Amazon Games has been around for a little over 15 years, but in the past several years, the company has hit overdrive with many hit titles. New World, Lost Ark, Throne and Liberty, and what I played of King of Meat – Amazon Games has another hit on its hands, but this time focusing on a fun, all-ages dungeoneering game show.
Having sunk 300 hours into New World and 30 hours into Lost Ark, King of Meat is extremely different tonally and stylistically. The game adopts a more all-ages hack-and-slash cooperative experience, but that does not shy away from how difficult the game can be. King of Meat is the game show happening in the titular title, with cameras, crowds, and plentiful traps for contestants to avoid.
A death game show for contestants is nothing new, but battle royale or death game genres in media are one of my favourites to dive into. Even recently, going a full week to watch as many anime as I could that related to said genre, such as Tomodachi Game and Darwin’s Game. There is this unpredictability for game shows and how the contenders can navigate their paths to foil a master creator’s plan or triumph for riches. King of Meat takes the genre but extends it both playfully and in a more age-appropriate manner.
An Elaborate And Friendly Create Mode
The first mode I got to try was Create Mode. In games, I personally am not a fan of creator modes. I need some guidance rather than a game telling me to, “Go build anything you want.” I get kind of lost and stray away from games like Minecraft, where there is far too much freedom on what to do, even if all of the tools can possibly make anything happen. King of Meat’s Create Mode detailed rooms, connecting rooms, planting traps, the hoards of enemies, and even how to create switches alongside levers. I was pretty astonished at how player-friendly it was, especially for me, who does not enjoy creator modes in every game I have played.
An aspect I really enjoyed of King of Meat’s Create Mode is that it is slow and methodical. Making sure each and every room I create for this dungeon works completely, even allowing me to try each room before progressing further, and easily deleting or shifting objects as I saw fit. Sometimes, games with create options can be extremely finicky, like Disney Dreamlight Valley had been at launch with sporadic glitching, but King of Meat’s felt second nature, and I even spruced up my rooms that had already had hoards of enemies to make sure flags, props, neon signs, and other knick-knacks extenuated the room. Even changing the time of day to provide sunshine or moonlight, as I saw fit. After everything was finished–even laying some switches that withheld entry to rooms–I went through the entire dungeon I crafted. It was difficult to my liking and makes me anticipate uploading my own dungeons on full release. A game with a level creator mode that I enjoy–never thought this was possible for me.
A Funny Murder Mystery Takes Place
Leaving Creator Mode, I went to the game’s plaza. An assortment of different modes, shops, and more to dig into. Checking out the shop and character customization, I found extremely odd but funny helmet designs, shields, and different melee weapons to equip. The game also has many different LGBTQIAP+ flags and colours that I could equip, which made me nod and smile at the breadth of inclusion. I then went to check any solo content King of Meat had.
Even though King of Meat is a cooperative experience to tackle this game show with your mates, there is a single-player aspect that delves into a crafted story mode. Without too many spoilers, the story is a murder mystery that takes place over a series of levels/episodes. These levels were a lot tougher, and I did end up dying a few times, but this was where I could practice King of Meat’s combat. Using poison screeches, creating ice vortexes to freeze enemies, and I thought it was very funny that I could juggle enemies alongside pressing the button configurations for an Izuna Drop a la Ninja Gaiden fashion for monstrous damage. More abilities can be unlocked by leveling up your in-game pass, and you can reap better and more extravagant customization options.
King of Meat is a massive departure from New World, Lost Ark, and Throne and Liberty from Amazon Games’ previously published games, but Glowmade has created an in-depth level creation hack and slash game show with tongue-in-cheek dialogue, writing, and a funny murder mystery, which should have you audibly chuckling as it did for me. A vibrant hack and slash game that can be played by a seven-year-old and a 70-year-old, which is such a rarity for the landscape nowadays.
Glowmade’s King of Meat releases in 2025 and will be playable on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. Future tester signups are available on the official site.
