Super Meat Boy 3D Guide | How to Unlock Dark World

Super Meat Boy 3D has 75 levels in the main campaign, 80 if you count bosses. But there's another set of 75 levels sitting behind all of that — the Dark World. These are alternate versions of every main level, and they're harder. Tighter jumps, more traps, more ways to die.

If you've played the first Super Meat Boy, you already know what to expect. If this is your first time with the series, just know that the Dark World is not easy. This guide walks you through how to unlock it all.

How Dark World Levels Work

One thing that makes Dark World stages a little less stressful is that they don't have Bandages in them. You don't need to hunt for anything — just get to the end. They do have their own A+ clear time, though, so finishing them is only part of it if you want full completion.

Each Dark World level is tied to a specific main campaign level. To unlock a Dark World stage, you need to get an A+ clear time in the regular version of that level. Do that for every level and you'll have access to all 75 Dark World stages. Completing a full set of Dark World levels also unlocks a new character each time, so there's a reward for pushing through.

How To Get A+ Clear Times

Every level has its own required time for an A+ ranking, so there's no single trick that works across the board. That said, there are a few things that help across all of them.

First, dying doesn't affect your ranking. The game only looks at your best run, not how many attempts it took. So don't hold back — just keep running the level until you nail it.

It also helps to go after Bandages separately. Grabbing a Bandage during a run takes extra time, and when you're chasing an A+, every second counts. Get the clear time first, then come back for the Bandage.

Sprinting is something you should be doing the whole time. There's a setting in the options menu that keeps sprinting on by default, so you don't have to hold anything. It makes Meat Boy a bit harder to handle, but it keeps your speed up and gets you closer to the target time.

If you've been collecting Bandages, Skeleton Boy is worth trying out for speed runs. He unlocks at 15 Bandages and moves faster than Meat Boy while still feeling familiar to control. That speed difference can be enough to hit times that feel out of reach otherwise.

Also, check our Super Meat Boy 3D Review and other guides below:

• Super Meat Boy 3D Beginner's Guide | Gameplay Tips & Tricks
• Super Meat Boy 3D Guide | World 1 Bandages Location