 new weapons - wield the Vampire Killer or the Holy Water to defeat creatures of the night, • 3 new bosses - go fangs to fangs against Death and Dracula himself • 20 new outfits - dress as your favorite Castlevania characters such as Simon and Richter Belmont or Alucard • Alternative soundtracks - play along 51 Castlevania original tracks and 12 tunes reimagined in the style of Dead Cells THE BAD SEED DLC You reap what you sow • New levels to lose your head in the not-so-peaceful Dilapidated Arboretum and the noxious Morass of the Banished • New monsters to rip to pieces: get to know the locals, such as the Jerkshroom and the Yeeter • New weapons to play with: trim sticking-out heads with the Scythe Claw, or make them dance to the sound of the Rhythm n' Bouzouki • New boss to fight against: Mama Tick is dying to meet you FATAL FALLS DLC Ready for a leap of faith? • 3 new biomes - Get some fresh air at the Fractured Shrines, splash around at the Undying Shores and take a picture at the Mausoleum • 8 new monsters - The Cold Blooded Guardians and their friends would love to teach you about their culture. ... Wait, aren't those relatives of yours in the Undying Shores...? • 7 new weapons - Lil' Serenade is perfect for breaking the ice with the locals, although the Snake Fangs would make for a perfect souvenir... • 1 new boss - The Scarecrow is very proud of his gardening skills and won't hesitate to show off QUEEN AND THE SEA DLC Take it to the sea! • 2 new biomes - Battle your way through a rotten shipwreck, or scale a burning lighthouse and confront your deadliest foe yet. • 9 new weapons, including a throwable shark, a trident and a pirate hook hand (eyepatch not included). • 2 new bosses - Don't lose your head before you meet the Queen! This DLC also gives you the usual extras: - A not-so-cute pet. - Loads of new outfits. - New enemies to bash. WARNING: Devices with less than 2 Gb of RAM may not be able to run this content correctly. We recommend not to take this DLC if your device is under 2gb of RAM. Carefully redesigned for mobile with a revamped interface • Two game modes available: Original & Auto-Hit • Custom controls & More touch controls options available: Change the buttons’ position and size to your liking, swipe to dodge… • MFi external controller support • No ads, no F2P mechanics! If you run into a problem, please contact us at support@playdigious.mail.helpshift.com with as much information as possible on the issue.

About

Super Meat Boy Forever

Embark on a brutal platforming adventure to rescue your kidnapped baby. Run, jump, punch, and slide through thousands of randomly generated levels. Experience a compelling story with animated cutscenes and unlock new characters.

Highlights
  • Thousands of randomly generated levels
  • Run, jump, punch, and slide mechanics
  • Unlockable characters
  • Boss fights
  • Animated cutscenes
  • Secret locations
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Super Meat Boy Forever takes place a few years after the events of Super Meat Boy. Meat Boy and Bandage Girl have been living a happy life free of Dr. Fetus for several years and they now have a wonderful little baby named Nugget. Nugget is joy personified and she is everything to Meat Boy and Bandage Girl. One day while our heroes were on a picnic, Dr. Fetus snuck up on them, beat Meat Boy and Bandage Girl unconscious with a shovel and kidnapped Nugget! When our heroes came to and found that Nugget was missing, they knew who to go after. They cracked their knuckles and decided to never stop until they got Nugget back and taught Dr. Fetus a very important lesson. A lesson that can only be taught with punches and kicks. The challenge of Super Meat Boy returns in Super Meat Boy Forever. Levels are brutal, death is inevitable, and players will get that sweet feeling of accomplishment after beating a level. Players will run, jump, punch and kick their way through familiar settings and totally new worlds. What’s better than playing through Super Meat Boy Forever once? The answer is simple: Playing through Super Meat Boy Forever several times and having new levels to play each time. Levels are randomly generated and each time the game is completed the option to replay the game appears and generates a whole new experience by presenting different levels with their own unique secret locations. We’ve handcrafted literally thousands of levels for players to enjoy and conquer. You can replay Super Meat Boy Forever from start to finish several times before ever seeing a duplicate level. It is truly a remarkable feat of engineering and a monumental example of ignoring the limits of rational game design and production. They don’t give Oscars to games, but they probably will after Super Meat Boy Forever becomes the best movie of 2020 and 2021! Our story takes Meat Boy and Bandage Girl through several worlds in search of their darling little Nugget with beautifully animated cutscenes and musical accompaniment that makes Citizen Kane look like a reaction video to an sled unboxing. Players will laugh, they will cry, and when all is said and done maybe they’ll emerge from the experience a little better than when they started. Ok so that last part probably won’t happen but marketing text is hard to write. - Run, Jump, Punch and Slide your way through literally thousands of levels! - Experience a story so that it will influence the cinematic landscape for decades to come. - Fight Bosses, find secrets, unlock characters, live in the world we’ve created because the real world can kinda suck sometimes! - The long awaited sequel to Super Meat Boy has finally arrived!

Screenshots

Dead Cells4 screens
Super Meat Boy Forever4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dead Cells at 4.8 against Super Meat Boy Forever's 3.9. Dead Cells also leads on review sentiment (89% vs 57%) and ratings volume (12K vs 227). Super Meat Boy Forever's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $8.99) and in-app purchases (none vs 4). On update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Dead Cells costs $8.99 and Super Meat Boy Forever $0.99 up front. Dead Cells sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Super Meat Boy Forever asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dead Cells holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dead Cells has 12K ratings behind it against 227, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Dead Cells's written reviews are positive against 57% of Super Meat Boy Forever's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dead Cells ships an update every 5 weeks, Super Meat Boy Forever every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Dead Cells versus Super Meat Boy Forever: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDead CellsSuper Meat Boy Forever
Price$8.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.8 (12K ratings) — better3.9 (227 ratings)
Positive reviews88.5% of reviews — better56.7% of reviews
Number of ratings12K — better227
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#6 — better#94
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.8 GB1.7 GB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperPlaydigiousHeadup GmbH

Customer experience

Dead Cells

All ratings12,164 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.5%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews1,780 reviews
Positive88.5%
Neutral3.6%
Negative7.9%

Super Meat Boy Forever

All ratings223 ratings
Positive70.0%
Neutral8.5%
Negative21.5%
Written reviews171 reviews
Positive56.7%
Neutral14.6%
Negative28.7%

User reviews

Dead Cells

From 12K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Excellent controls
  • 💎 High-quality graphics
  • 🎮 Great controller support
  • 🔥 Addictive and challenging

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Audio glitches and bugs
  • 🤔 Lack of custom mode
  • 📱 Finicky touch controls
  • 🔇 No background music support

Super Meat Boy Forever

From 227 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fun, challenging gameplay
  • 👍 Great mobile port of the franchise
  • 💡 Randomly generated levels add replayability
  • 🎨 Impressive graphics and animations

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent glitches and bugs (invisible floors, missing textures)
  • 🔍 Lack of save state/quick play functionality
  • 🎮 Suboptimal touch controls compared to console
  • 🤯 Extremely challenging, rage-inducing at times

Bugs and requests

Dead Cells

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Saves not compatible across platforms
  • Texture and graphical issues on some devices
  • Persistent memory leaks causing performance drops

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add Chinese language support
  • Implement cross-save functionality
  • Introduce online multiplayer mode
  • Optimize for older devices

Super Meat Boy Forever

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Cutscene audio issues (playing in only one ear)
  • Invisible floors/textures in certain levels
  • Frequent crashes and performance issues
  • Warp zone progression not tracking properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add iCloud/cross-device save sync
  • Implement a 'quick restart' option
  • Improve touch controls with customizable layout
  • Include more content from the original Super Meat Boy

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Dead Cells

One-time4
  • The Bad Seed$3.99
  • Fatal Falls$3.99
  • The Queen and the Sea$3.99
Show 1 more
  • Return to Castlevania$6.99
None

Super Meat Boy Forever

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dead Cells free?
Dead Cells costs $8.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Super Meat Boy Forever free?
Super Meat Boy Forever costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Dead Cells or Super Meat Boy Forever?
Dead Cells is rated higher. Dead Cells averages 4.8 out of 5 from 12K ratings, while Super Meat Boy Forever averages 3.9 from 227 ratings.
Do Dead Cells or Super Meat Boy Forever have ads?
Neither Dead Cells nor Super Meat Boy Forever shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dead Cells or Super Meat Boy Forever?
Dead Cells ships an update every 5 weeks, and Super Meat Boy Forever every 4 weeks. Most recently, Dead Cells was updated on September 24, 2026 and Super Meat Boy Forever on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Dead Cells or Super Meat Boy Forever?
Dead Cells currently peaks at #6 in the App Store charts, and Super Meat Boy Forever at #94. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons